Ben Wise and Elyse Gallegos put in some fast Miles For Meridian

I'm willing to argue that the Tioga Town Center, west of Gainesville, Florida, should be called the Tioga Running Center. Every time I look at the road-racing schedule for the Gainesville area, it seems like there is at least one more event starting there. For instance, there was the inaugural Miles For Meridian 5K, with a start and finish at the Tioga Town Center on Saturday morning, 16 March 2019. Gainesville master runner Ben Wise won that 3.1-mile race by over 200 meters, running 17:58. Elyse Gallegos, a Gainesville Ironman triathlete, was the first woman in the race, placing fifth overall in 21:55.


Geir Stormark was the second runner to finish the winding course through the suburban streets of Tioga, running 18:47. Gainesville's Tim Kwiatkowski was third in 21:32, just ahead of the 21:38 posted by fourth-place Landon Turley, an eleven-year-old athlete from Newberry, Florida.


Sandy Flory of Gainesville was the first woman master and second female finisher, seventh overall in 23:17. Gainesville athlete Mackenzie Caquatto took third in the women's standings and twelfth overall in 24:13.


243 athletes finished the inaugural Miles For Meridian 5K. Proceeds of the event went to benefit Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, Inc. Start 2 Finish Race Management chip-timed the 5K.


Top Ten Men, 2019 Miles For Meridian 5K

1. 17:58, Ben Wise (M, 40) Gainesville, FL
2. 18:47, Geir Stormark (M, 34)
3. 21:32, Tim Kwiatkowski (M, 28) Gainesville, FL
4. 21:38, Landon Turley (M, 11) Newberry, FL
5. 22:50, Walker Emrick (M, 21) Cedar Key, FL
6. 23:27, Isaac Simmons (M, 38) Gainesville, FL
7. 23:42, Rumzie Fayad (M, 40) Gainesville, FL
8. 23:51, Devin Stottlemyre (M, 18) High Springs, FL
9. 24:01, Charles Turley (M, 40) Newberry, FL
10. 25:23, Joshua Brown (M, 30) Gainesville, FL

Top Ten Women, 2019 Miles For Meridian 5K

1. 21:55, Elyse Gallegos (F, 31)
2. 23:17, Sandy Flory (F, 42) Gainesville, FL
3. 24:13, Mackenzie Caquatto (F, 26) Gainesville, FL
4. 25:53, Kelly Chesser (F, 36) Fort White, FL
5. 26:15, Tina Robinson (F, 46) Williston, FL
6. 26:15, Christin Robinson (F, 12) Williston, FL
7. 27:14, Susan Blake (F, 48) Alachua, FL
8. 27:25, Misty Harris (F, 45) Gainesville, FL
9. 27:26, Cailin Lewis (F, 28) Gainesville, FL
10. 27:27, Mallory Rubek (F, 24) Gainesville, FL

Links

• Complete results of the 2019 Miles For Meridian 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSaPepiviLG88Q9FIHvJafqfle0RU0q-pgBV8JMUPxHFPQunqMOnp8h11eq9fBnspkAyMjLZptopuMs/pubhtml
  
  
• Meridian Behavioral Healthcare's photos of the 2019 Miles For Meridian 5K
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10156576895898005&type=1&l=47715a53a2
  
  
• Course map of the 2019 Miles For Meridian 5K
  https://app.box.com/s/x3pz3157jaklamw9zz6cxwg1incmkj8a
  
  
• Upcoming races in Tioga and other villages in the Tallahassee region on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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