Sunday, November 12, 2017

Johnson and Sherron were fast at VetFest

Charlie Johnson, Katie SherronIf 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
DateMenWomenFinishers
14 November 201116:20, Alex Smyth22:50, Sandy Holt169
12 November 201219:12, James Taylor21:34, Kelly Brennan112
11 November 201315:57, Chris Rego20:01, Renee Cox147
11 November 201417:45, Adam Greenstein19:06, Katie Sherron191
11 November 201517:02, Gary Droze18:24, Katie Sherron255
11 November 201616:41, Matt McCurdy18:00, Alyson Churchill191
11 November 201716:25, Charlie Johnson18:10, Katie Sherron211


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