No one puts up much of a fight against Gibson at Fit-To-Fight

It's not true that Myles Gibson always wins the Fit-To-Fight 10K.


In fact, Gibson didn't win during the first four years, 2009 to 2012, of the annual Dothan, Alabama road race. Since 2013, though, it's true that Gibson had all but owned the Fit-To-Fight. The Donalsonville master runner won the race once again on Saturday morning, 6 May 2017, in 38:28. It wasn't his fastest winning time ever at the Fit-To-Fight, but it was fast enough to put him across the finish line more than two kilometers ahead of next runner. That's right; Gibson went the full ten kilometers before anyone else had gone as far as eight.


Master runner Dale Nash was second in the 10K at 48:23. David Forrester took third in 50:08.


Amanda Pybus won the women's title, placing tenth overall in 59:35. Close behind Pybus, Barbara Wade was the first woman master and second female finisher, eleventh overall in 59:43. Master runner Tracy Reeves was third in the women's standings and thirteenth overall in 61:33.


28 athletes finished the 2017 Fit-To-Fight 10K, while another 108 completed the 5K. The fastest of those in the shorter race was Nevada Parker, a former Northside Methodist cross-country runner. Parker covered the course in 18:41, finishing well over 300 meters ahead of the runner-up, a frosh on the cross-country team at Dothan High, ran 21:09. Not far behind Shaw, nine-year-old Eli Butler was third in 21:14. Thomas Britain was the first master runner and fourth overall in 21:35.


Elizabeth Johnson was the top woman in the 5K, placing eleventh overall in 24:17. Katie Sheppard, a frosh on the Southwest Georgia Academy cross-country team, was second in the women's standings and fifteenth overall in 25:53. Rachel David placed third on the women's side and seventeenth overall in 26:11. Nineteenth overall in 26:34, Kristi Holland was the first woman master and fourth female finisher.


As I wrote in 2015, the Fit To Fight races started in 2009 as a fundraiser for the Dothan Fire Department to buy exercise equipment for their firefighters. Couch potatoes don't make good firemen--you have to be fit to fight fire. The event continues to this day, with the races starting and finishing at Dothan's central Fire Station.


Top Ten Men, 2017 Fit To Fight 10K

1. 38:28, Myles Gibson (M, 50)
2. 48:23, Dale Nash (M, 66)
3. 50:08, David Forrester (M, 38)
4. 51:01, Harrison Jordan (M, 20)
5. 51:01, Neil Guess (M, 45)
6. 52:24, Randy Jordan (M, 56)
7. 57:24, Cliff Morrison (M, 45)
8. 57:42, Rozeallan Smith (M, 65)
9. 58:58, Josh Cox (M, 38)
10. 61:13, Gary Thien (M, 62)

Top Ten Women, 2017 Fit To Fight 10K

1. 59:35, Amanda Pybus (F, 29)
2. 59:43, Barbara Wade (F, 49)
3. 61:33, Tracy Reeves (F, 45)
4. 64:20, Susan Anderson (F, 54)
5. 64:58, Jodi Thore (F, 48)
6. 66:01, Debbie Geiger (F, 45)
7. 71:05, Julia Moss (F, 32)
8. 72:13, Angie Chambliss (F, 50)
9. 76:51, Kristen Hyde (F, 34)
10. 76:51, Lindsey Barton (F, 34)

Top Ten Men, 2017 Fit To Fight 5K

1. 18:41, Nevada Parker (M, 19)
2. 21:09, Trevor Shaw (M, 15)
3. 21:14, Eli Butler (M, 9)
4. 21:35, Thomas Britain (M, 41)
5. 23:08, Joey Harvey (M, 55)
6. 23:40, Robert Dickard (M, 25)
7. 23:40, Justin Trawick (M, 12)
8. 23:45, Jeremy Alley (M, 30)
9. 24:06, Benjamin Henderson (M, 19)
10. 24:12, David Bennett (M, 46)

Top Ten Women, 2017 Fit To Fight 5K

1. 24:17, Elizabeth Johnson (F, 38)
2. 25:53, Katie Sheppard (F, 14)
3. 26:11, Rachel David (F, 39)
4. 26:34, Kristi Holland (F, 40)
5. 26:55, Olivia Beck (F, 15)
6. 26:59, Jamie Trawick (F, 39)
7. 27:29, Jeanine Beck (F, 44)
8. 27:39, Rebecca Binford (F, 27)
9. 27:49, Sibel Yilmaz (F, 40)
10. 28:11, Rebecca Jewell (F, 38)

Fit To Fight winners, 2009 - 2017
Date	Distance	Men	Women	Finishers
23 May 2009	10K	41:17, Shannon McCook	49:02, Vicki Graf	48
	5K	20:11, Michael Kiefer	26:39, Lisa Roberson	99
8 May 2010	10K	38:35, Brad Jones	47:41, Vicki Graf	61
	5K	18:46, Theron Carter	23:19, Kacie Rogers	110
14 May 2011	10K	39:43, Sean Kent	43:26, Dana Cody	40
	5K	21:25, Mike Houston	25:03, Jill Wofsey	19
5 May 2012	10K	38:11, Austin Fox	45:06, Dana Cody	48
	5K	18:29, Drew Ackles	21:52, Melissa Unrath	91
4 May 2013	10K	37:25, Myles Gibson	44:15, Debbie Wittmer	30
	5K	21:16, Justin Whiddon	24:12, Ami Heath	61
3 May 2014	10K	38:10, Myles Gibson	50:46, CJ Parrish	41
	5K	18:12, Ben McLain	23:39, Carolyn Houston	102
2 May 2015	10K	37:00, Myles Gibson	47:16, Carolyn Houston	49
	5K	18:44, Michael Houston Jr.	22:56, Carmel Rogers	81
7 May 2016	10K
	5K
6 May 2017	10K	38:28, Myles Gibson	59:35, Amanda Pybus	28
	5K	18:41, Nevada Parker	24:17, Elizabeth Johnson	106
Many,many thanks to Larry Dykes of the Dothan Runners Club for much of the information in this table.

Links

• Complete results of the 2017 Fit To Fight 10K and 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1APed3bFIytGqXq5I6AJVrvPLkeu6WhK-YgNBFbXZWmc/pubhtml
  
  
• 2015 story, “Gibson and Houston are fit to win at Fit To Fight”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/05/fit-to-fight-2015.html
  
  
• More races in Dothan and other cities within 100 miles of Tallahassee
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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