Elliot Butler and Eden Keene hurtle through the Half-Shell Hustle

Finishing almost 300 meters ahead of the next athlete, Elliot Butler won the eleventh annual Half-Shell Hustle 5K in Apalachicola, Florida on Saturday morning, 18 January 2025. Master runner Eden Keene was the first woman in the race, placing eighth overall and successfully defending her 2024 title with a 23:56.


A Cairo, Georgia athlete, Elliot Butler's winning time of 17:22 was the second fastest mark ever recorded at the Half-Shell Hustle. Only Bryce Cole has run faster at the Apalachicola race, going 17:14 in 2016. Behind Butler, Dries Williams took second in 18:25. Williams is a junior on the Midtown High cross-country team in Atlanta, Georgia. Brian Reilly was the first master runner in the 5K, coming in third overall in 20:51. Reilly was a Half-Shell Hustle veteran, having placed fifth in 20:00 in 2017 and second in 19:58 in 2018.


But no one has a longer history at the Half-Shell Hustle than Eden Keene. The 2025 women's champ has raced every Hustle since 2015, winning the women's division in 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024, and now 2025.


Genee Meleski, the first woman in the 2017 Hustle, was the women's runner-up in 2025, placing tenth overall in 24:34. Twenty-one-year-old Madelyn Gortemoller was the third woman in the 5K, taking twelfth overall in 24:53. Despite her youth, Gortemoller already has more than a few years of distance running experience along the Gulf Coast, having run cross-country for both Port Saint Joe High and Mobile University.


103 athletes finished the 2025 Half-Shell Hustle 5K. With the 2025 Oyster Cook-Off slated for the Saturday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, you can look for the eleventh annual Half-Shell Hustle on the streets of Apalachicola on Saturday morning, 17 January 2026.


Top Ten Men, 2025 Half-Shell Hustle 5K

1. 17:21.3, Elliot Butler (M, 34)
2. 18:24.5, Dries Williams (M, 16)
3. 20:50.4, Brian Reilly (M, 57)
4. 21:02.2, Duane Evans (M, 57)
5. 21:37.6, Peter Williams (M, 42)
6. 21:56.4, Allan Smith (M, 57)
7. 22:57.1, Barney Ray (M, 62)
8. 23:58.3, James Kahkoska (M, 65)
9. 24:49.9, Justice Peacock (M, 21)
10. 25:22.5, Kyle Worthy (M, 34)

Top Ten Women, 2025 Half-Shell Hustle 5K

1. 23:55.2, Eden Keene (F, 42)
2. 24:33.9, Genee Meleski (F, 56)
3. 24:52.8, Madelyn Gortemoller (F, 21)
4. 25:18.4, Hailey Morrison (F, 12)
5. 25:29.7, Petal Willams (F, 14)
6. 27:25.6, Sophia Fonseca (F, 28)
7. 28:23.9, Charla Williams (F, 43)
8. 28:57.3, Brooke Peacock (F, 15)
9. 29:03.8, Cecilee Gaddis (F, 16)
10. 29:22.9, Jennifer Worthy (F, 43)

Half-Shell Hustle winners, 2014 - 2025
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
18 January 2014
17 January 2015	18:51, Lane Williams	21:44, Christy Phillips	72
16 January 2016	17:14, Bryce Cole	19:16, Amy Hines	64
14 January 2017	18:16, Paul Guyas	22:23, Genee Meleski	93
13 January 2018	19:20, Chance Logan	21:53, Eden Keene	80
19 January 2019	20:43, Noble Davidson	23:16, Eden Keene	104
18 January 2020	18:18, Shawn Logan	23:07, Paula O’Neill	106
15 January 2022	19:49, Josiah Friddle	22:42, Kelsey Hanger	109
14 January 2023	19:53, Duane Evans	23:04, Eden Keene	100
13 January 2024	21:17, Roland Zech	23:19, Eden Keene	100
18 January 2025	17:22, Elliot Butler	23:56, Eden Keene	103
The 2014 Half-Shell Hustle was a 3,000-fathom race (just under 5,500 meters) Because of COVID-19, there was no 2021 Half-Shell Hustle.

Links

• Complete results of the 2025 Half-Shell Hustle 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRLMBSOwLMYMqTQigkCXy5GRAaGrLqLQijOx0Y3yFFg3EI0HljGw090-VGMp1oChnwkn1cAWMvwAPxG/pubhtml
  
  
• 2024 story, “The tenth Half-Shell Hustle 5K goes to Roland Zech and Eden Keene”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2024/01/half-shell-hustle-2024.html
  
  
• 2022 story, “Josiah Friddle and Kelsey Hanger lead the return of the Half-Shell Hustle”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2022/06/half-shell-hustle-2022.html
  
  
• 2020 story, “Shawn Logan and Paula O'Neill were Half-Shell Hustlers in Apalachicola”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2020/01/half-shell-hustle-2020.html
  
  
• 2019 story, “Davidson wins and Keene repeats at the Half-Shell Hustle”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/01/half-shell-hustle-2019.html
  
  
• 2018 story, “Logan and Keene show that there's an 'R' in 'Race' at the Half-Shell Hustle”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/01/half-shell-hustle-2018.html
  
  
• 2017 story, “Guyas and Meleski head the Half-Shell Hustle”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/01/half-shell-hustle-2017.html
  
  
• 2016 story, “A pearl of a race for Cole and Hines at the Half-Shell Hustle”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/01/half-shell-hustle-2016.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “Williams and Phillips win the Half-Shell Hustle”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/01/half-shell-hustle-2015.html
  
  
• Course map, 2020 Half-Shell Hustle 5K
  https://app.box.com/s/unc00g49r4fdm0mzpiwawvcwp5tedny5
  
  
• Apalachicola Oyster Cook Off
  http://www.oystercookoff.com/
  
  
• Find another upcoming race celebrating raw bivalves on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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