Andy Merrill and Harlie Bassitt were tops at the Tortoise

The fourteenth annual Race The Tortoise 5K started in O'Leno State Park on Saturday morning, 9 March 2024, just ahead of the storm sweeping east across North Florida. The stormfront still hadn't arrived when Lake Butler's Andy Merrill crossed the finish line in a wiining 16:47, more than a hundred meters ahead of the next runner. Gainesville marathoner Harlie Bassitt was the first woman in the 5K, coming in sixth overall in 19:01.


David Yinh, a Palm Beach Gardens master runner, placed runner-up to Merrill with a 17:08. Griffin East, an alum of the Canterbury High cross-country team, took third in 17:20.


Lisa Johnson of Gainesville was the first woman master and second female finisher, eleventh overall in 20:22. It was Johnson's third year in a row as the Tortoise 5K's top woman master; she had also been the first overall woman in the 2021 race. Gainesville's Natalie Wright was the third woman and nineteenth overall in 22:38.


193 athletes finished the 2024 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 2024 race was provided by Endurance Sports Timing.


Top Ten Men, 2024 Race The Tortoise 5K

1. 16:46.59, Andy Merrill (M, 30) Lake Butler, FL
2. 17:07.30, Daniel Yinh (M, 43) Palm Beach Gardens, FL
3. 17:19.57, Griffin East (M, 23) Gainesville, FL
4. 18:40.82, Robert Grote (M, 29)
5. 18:55.50, Joseph Angelillo (M, 26)
6. 19:09.68, Javier Prietu (M, 49) FL
7. 19:13.14, Justin Holstein (M, 39) Jacksonville, FL
8. 19:30.16, Robert Walkiewicz (M, 35) Gainesville, FL
9. 20:19.67, Justin Maynard (M, 40) Gainesville, FL
10. 20:21.59, Dashawn Davis-Anderson (M, 25) Gainesville, FL

Top Ten Women, 2024 Race The Tortoise 5K

1. 19:00.16, Harlie Bassitt (F, 25) Gainesville, FL
2. 20:21.29, Lisa Johnson (F, 42) Gainesville, FL
3. 22:37.03, Natalie Wright (F, 38) Gainesville, FL
4. 23:34.84, Lauren Porter (F, 31) Gainesville, FL
5. 24:53.09, Leanne Harrison Forbes (F, 51) ,
6. 25:22.45, Mary Drummond (F, 46) Gainesville, FL
7. 26:30.19, Sally Chappell (F, 61) Ocala, FL
8. 27:15.43, Elisabeth Diamond (F, 64) Bell, FL
9. 28:07.98, Olena Carey (F, 60)
10. 28:49.64, Katy Chapman (F, 41) Gainesville, FL

Race The Tortoise 5K winners, 2009 - 2024
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
9 March 2024	16:47, Andy Merrill	19:01, Harlie Bassitt	193
There was no Race The Tortoise 5K in 2017 or 2021.

Links

• Complete results of the 2024 Race The Tortoise 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQFevbXLNV6Wj5HVOd9F7sgi4VxPjtNfsH855cGIL9EZ7TYrxhQt0uU0kcDaJKJIaBIucH5Qp5oi6Dz/pubhtml
  
  
• 2023 story, “Jake Baldauf and Grace Kelly take the Tortoise in O'Leno”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2023/06/tortoise-2023.html
  
  
• 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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