John Eiland and CJ Parrish were first at the Last Gasp

Dothan, Alabama's Westgate Park Trail is a joy to run on. A loop nearly three-and-a-half miles long, the trail gives runners a break from pavement and from dodging vehicles. If there is anything wrong with the trail, it's that the red clay portions of the path don't hold up well during wet weather. After a heavy rain, those parts of the trail become an impassable morass.


During the December of 2018, it was unseasonably wet in Dothan. There was enough rain that the twentieth annual Last Gasp 5K Trail Run in Westgate Park had to be rescheduled. Delayed for a week, what was traditionally the last race of the year became the first race of 2019. First or last, the athletes were gasping out the miles in Westgate Park on Saturday morning, 5 January 2019.


Dothan master runner John Eiland, Jr., won the 3.1-mile cross-country race by nearly 200 meters, posting a winning time of 20:32. Finishing runner-up to Eiland was the 2017 Last Gasp 5K champion, John Strycker. A master runner from Greenville, Alabama, Strycker finished the race in 21:14. Taylor, Alabama master runner Dale Thomas took third in 22:01.


Dothan's CJ Parrish took the women's title, placing eighth overall in 26:08. Another Dothan athlete, Jessica Jetton, was the second woman and thirteenth overall in 26:51. Seven-year-old Ally Parrish of Dothan placed third in the women's standings and eighteenth overall in 28:53. Dothan's Mary Willis was the first woman master and fifth female finisher, 22nd overall in 34:53.


39 athletes finished the Dothan Runners' twentieth annual Last Gasp 5K Trail Race.


Top Ten Men, Dothan Runners' 2019 Last Gasp 5K Trail Race

1. 20:32, John Eiland, Jr. (M, 42) Dothan, AL
2. 21:14, John Strycker (M, 52) Greenville, AL
3. 22:01, Dale Thomas (M, 55) Taylor, AL
4. 22:39, Jimmy Russell (M, 55) Chancellor, AL
5. 23:21, Stephen Harris (M, 35) Dothan, AL
6. 23:28, Jay Wrenn (M, 54) Dothan, AL
7. 25:06, Alex Hagan (M, 30) Dothan, AL
8. 26:22, Mark Sheehan (M, 61) Dothan, AL
9. 26:25, Dale Nash (M, 68) Dothan, AL
10. 26:26, David Andrews (M, 64) Dothan, AL

Top Ten Women, Dothan Runners' 2019 Last Gasp 5K Trail Race

1. 26:08, CJ Parrish (F, 38) Dothan, AL
2. 26:51, Jessica Jetton (F, 32) Dothan, AL
3. 28:53, Ally Parrish (F, 7) Dothan, AL
4. 29:46, Stephanie Jetton (F, 30) Skipperville, AL
5. 34:53, Mary Willis (F, 60) Dothan, AL
6. 36:16, Rene Jordan (F, 53) Bascom, FL
7. 38:28, Carla Barnett (F, 56) Dothan, AL
8. 38:30, Jill Wofsey (F, 55) Alford, FL
9. 38:55, Geraldine Jagel (F, 49) Hartford, AL
10. 41:13, Julia Moss (F, 34) Webb, AL

Dothan, Alabama, Last Gasp 5K Trail Race winners, 1999 - 2019
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
18 December 1999	16:23, Matt Tillman	19:57, Jennifer Hanley	75
23 December 2000	18:16, Matt Parker	24:56, Sherry Creel	69
22 December 2001	19:55, Brian Hickey	22:21, Piper Stockman	69
21 December 2002	19:23, Brian Hickey	24:15, Chris Fox	75
20 December 2003	18:32, Brian Hickey	23:53, Piper Stockman	68
18 December 2004	19:40, Brian Hickey	24:13, Nancy Hein	51
17 December 2005	19:21, Gabe Mitchell	23:10, Lou Ellen Jayroe	42
23 December 2006	17:35, Aubrey Darnell	22:23, Sara Jackson	92
22 December 2007	18:08, Nick Vance	23:56, Lou Ellen Jayroe	86
27 December 2008	20:17, Terrion Williams	23:59, Daphne Cook	85
26 December 2009	18:07, Austin Fox	25:29, Cameron Irwin	63
11 December 2010	20:28, Michael Brennan	24:51, Julie Harris	59
31 December 2011	17:40, Stephen Robbins	20:26, Dana Cody	145
29 December 2012	17:59, Sean Kent	22:17, Jeanne Davis	65
28 December 2013	16:56, Kyle Harris	23:01, Missy Sexton	68
27 December 2014	17:33, Austin Fox	21:41, Kayla Fox	62
26 December 2015	17:19, Austin Fox	21:45, Kayla Dauphin (nee Fox)	67
31 December 2016	17:20, William Pearson	24:08, Natalie Warner	90
30 December 2017	20:47, John Strycker	32:11, Stephanie Jetton	42
5 January 2019	20:32, John Eiland, Jr.	26:08, CJ Parrish	39

Links

• Complete results of Dothan's 2019 Last Gasp 5K Trail Race
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTa2XB4ILp21-ULW59Q1TQdeIz1-nxfQ-iiexc_lHYwnS_8R1-6krmWsru_Pe5ipo3Zel4AUvw4nrA5/pubhtml
  
  
• 2017 story, “Strycker and Jetton close the curtain on 2017 at Dothan's Last Gasp”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/12/last-gasp-2017.html
  
  
• 2016 story, “Pearson and Warner were fast at the Last Gasp”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/12/6.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “Fox and Dauphin take one more Last Gasp”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/12/last-gasp-2015.html
  
  
• 2014 story, “Fox & Fox win Dothan's 2014 running finale”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/12/last-gasp-2014.html
  
  
• 2012 story, “Kent and Davis are good to the Last Gasp”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/12/last-gasp-2012.html
  
  
• 2011 story, “Robbins and Cody end 2011 with wins at Dothan's Last Gasp 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/01/last-gasp-2011.html
  
  
• 2010 story, “Brennan and Harris find victory at the end of the trail in Dothan”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/12/last-gasp-2010.html
  
  
• Upcoming races in Dothan and other cities in the Trouble Afoot! region
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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