No luck needed for Chris Flores or Stacy Bush at the Lucky Leprechaun 5K

Chris Flores was in Fort Walton Beach, Florida on Saturday morning, 16 March 2024, for the thirteenth annual Lucky Leprechaun 5K. He won the race. Of course, he had also won the Lucky Leprechaun 5K in 2023. So aside from being a year older, what was different? Flores was still an alum of the Fort Walton Beach High cross-country team, as well as a former Valdosta State University Blazer. That hadn't changed. But Flores ran faster in 2024, his winning time of 16:07 eclipsing his 2023 mark of 16:12. On the women's side, master runner Stacy Bush took top honors with a 22:27, placing 21st overall.


Steven Cornelius was the first master runner in the race, taking second overall with a 17:05. Phillip Bauer, another master runner, went 17:15 for third.


Shiloh Robertson was runner-up in the women's division, placing 27th overall in 23:18. Twelve-year-old Brooklyn Naylor was third in the women's standings and 30th overall in 23:48. Naylor is a seventh-grader at Liza Jackson Prep, where she competes on the track team.


The Lucky Leprechaun started as an annual five-kilometer race in 2012. The program included a 10K from 2013 to 2023, reverting to a stand-alone 5K in 2024. 350 athletes finished the 2024 5K.


For the Northwest Florida Track Club and the Fort Walton Beach area, the grandfather of all five-kilometer races remains the annual Billy Bowlegs 5K, which goes back to 1975. The fiftieth annual Bowlegs will be contested on Saturday morning, 1 June 2024.


Top Ten Men, 2024 Lucky Leprechaun 5K

1. 16:07, Chris Flores (M, 21)
2. 17:05, Steven Cornelius (M, 43)
3. 17:15, Phillip Bauer (M, 42)
4. 18:03, James Buchanan (M, 42)
5. 18:04, Hunter Best (M, 29)
6. 18:39, Marcus Budig (M, 34)
7. 19:13, Andrew Westman (M, 42)
8. 20:14, Christopher Salgado (M, 38)
9. 20:28, Brian Looney (M, 32)
10. 20:34, Joshua Swanson (M, 31)

Top Ten Women, 2024 Lucky Leprechaun 5K

1. 22:27, Stacy Bush (F, 48)
2. 23:18, Shiloh Robertson (F, 28)
3. 23:48, Brooklyn Naylor (F, 12)
4. 24:26, Nichole Hannan (F, 46)
5. 24:45, Julie Harrington (F, 61)
6. 25:03, Cadence Garza (F, 13)
7. 25:10, Kaylene Giri (F, 43)
8. 25:40, Liz LaParch (F, 23)
9. 26:08, Patty Zamyslowski (F, 43)
10. 26:24, Susan McKenzie (F, 58)

Fort Walton Beach, Florida Lucky Leprechaun winners, 2012 - 2024
Date	Distance	Men	Women	Finishers
17 March 2012	5K	17:45, Anthony Stricker	19:24, Lisa Lewis
16 March 2013	10K	40:26, Bob Walker	40:12, Juia Tobias
	5K	16:37, Mason Powers	22:18, Cheryl Wolfe
15 March 2014	10K	38:32, Ashley Armstrong	37:21, Cheryl Held
	5K	16:41, Caden Ewing	22:53, Cheryl Veltman
14 March 2015	10K	42:32, Jason Strong	41:43, Elizabeth Heering	96
	5K	17:23, Jason Nodjomian	21:06, Nicole Escoffier	257
12 March 2016	10K	40:08, Douglas Bustillo	45:38, Paula Piazza	93
	5K	17:55, Austin Zivney	19:13, Line Lauritsen	345
16 March 2017	10K	37:59, Drew Bruner	42:02, Anna Morelock	82
	5K	16:20, Jake Fisk	19:35, Line Lauritsen	290
17 March 2018	10K	37:49, Jonathan Campbell	41:56, Karina Sterrett	130
	5K	17:52, Jacob Knox	18:54, Katja Blunden	457
16 March 2019	10K	35:29, Derek Sandblom	41:58, Gina Kline	142
	5K	16:20, Nathan Isaacs	19:47, Rachel Staples	356
14 March 2020	10K	34:10, Timothy Richard	47:21, Samantha Pinson	88
	5K	16:39, Steven Cornelius	20:07, Sarah Stolp	322
13 March 2021	10K	39:30, Marcus Budig	42:29, Gabrielle Ghiloni	116
	5K	15:25, Matthew Bevil	16:32, Margaret Connelly	315
12 March 2022	10K	35:50, Timothy Richard	43:26, Sarah Saris	79
	5K	18:16, Cesar Adams	22:19, Denise Arciniega	219
11 March 2023	10K	34:49, Nikolai Rhodes	44:36, April Classick	78
	5K	16:12, Chris Flores	17:52, Val Curtis	298
16 March 2024	5K	16:07, Chris Flores	22:27, Stacy Bush	350

Links

• Complete results of the 2024 Lucky Leprechaun 10K and 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQa4dgbBTiCMs3HJZGfZexmJFumwVXuN2miuhoKEKhDAUgjh9ejnQ6r3LuoDzYJEaUiuHGgXe4C9jqz/pubhtml
  
  
• 2019 story, “Derek Sandblom goes 35:29 for a new Lucky Leprechaun 10K record”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/03/fwb-lucky-leprechaun-2019.html
  
  
• 2018 story, “Campbell and Sterrett were first to the end of the rainbow at the Lucky Leprechaun 10K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/03/fwb-lucky-leprechaun-2018.html
  
  
• Northwest Florida Track Club
  http://nwftc.com
  
  
• Lucky Leprechaun on Facebook
  https://www.facebook.com/Lucky-Leprechaun-5k10k-RunWalk-314025588647516/
  
  
• Upcoming lucky races in the Tallahassee region on the Trouble Afoot! race calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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