Jake Baldauf and Grace Kelly take the Tortoise in O'Leno

On 3 June 2023 it had been five years since anyone had broken 17:00 at the annual Race The Tortoise 5K. In fact, it had been five years and three months, because for the thirteenth annual 5K, the event went from a March race to a June race. The change in months may have done the trick, because on that Saturday morning in June, Winter Garden, Florida athlete Jake Baldauf went 16:43 for the win. Grace Kelly of Gainesville, Florida was the first woman in the race, running 19:31 on the course through High Springs, Florida's O'Leno State Park and placing seventh overall.


Baldauf's 16:43 put him across the finish line with a 160-meter lead. An alum of the West Orange High cross-country team, Baldauf has more recently been running for Team Florida Track Club Elite while studying at the University of Florida in Gainesville.


Gainesville's Ivan Ruchkin was runner-up in the 5K with a 17:16. At 17:32, Brian Frias of Summerfield, Florida took third. Lake City, Florida athlete Peter Laughlin was the first master runner in the race, placing fifth overall in 19:12.


Lisa Johnson of Gainesville, the 2022 Run For The Tortoise women's champ, was the first woman master in the 2023 race, placing second in the women's standings and eighth overall in 19:54. Ocala, Florida master runner Emma Luetgert was the third woman and thirteenth overall in 20:47.


193 athletes finished the 2023 Race The Tortoise 5K. The event is a fundraiser for the Friends of O'Leno State Park, who use the proceeds to help provide for the creatures in the park's Nature Center and to help expand the center's exhibits. Timing for the 2023 race was provided by Second Wind Race Timing.


Top Ten Men, 2023 Race The Tortoise 5K

1. 16:43, Jake Baldauf (M, 20) Winter Garden, FL
2. 17:16, Ivan Ruchkin (M, 33) Gainesville, FL
3. 17:32, Brian Frias (M, 19) Summerfield, FL
4. 18:49, Robert Walkiewicz (M, 34) Gainesville, FL
5. 19:12, Peter Laughlin (M, 42) Lake City, FL
6. 19:20, Jason Reneau (M, 47) Madison, AL
7. 20:00, Justin Maynard (M, 40) Gainesville, FL
8. 20:09, Jeff Furst (M, 44) Gainesville, FL
9. 20:15, Mikell Squires (M, 42) Gainesville, FL
10. 20:42, Shane Fitzpatrick (M, 60) Macclenny, FL

Top Ten Women, 2023 Race The Tortoise 5K

1. 19:31, Grace Kelly (F, 26) Gainesville, FL
2. 19:54, Lisa Johnson (F, 41) Gainesville, FL
3. 20:47, Emma Luetgert (F, 44) Ocala, FL
4. 20:55, Ami Mcclay (F, 37) Gainesville, FL
5. 21:30, Emma Rudman (F, 25) Fort Walton Beach, FL
6. 21:37, Patricia Beaty (F, 38) Marietta, GA
7. 21:59, Abby Uehling (F, 27) Glenside, PA
8. 22:39, Leanne Harrison-Forbes (F, 50) Gainesville, FL
9. 24:18, Gretchen Loyd (F, 49) Gainesville, FL
10. 24:43, Ryann Gavin (F, 30) Gainesville, FL

Race The Tortoise 5K winners, 2009 - 2023
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
7 March 2009	18:22.9, David Robison	20:12.6, Michelle McCollum	109
13 March 2010	16:27.5, Alex Phipps	18:13.0, Elizabeth Duarte	114
5 March 2011	19:21.6, Eric Drummond	19:33.0, Tatiana Titova	218
3 March 2012	16:09.8, Vladimir Tontchinski	18:05.5, Averkova Anzhelika	268
2 March 2013	16:39.7, Dan Clark	20:37.4, Lyubov Denisova	225
1 March 2014	16:52.8, Dan Clark	19:13.4, Ani Veltcheva	247
7 March 2015	18:15.6, Anton Matchev	17:57.7, Lyubov Denisova	165
5 March 2016	16:32, Bobby Hensley	18:16, Ani Veltcheva	177
3 March 2018	15:28, Enoch Nadler	17:34, Ani Veltcheva	215
2 March 2019	17:03, Hutson Rapier	19:35, Courtney Rouse	239
7 March 2020	17:08, Ravi Kumar	19:51, Lara Drondoski	219
5 March 2022	17:30, Michael Rosato	20:00, Lisa Johnson	203
3 June 2023	16:43, Jake Baldauf	19:31, Grace Kelly	193
There was no Race The Tortoise 5K in 2017 or 2021.

Links

• Complete results of the 2023 Race The Tortoise 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSGRopBMlSq3HLLwhbp11l4pqxeShAzfm38mhH8ccDquYwATBELCN17caB5vIIg8G3ZWGg16VkmCqRF/pubhtml
  
  
• 2022 story, “Michael Rosato and Lisa Johnson make it a Gainesville sweep of the Race The Tortoise 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2022/03/tortoise-2022.html
  
  
• 2020 story, “Neither Ravi Kumar nor Lara Drondoski ran like a tortoise at the Race The Tortoise 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2020/03/tortoise-2020.html
  
  
• 2019 story, “Hutson Rapier and Courtney Rouse weren't just terrapin at the Race The Tortoise 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/03/tortoise-2019.html
  
  
• 2018 story, “Nadler burns a 15:28 and Veltcheva a 17:34 for new records at the Race The Tortoise 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/03/tortoise-2018.html
  
  
• 2016 story, “Hensley and Veltcheva victorious at Race The Tortoise”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/03/tortoise-2016.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “Denisova and Matchev are steady but not slow at Race The Tortoise”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/03/tortoise-2014.html
  
  
• 2014 story, “Clark and Veltcheva are more hare than tortoise at O'Leno 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/03/tortoise-2014.html
  
  
• O'Leno State Park
  https://www.floridastateparks.org/oleno/
  
  
• The Friends of O'Leno
  https://friendsofoleno.org/
  
  
• Race The Tortoise 5K course certification map USATF #FL09011EBM
  https://www.certifiedroadraces.com/certificate/?type=l&id=FL09011EBM
  
  
• Any reptile race within 100 miles of Tallahassee will be here
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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