Tuesday, January 16, 2024

The fastest 30K performances on the Old Centerville Road course, 2006 - 2024

The annual Gulf Winds Track Club 30K was first contested in 1978. Since that inaugural event in the Apalachicola National Forest, the race has been on Natural Bridge Road, in the Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge, on Old Plank Road, and at its current home on Old Centerville Road. When race directors Jackie and Jerry McDaniel moved the race to Old Centerville Road in 2006, they designed an out-and-back course that started at Bradley's Pond, headed north on Old Centerville Road just over six miles to Sunny Hill Road, and then west for a bit more than three miles on Sunny Hill Road to a turnaround. Bill McGuire measured the course for USATF certification (FL06013DL) and renewed the certification (FL16079TY) ten years later. As of the 2024 race, nineteen runnings of the GWTC 30K have been on the same USATF-certified route.

Chris Haynes
Chris Haynes

Which is not to say that the course is the same from year to year. Certainly, it's the same length. But much of Old Centerville Road and Sunny Hill Road are unpaved, and the clay can be quite different depending on the conditions. Some years it's cold, the roads are frozen hard. Other years the weather was rainy, and most of the way was muddy. Occasionally, Leon County decides to grade the roads or spread gravel, neither of which is a decision that runners celebrate. But often the roads are simply perfect--a natural surface that athletes dream of racing on.


Even though the conditions are variable, it's still interesting to compare nineteen years of performances on the same course. On the men's side, Chris Haynes' time stands as the fastest--a 1:43:01 run on a cold, dry day in 2018. Stan Linton has the second best mark, a 1:46:13 run on muddy road in 2017. The fastest master runner during the nineteen years was Charlie Johnson, who ran 1:57:07 at age 42 in 2022.

Ann Centner
Ann Centner

Ann Centner has the women's record, her 1:59:49 which was good for the overall win in 2024. In that same race, Katie Sherron finished runner-up in 2:02:13, the best time on the course by a woman master. Sherron also has eight women's titles in the GWTC 30K, more than any other athlete.


For your perusal, here are the top 25 performances by men and by women on the Centerville Road 30K course. The twentieth race on the course is coming up in January 2025; if you want to make the list, plan your training accordingly.


Top 25 Men's Times, Gulf Winds Track Club 30K
Centerville Road Course, 2006-2024
TimeAthleteYear
1:43:01Christopher Haynes2018
1:46:13Stan Linton2017
1:46:53Austin Whitelaw2019
1:47:51Charlie Johnson2018
1:48:22Stanley Linton2013
1:51:30Charlie Johnson2012
1:51:48Vince Molosky2011
1:53:03Chris O'Kelley2022
1:53:19Nate Kaiser2015
1:54:06Vince Molosky2009
1:54:12Charlie Johnson2016
1:54:25John Robida2009
1:54:31Vince Molosky2012
1:54:48Kevin Sullivan2013
1:55:02Roger Schmidt2016
1:55:18Charlie Johnson2019
1:56:14Vince Molosky2010
1:56:45Chris O'Kelley2020
1:56:51Patrick Whitehead2015
1:57:07Charlie Johnson2022
1:57:29Vince Molosky2014
1:57:42Chris O'Kelley2018
1:58:11Jay Wallace2009
1:58:32Vince Molosky2013
1:58:44Justin Dickieson2011
Top 25 Women's Times, Gulf Winds Track Club 30K
Centerville Road Course, 2006-2024
TimeAthleteYear
1:59:49Ann Centner2024
2:02:13Katie Sherron2024
2:04:21Sheryl Rosen2007
2:05:54Katie Sherron2022
2:06:08Amy Hines2022
2:09:27Stephanie Liles2006
2:10:13Katie Sherron2018
2:11:40Jane Johnson2006
2:11:41Sheryl Rosen2009
2:12:59Jane Johnson2007
2:13:40Katie Sherron2021
2:13:49Allison Eagen2006
2:14:02Sheryl Rosen2018
2:14:22Sheryl Rosen2010
2:15:31Katie Sherron2017
2:16:08Jane Johnson2009
2:16:21Katie Sherron2016
2:16:42Katie Sherron2013
2:17:15Heather Griffis2011
2:17:20Sheryl Rosen2022
2:17:24Sheryl Rosen2008
2:17:38Katie Sherron2012
2:18:01Jane Johnson2012
2:19:16Jane Johnson2008
2:19:16Sarah Batt2013

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Posted by Herb Wills at 10:32 PM
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