Johnson and Sherron were fast at VetFest

If you live outside of New England, the chances are you wouldn’t know when Patriots Day is. You probably wouldn’t know what it is, either. But if you’re an athletics fan, you might at least know that the Boston Marathon is always run on Patriots Day.


Over 120 years old, the Boston Marathon is part of a long tradition of racing on holidays. Notably, Atlanta always holds the Peachtree Road Race on Independence Day. The Labor Day Road Race in Macon, Georgia is nearly as old as Peachtree. For over half a century, Florida has had the Easter Beach Run on Daytona Beach.


There was a time, though, when the only holiday race in Tallahassee was the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. Want to race on Memorial Day? Plan on driving to Bainbridge or Fort Walton Beach. Independence Day? Either take a break from racing, or head for Greensboro or Atlanta. Veterans Day? Not on the streets of Tallahassee.


That has changed, though. In 2013 the Capital City Kiwanis inherited the Firecracker 5K from Greensboro Kiwanis, and that race is now run in Tallahassee's Cascades Park each Independence Day. In 2011 the Veterans Day 5K came to the streets of downtown Tallahassee. That event persisted, and was run for the seventh time on Saturday, Nov. 11, as the VetFest 5K.


For a runner, downtown Tallahassee means hills, and the VetFest 5K includes some climbing. “One of the toughest courses in Tally,” was one runner’s description. Which may be something of an exaggeration, because how do you account for the fast times turned in at the VetFest? Tallahassee triathlete Charlie Johnson, for instance, ran 16:25 to win the 2017 race. FSU professor Katie Sherron ran 18:10 to take first on the women’s side, placing fifth overall.


For Johnson it was the second win in seven days. He had started the week on Sunday, Nov. 5, by taking first in the Rex Cleveland Road Mile, a race starting in the heights of Myers Park and finishing on the low ground on the Capital Cascades Trail, along the St. Augustine Branch. Johnson closed the week on Saturday with his VetFest victory.


Behind Johnson, 2016 VetFest 5K champ Matt McCurdy was second in 17:16. Evan Beauchamp edged Chris O'Kelley for third place, both runners clocked in 17:21. Mickey Moore was the fastest master runner in the race, placing sixth overall in 18:23.


For Sherron, it was the third VetFest 5K women's title; she had also won the race in 2014 and 2015. 18:10 was her best time yet on the course, eclipsing her 2014 mark of 19:06 as well as the 18:24 she ran in 2015. It fell short, though, of the 18:00 women's course record posted by Alyson Churchill in 2016.


Brittney Barnes was second to Sherron in the women's standings, placing fifteenth overall in 20:24. Kateřina Caltová, a visiting athlete from the Czech Republic, was the third woman and sixteenth overall in 20:29. In a close race for the top woman master spot, Laura Reina finished just ahead of Kenya Rich, 22:18 to 22:21. Reina was the tenth woman and 35th overall, while Rich was the eleventh woman and 37th overall.


211 athletes finished the seventh annual VetFest 5K, with another 33 completing a one-mile fun run. Gulf Winds Track Club chip-timed the races.


Top Ten Men, 2017 Tallahassee VetFest 5K

1. 16:25, Charlie Johnson (M, 37)
2. 17:16, Matt McCurdy (M, 24)
3. 17:21, Evan Beauchamp (M, 29)
4. 17:21, Chris O'Kelley (M, 24)
5. 18:23, Mickey Moore (M, 47)
6. 18:37, Jimbo Halley (M, 38)
7. 18:42, Geb Kiros (M, 51)
8. 18:47, Paul Guyas (M, 40)
9. 18:56, Eric Houge (M, 37)
10. 19:08, Tony Guillen (M, 48)

Top Ten Women, 2017 Tallahassee VetFest 5K

1. 18:10, Katie Sherron (F, 36)
2. 20:24, Brittney Barnes (F, 29)
3. 20:29, Kate Caltova (F, 23)
4. 20:53, Kat Sack (F, 26)
5. 21:04, Jillian Heddaeus (F, 34)
6. 21:08, Alyssa Terry (F, 24)
7. 21:58, Kristin Halley (F, 36)
8. 22:00, Kendall Ward (F, 17)
9. 22:06, Laura McDermott (F, 38)
10. 22:18, Laura Reina (F, 53)

Tallahassee VetFest 5K winners, 2011 - 2017
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
14 November 2011	16:20, Alex Smyth	22:50, Sandy Holt	169
12 November 2012	19:12, James Taylor	21:34, Kelly Brennan	112
11 November 2013	15:57, Chris Rego	20:01, Renee Cox	147
11 November 2014	17:45, Adam Greenstein	19:06, Katie Sherron	191
11 November 2015	17:02, Gary Droze	18:24, Katie Sherron	255
11 November 2016	16:41, Matt McCurdy	18:00, Alyson Churchill	191
11 November 2017	16:25, Charlie Johnson	18:10, Katie Sherron	211

Links

• Complete results of the 2017 Tallahassee VetFest 5K at gulfwinds.org
  http://gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2017/VetFestMile2017.html
  
  
• Fred Deckert's photos of the 2017 Tallahassee VetFest 5K
  https://photos.app.goo.gl/yeND2CwsXlC99Xi93
  
  
• 2016 story, “McCurdy and Churchill take the VetFest 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/11/tallahassee-veterans-day-2016.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “Droze and Sherron swiftly salute veterans at the VetFest 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/11/tallahassee-veterans-day-2015.html
  
  
• 2014 story, “Victory at VetFest for Greenstein and Sherron”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/11/tallahassee-veterans-day-2014.html
  
  
• 2013 story, “Veterans Day victories for Chris Rego and Renee Cox”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/11/tallahassee-veterans-day-2013.html
  
  
• 2012 story, “James Taylor and Kelly Brennan cruise at Allen Beal 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/11/tallahassee-veterans-day-2012.html
  
  
• 2011 story, “Veteran's Day victories for Smyth and Holt”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/11/tallahassee-veterans-day-2011.html
  
  
• USATF Course Certification Map FL16053TY for the 2017 VetFest 5K
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=FL16053TY
  
  
• Find a race to run on the next patriotic holiday using the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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