Ricardo Estremera crushes a 4:02.07 mile at the Rex

People were still running the fourth annual Rex Cleveland Road Mile, but the winner, Ricardo Estremera, was already halfway back to the starting line.


"4:02!" said Estremera. "That was fun!"


Indeed, Estremera had run 4:02.07 on that Sunday afternoon, 3 November 2019, setting a new record for the Rex. The old record? A 4:09.14 run by Estremera in 2016 at the first Rex. You might attribute the fast time to the downhill course--the Rex starts at some of the highest ground in Tallahassee, Florida, the heights near the Capital City Country Club, then plunges downward to finish on FAMU Way, where the water of the Saint Augustine Branch lurks in a box culvert, just under the roadway. Just over halfway through that descent, the runners cross South Monroe Street on the Capital Cascades Bridge.

Ricardo Estremera

The mile started at 4:30 PM. Estremera was in the lead, the escort bicyclists struggling to stay ahead of him.


"My watch stopped working, so I was just going by how I felt," said Estremera.


He must have felt pretty good. Bill McGuire clocked Estremera's splits at 59, 1:59, 3:02, and 4:02--not as fast a start as in 2016, but a much better finish.


"I felt a lot stronger," said Estremera. "It would have been nice to have someone close, especially with 300 meters to go. That could have pushed us under 4:00."

George Gwynn and Patrick Koon

No one was close at the 2019 Rex; Estremera was almost 300 meters ahead of the next runners. Behind him, Patrick Koon and George Gwynn were racing for second. Koon broke away at the bridge, then raced home second in 4:53.87. Gwynn was third in 4:59.47. Paul Guyas was the first master runner in the race, placing sixth overall in 5:18.40.


Estremera ran the race alone, but the women's competition was closer, with Cecilia Bouaichi and Clifton Lewis vying for the top spot.


"Clifton was right behind me the whole time," said Bouaichi. "Near the end she was right next to me so I definitely picked it up the last tenth of a mile."

Cecilia Bouaichi and Clifton Lewis

That final surge was enough to give Bouaichi first in the women's standings. She was tenth overall in 5:37.22, just off the women's record of 5:34.19, run by Amy Hines in the 2016 Rex. Lewis, a middle school cross-country runner, was the second female finisher and twelfth overall in 5:40.47. Cecilia Veliz, another middle school harrier, was the third woman and fourteenth overall in 6:07.87. Angela Dempsey was the first woman master and fourth female finisher, sixteenth overall in 6:22.34.

Cecilia Veliz

Track has been Estremera's forte, where he has specialized in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and posted a best of 3:45 in the 1500. He's beginning to shift to the roads now, and four weeks before the Rex he ran a 1:07:44 at the 30A Half Marathon. His next race will be back in Tallahassee.


"Turkey Trot!" he said. "I really want to get that record."


Estremera has won the 2018 Tallahassee Turkey Trot 5K in 14:53, missing the record of 14:46 set by Matt Mizereck in 2010. Record or no, win or lose, presumably that will be fun, too.


93 athletes finished the 2019 Rex Cleveland Road Mile. Gulf Winds Track Club chip-timed the race.


Top Ten Men, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2019 Rex Cleveland Road Mile

1. 4:02.07, Ricardo Estremera (M, 33)
2. 4:53.87, Patrick Koon (M, 14)
3. 4:59.47, George Gwynn (M, 22)
4. 5:07.42, Jackson Rowe (M, 13)
5. 5:10.88, Tristan La Nasa (M, 26)
6. 5:18.40, Paul Guyas (M, 42)
7. 5:22.43, Randy Manausa (M, 11)
8. 5:27.31, John Deloach (M, 22)
9. 5:35.25, Jonathan Kiros (M, 11)
10. 5:38.47, Asa Swope (M, 12)

Top Ten Women, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2019 Rex Cleveland Road Mile

1. 5:37.22, Cecilia Bouaichi (F, 24)
2. 5:40.47, Clifton Lewis (F, 11)
3. 6:07.87, Cecilia Veliz (F, 12)
4. 6:22.34, Angela Dempsey (F, 51)
5. 6:39.72, Kennedy Bell (F, 11)
6. 7:00.65, Charlotte Sikes (F, 8)
7. 7:03.34, Kaari Guyas (F, 12)
8. 7:03.97, Sade Guyas (F, 11)
9. 7:04.85, Vicky Droze (F, 44)
10. 7:24.22, Kim Sims (F, 40)

Winners of Gulf Winds Track Club's Rex Cleveland Road Mile, 2016 - 2019
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
2 November 2016	4:09.14, Ricardo Estremera	5:34.19, Amy Hines	174
5 November 2017	4:25, Charlie Johnson	5:53, Jillian Heddaeus	163
4 November 2018	4:47.38, Michael Niezgoda	5:53.15, Stella Lewis	76
3 November 2019	4:02.07, Ricardo Estremera	5:37.22, Cecilia Bouaichi	93

Links

• Complete results of Gulf Winds Track Club's 2019 Rex Cleveland Road Mile
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vS1cW0bsBbFtdL9srvrYWV3qVYPITz-9PcQvU4kUtKqvYJNL0tmwDJvoJ-Bu0rbeEw37aGv924UVe6V/pubhtml
  
  
• More Trouble Afoot! photos of Gulf Winds Track Club's 2019 Rex Cleveland Road Mile
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10114542340664583
  
  
• 2018 story, “Michael Niezgoda and Stella Lewis run down wins at the Rex Cleveland Downhill Mile”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/11/cleveland-mile-2018.html
  
  
• 2017 story, “Johnson and Heddaeus take the plunge at the Rex Cleveland Downhill Mile”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/11/cleveland-mile-2017.html
  
  
• 2016 story, “Presto! Estremera and Hines prevail at the Magic Mile”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/11/cleveland-mile-2016.html
  
  
• Course map of Gulf Winds Track Club's 2019 Cleveland Magic Mile
  https://app.box.com/s/xcz07n0orcocpfucmd578spm9r1cbxpc
  
  
• Upcoming miles and marathons, magical and mundane, on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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