Logan and Keene show that there's an "R" in "Race" at the Half-Shell Hustle

Conventional wisdom has it that you are only supposed to eat raw oysters during months with an "R" in the name. There doesn't seem to be any such rule about oyster-themed road races. Nevertheless, in Apalachicola, Florida the Half-Shell Hustle 5K has always been run during the city's Oyster Cook-Off, which takes place during January, one of the "R" months. The fifth annual Half-Shell Hustle was no exception, with the race held on Saturday morning, 13 January 2018, in weather chilly enough to discourage Vibrio vulnificus from tainting any bivalves.


Low temperatures didn't discourage Chance Logan, though. A veteran of the Liberty County High track team, Logan had finished second in the 2016 Half-Shell Hustle. There was no one ahead of him in 2018, though, as he won the race by nearly 200 meters, running 19:20. Brian Reilly was the fastest master runner in the race, finishing second overall in 19:58. Damien Freeman, a junior on the Franklin County High cross-country team, placed third overall in 20:26.


There aren't many athletes who have run the Half-Shell Hustle as often as Eden Keene. Keene was at the race in 2015, when she finished runner-up in the women's standings. In both 2016 and 2017 Keene was the fifth female finisher. Keene topped all of those performances by winning the women's title in the 2018 Hustle, placing fifth overall in 21:53. 2017 Half-Shell Hustle women's champ Genee Meleski was the top woman master and second female finisher, placing seventh overall in 22:40. Master runner Denise Skinner was the third woman and eighth overall in 23:21.


80 athletes finished the 2018 Half-Shell Hustle.


Top Ten Men, 2018 Half-Shell Hustle 5K

1. 19:19.4, Chance Logan (M, 21)
2. 19:57.2, Brian Reilly (M, 50)
3. 20:26.0, Damien Freeman (M, 17)
4. 21:35.2, Dan Fortunas (M, 57)
5. 22:35.6, Barney Ray (M, 55)
6. 23:37.7, Jim Tully (M, 71)
7. 24:37.3, Bill Bushue (M, 66)
8. 25:50.4, Steven Domangue (M, 63)
9. 28:14.2, Philip Troyer (M, 59)
10. 29:13.0, Mike Reeves (M, 47)

Top Ten Women, 2018 Half-Shell Hustle 5K

1. 21:52.1, Eden Keene (F, 35)
2. 22:39.5, Genee Meleski (F, 49)
3. 23:20.7, Denise Skinner (F, 62)
4. 25:17.4, Belinda Wharton (F, 57)
5. 26:02.3, Catherine Jones (F, 58)
6. 26:15.9, Nancy Lewis (F, 52)
7. 27:34.6, Lacey Caughey (F, 35)
8. 27:40.2, Liz Fee (F, 58)
9. 29:30.6, Reece Juno (F, 11)
10. 29:49.5, Lisa Reilly (F, 49)

Half-Shell Hustle winners, 2014 - 2018
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
18 January 2014
17 January 2015	18:51, Lane Williams	21:44, Christy Phillips	72
16 January 2016	17:14, Bryce Cole	19:16, Amy Hines	64
14 January 2017	18:16, Paul Guyas	22:23, Genee Meleski	93
13 January 2018	19:20, Chance Logan	21:53, Eden Keene	80
The 2014 Half-Shell Hustle was a 3,000-fathom race (just under 5,500 meters)

Links

• Complete results of the 2018 Half-Shell Hustle 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vR2ZIKEhZ41SnTBDzXDWB4Tuy-J0XaD8dtcr0ROjmfYamSUnImvY0iDmibrrql9JwxMJ3ru4U5JGxJ-/pubhtml
  
  
• 2017 story, “Guyas and Meleski head the Half-Shell Hustle”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/01/half-shell-hustle-2017.html
  
  
• 2016 story, “A pearl of a race for Cole and Hines at the Half-Shell Hustle”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/01/half-shell-hustle-2016.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “Williams and Phillips win the Half-Shell Hustle”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/01/half-shell-hustle-2015.html
  
  
• Course map, 2017 Half-Shell Hustle 5K
  https://app.box.com/s/unc00g49r4fdm0mzpiwawvcwp5tedny5
  
  
• Apalachicola Oyster Cook Off
  http://www.oystercookoff.com/
  
  
• Find another upcoming race celebrating raw bivalves on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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