Matt Blunden and Katja Blunden stage a Blunden sweep of Gate-To-Gate

Was it the 33rd annual Gate-to-Gate Road Race? Or the 34th?


The 33rd annual Gate-to-Gate was scheduled for 28 May 2018, Memorial Day. But Eglin Air Force Base canceled the race because of Tropical Storm Alberto. Eglin brought the event back on the next Memorial Day, 27 May 2019, billing it as the 34th annual race even though there had never been a 33rd.


The count may be in doubt, but it is certain that there was a 2019 race at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida on that Monday morning. It's also certain that Matt Blunden and Katja Blunden were the overall male and overall female winners of the 4.4-mile run, Matt Blunden placing first in 23:29 and master runner Katja Blunden tenth in 27:27.


Matt Blunden crossed the finish line almost 200 meters ahead of the runner-up, West Florida University cross-country coach Caleb Carmichael. Also a runner-up in the 2013 Gate-to-Gate, Carmichael ran 24:06. Nathan Isaacs of Destin, Florida took third in 24:50.


Renee Cox, an alum of the West Florida cross-country squad, placed second in the women's standings, finishing twelfth overall in 28:19. A veteran of the Gate-to-Gate, Cox had won the women's title in 2015 and 2016. 28:19 was just one second off her best time at Gate-to-Gate, but it wasn't fast enough to catch Katja Blunden. Destin's Rachel Staples was the third female finisher and fourteenth overall in 28:39.


With the first man and the first woman in the race on their squad, Run Destin dominated the team competition. Matt Blunden (1st, 23:29), Nathan Isaacs (3rd, 24:50), Katja Blunden (10th, 27:27), and Derek Sandblom (, 27:57) combined for a total time of 1:43:43, averaging 25:56 per athlete and taking the 2019 team title. Monday Night Track Pensacola took second in the field of fourteen teams, with Caleb Carmichael (2nd, 24:06), Timothy Dodd (8th, 26:25), Renee Cox (12th, 28:19, and eleven-year-old Elyse Carmichael (29th, 30:57) totalling 1:49:37 for an average time of 27:25.


603 athletes finished the Eglin Air Force Base's 2019 Gate-to-Gate 4.4-Mile Road Race. Results Event Timing, LLC, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida chip-timed the race.


Top Ten Men, 2019 Eglin AFB Gate-to-Gate 4.4-Mile Run

1. 23:29, Matthew Blunden (M, 39) Destin, FL
2. 24:06, Caleb Carmichael (M, 34) Pensacola, FL
3. 24:50, Nathan Isaacs (M, 25) Destin, FL
4. 25:02, Zachary Bryan (M)
5. 25:45, Phil Celona (M, 27) Fort Walton Beach, FL
6. 26:10, Dhani-Sinaan Harris (M, 22) Hurlburt Field, FL
7. 26:15, AJ Knowles (M, 21) Papillion, NE
8. 26:15, Timothy Dodd (M, 29) Pensacola, FL
9. 26:31, Earl Mullen (M, 31) Eglin AFB, FL
10. 27:57, Derek Sandblom (M, 27) Destin, FL

Top Ten Women, 2019 Eglin AFB Gate-to-Gate 4.4-Mile Run

1. 27:27, Katja Blunden (F, 40) Destin, FL
2. 28:19, Renee Cox (F, 31) Pensacola, FL
3. 28:39, Rachel Staples (F, 33) Destin, FL
4. 29:22, Sherry Borsos (F, 28) Shalimar, FL
5. 29:33, Karina Allum (F, 30) Destin, FL
6. 29:52, Sophie Kellogg (F, 12) Destin, FL
7. 30:57, Elyse Carmichael (F, 11) Pensacola, FL
8. 30:59, Brigid Gutierrez (F, 26) Niceville, FL
9. 32:26, Karen Geletko (F)
10. 33:15, Natalie Warner (F, 15) Enterprise, AL

Eglin AFB Gate-to-Gate 4.4-Mile Memorial Day Race Winners, 1986 - 2019
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
26 May 1986	21:08, Gary Droze		513
25 May 1987
30 May 1988
29 May 1989
28 May 1990
27 May 1991
25 May 1992	21:34, Paul Waldron
31 May 1993	21:56, Matthew Dobson	22:33, Monica O'Reilly
30 May 1994	22:31, Neil Horsefield	27:29, Stacey Dolly-Barreto
29 May 1995	22:34, Matthew Dobson	26:31, Jill Powless
27 May 1996
26 May 1997	22:08, Gary Droze	24:51, Sarah Kramer
25 May 1998	22:49, Matt Dobson	25:46, Sarah Docter-Williams	1028
31 May 1999	21:25, Rudolf Jun	25:49, Sarah Docter-Williams	1054
29 May 2000	21:20, Malcolm Campbell	25:02, Anna Pichrtova	1270
28 May 2001	20:56, Michael Green	26:20, Kelly Wilde	1517
27 May 2002	22:34, Paul Spangler	26:12, Jacqueline Concaugh	1133
26 May 2003	21:21, Michael Green	24:35, Jenny Ledford	1117
31 May 2004	22:14, Everett Whiteside	25:23, Ann McGranahan	1075
30 May 2005	21:54, Joey Zins	23:56, Victoria Gill	1188
29 May 2006	23:03, Travis Deutman	25:17, Victoria Gill	1173
28 May 2007	22:28, Joey Zins	27:27, Kelly Wild	1373
26 May 2008	22:27, Joey Zins	26:42, Anna Hallex	1503
25 May 2009	23:31, Matthew Martin	27:24, Ilea Eskildsen	1761
31 May 2010	22:14, Ben Payne	26:08, Ilea Eskildsen	1807
30 May 2011	24:21, Matt Dobson	25:18, Pasca Cheruiyot	1681
28 May 2012	22:06, Ben Payne	26:19, Sheryl Rosen	1637
27 May 2013	23:01, Stanley Linton	26:45, Sheryl Rosen	1324
24 May 2014	24:39, Vince Molosky	27:25, Liane Falk	1047
23 May 2015	25:03, Zach DeVeau	29:34, Renee Cox	792
28 May 2016	23:19, Stan Linton	28:22, Renee Cox	591
27 May 2017	24:39, Vince Molosky	27:30, Kat Sack	678
28 May 2018	Canceled due to Tropical Storm Alberto
27 May 2019	23:29, Matthew Blunden	27:27, Katja Blunden	603
I'd like to include the missing winners for 1986 to 1996. Anyone have those results?

Links

• Complete results of the 2019 Eglin AFB Gate-to-Gate Run
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRbv0UdSIj51r81P8fe0d0aWqtJddBvLhuYAYycdaUwxFHbnkkuQ9QpOZZwXkuSMR6rM5wgxS_7dXaW/pubhtml
  
  
• Team results of the 2019 Eglin AFB Gate-to-Gate run at Results Event Timing
  http://eventtiming.net/races/gate194.htm
  
  
• 2017 story, “Led by Molosky and Sack, Gulf Winds TC wins just about everything at Gate-to-Gate”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/05/gate2gate-2017.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “DeVeau and Cox bring honors from Eglin to Tallahassee at Gate to Gate”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/05/gate2gate-2015.html
  
  
• 2014 story, “Molosky and Falk score victories in their return to Gate-to-Gate”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/05/gate2gate-2014.html
  
  
• 2013 story, “Linton and Rosen fly at Gate-to-Gate”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/05/gate2gate-2013.html
  
  
• 2011 story, “Dobson and Cheruiyot lead GWTC to team title repeat at Gate-to-Gate”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/05/gate2gate-2011.html
  
  
• 2010 story, "Gulf Winds team triumphs at 25th annual Gate-to-Gate Run"
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/05/gate-to-gate-teams.html
  
  
• USATF Course Certification Map #FL16037EBM for the 2017 Gate-to-Gate 4.4-Mile Road Race
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=FL16037EBM
  
  
• The Gate-to-Gate isn't in the Tallahassee region, but these upcoming races are:
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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