Athletes enjoyed mild temperatures, a gentle breeze, and a flat course in Sopchoppy, Florida on Saturday morning, 14 April 2018, during the annual Worm Gruntin' Festival 5K. Taking advantage of those close to ideal conditions, Tallahassee, Florida master runner Paul Hodge ran 19:04, winning the race by nearly 130 meters. Rory Claussen of Panama City, Florida took the women's title. Claussen, a sixth-grader who runs for the Shaldera Panthers Track Club, placed third overall in 19:43.Duane Evans finished runner-up in the 5K, running 19:34. Evans, a master runner from nearby Crawfordville, Florida, was fifth in the 2016 Worm Gruntin' race and fourth in 2017. Another Worm Gruntin' 5K veteran, twelve-year old Josiah Chadwell, was the third overall male in the 2018 race, placing fifth overall in 19:59. Chadwell had run 22:20 the previous year, coming in tenth overall.
A few steps behind Claussen, Melissa Luke of Tifton, Georgia finished second in the women's standings and fourth overall in 19:46. Alyssa Langston, a junior on the Wakulla High cross-country team, was the third woman and eighth overall in 21:36. Paula O'Neill of Tallahassee, Florida was the first woman master and fourth female finisher; O'Neill placed twelfth overall in 23:51.
Worm Grunting, also called worm fiddling, is a method of using vibrations to drive earthworms above ground, where they can be collected as fish bait. This is usually done by rubbing an object against a stake driven into the ground. It's a lot neater than digging up your yard with a shovel, and according to Charles Darwin it actually works. Darwin remains silent, though, on whether fiddling the right tune will also get the worms to crawl onto a fish hook for you, or even head down to the river and fetch you a mess of trout.
Sopchoppy citizens practice worm grunting in the nearby Apalachicola National Forest, and celebrate the practice with an annual Worm Gruntin' Festival. Naturally, a festival requires a footrace, thus the Worm Gruntin' 5K.
155 athletes finished the 2018 Worm Gruntin' Festival 5K. Miles and Minutes, LLC, of Tallahassee, Florida timed and scored the race.
Top Ten Men, 2018 Worm Gruntin' Festival 5K
- 19:03.86, Paul Hodge (M, 56)
- 19:33.81, Duane Evans (M, 50)
- 19:58.88, Josiah Chadwell (M, 12)
- 20:12.50, Bill Starling (M, 30)
- 20:23.03, Andrew Wilber (M, 28)
- 21:42.72, David Yorio (M, 41)
- 21:57.70, Chase Roberts (M, 15)
- 23:27.95, Spencer Claussen (M, 12)
- 24:03.46, Spencer Hingman (M, 14)
- 24:10.82, Raymond Powers (M, 26)
Top Ten Women, 2018 Worm Gruntin' Festival 5K
- 19:42.87, Rory Claussen (F, 12)
- 19:45.09, Melissa Luke (F, 36)
- 21:35.78, Alyssa Langston (F, 17)
- 23:50.79, Paula O'Neill (F, 56)
- 24:12.99, Caroline Cummings (F, 13)
- 26:00.43, Casey Tozzi (F, 37)
- 26:17.70, Morris Davis (F, 61)
- 26:44.23, Jessica Pichard (F, 26)
- 26:53.01, Catherine Jones (F, 58)
- 27:10.27, Debbie Peters (F, 57)
| Known winners of the Sopchoppy, Florida, Worm Grunting Festival 5K, 2003 - 2018 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Men | Women | Finishers |
| 12 April 2003 | |||
| 10 April 2004 | |||
| 9 April 2005 | 18:36, Mackey Tyndall | 20:57, Julie Clark | 59 |
| 8 April 2006 | Karl Hempel | Karmen Duchon | 55 |
| 14 April 2007 | 20:11, Brett Templeton | Sydney Nutting | 56 |
| 14 April 2012 | 17:27, Stanley Linton | 23:00, Julie Rose Travis | 111 |
| 13 April 2013 | 15:56, Stanley Linton | 21:46, Emily Smith | 139 |
| 12 April 2014 | 20:48, Travis Parks | 21:20, Kayla Webbe | 140 |
| 11 April 2015 | 17:45, Chase Savary | 22:05, Hannah Wheatcraft | 153 |
| 9 April 2016 | 17:22, Matthew Phillips | 20:22, Mariah Tinger | 154 |
| 8 April 2017 | 17:49, Stanley Linton | 21:18, Alyssa Terry | 146 |
| 14 April 2018 | 19:04, Paul Hodge | 19:43, Rory Claussen | 155 |
Links
- Complete results of the 2018 Worm Gruntin' Festival 5K
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vT4DUOpcv9j4H42GBdDSyjDxq_MOwyBjFySCuTebotKSQRZ2ha1of5nt-f13K2BW9vVcswbJVkgKb_J/pubhtml
- 2017 story, “Linton and Terry wriggle out victories at the Worm Gruntin' 5K”
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/04/worm-grunt-2017.html
- 2016 story, “Phillips and Tinger win the Worm Gruntin' 5K”
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/04/worm-grunt-2016.html
- 2015 story, “Savary and Wheatcraft take their turn with the worms”
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/04/worm-grunt-2015.html
- Sopchoppy Worm Gruntin' Festival
http://www.wormgruntinfestival.com/
- If there's a festival, there's a 5K, and the 5K is on the Trouble Afoot! race calendar
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
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