Totten-Lancaster and Kilgallen run flat out at Flat Rock

Columbus, Georgia is located on the fall line. The fall line marks the upstream limit of navigation from the sea, and this is readily apparent if you take a stroll along the Chattahoochee River as it flows past the city. The shoals and rapids that you see are an effective barrier to shipping.


The fall line also marks a change in geology from the rocky piedmont north of the line to the sediments of the coastal plain south of the line. You don't have to be along the river to see this. You could, for instance, take a walk though Flat Rock Park on the east side of Columbus. In the park you can see large expanses of exposed stone scoured clean of soil by Flatrock Creek. Head south and all the way to the Gulf of Mexico you'll be lucky to see a limestone rock big enough to stub a toe on. Flat Rock Park is still far south of the mountains, but this is the stuff that mountains are made of.

Flat Rock Park

Flat Rock Park was also the venue for the fifth annual Flat Rock 5K, the fourth race in the Columbus Roadrunners' 2016 Summer Series. Contested on Monday evening, 25 July 2016, the race followed an out-and-back course that took the runners out of the park and onto the Fall Line Trace Rail Trail.


Master runner Aaron Totten-Lancaster won the race in 17:30, his first victory in the 2016 series. Felix Kiboiywo was second in 17:50 and Rob Janssen took third in 19:34. Master runner Cecil Turtle claimed fourth in 19:41, while Columbus High sophomore Alex Salgado grabbed fifth in 20:10.


Placing seventeenth overall in 22:49, Katie Kilgallen took the women's title, her first of the 2016 Summer Series. Stephanie Mundel (36th, 24:37) edged Gevenny Fernandez (38th, 24:39) for the women's runner-up spot. Northside Columbus cross country runner Marisa Gonzalez was fourth in the women's standings and 41st overall in 24:56. Susan Lancaster was the top woman master and ninth female finisher, placing 61st overall in 26:46.

Flatrock Creek

With the conclusion of the Flat Rock 5K, four of the five 2016 Summer Series races are in the books, including the Summer Solstice 5K on 17 June 2016, the Rails-to-Trails 5K on 27 June 2016, and the Big Dog Heat Wave Five Mile on 9 July 2016. The final race in the series will be the Lakebottom Park 5K on 20 August 2016.


Top Ten Men, 2016 Flat Rock 5K

1. 17:29.61 ~ Aaron Totten-Lancaster (M, 41)
2. 17:49.11 ~ Felix Kiboiywo (M, 29)
3. 19:33.38 ~ Rob Janssen (M, 35)
4. 19:40.12 ~ Cecil Turtle (M, 43)
5. 20:09.43 ~ Alex Salgado (M, 15)
6. 20:36.25 ~ Zach Kelly (M, 31)
7. 20:47.06 ~ Ryan Pidcock (M, 24)
8. 21:00.10 ~ Connor Gaumond (M, 27)
9. 21:37.63 ~ Roger Hagues (M, 32)
10. 21:42.59 ~ John Lee (M, 17)

Top Ten Women, 2016 Flat Rock 5K

1. 22:48.13 ~ Katie Kilgallen (F, 27)
2. 24:36.86 ~ Stephanie Mundel (F, 22)
3. 24:38.87 ~ Gevenny Fernandez (F, 27)
4. 24:55.96 ~ Marisa Gonzalez (F, 17)
5. 25:08.34 ~ April Lewis (F, 30)
6. 25:13.07 ~ Heather Harlow (F, 31)
7. 25:28.04 ~ Jessie Hagen (F, 26)
8. 25:56.24 ~ Nikki Thomas (F, 38)
9. 26:45.89 ~ Susan Lancaster (F, 41)
10. 26:57.83 ~ Julie Melton (F, 33)

Winners of the Flat Rock 5K, 2012 - 2016
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
25 July 2012	17:09, Preston Groves	21:04, Brittney Skiles	216
24 July 2013	17:44, Russell Jones	21:41, Emily Miller	267
21 July 2014	17:02, Mike Kurvach	21:17, Hope Skypek	240
27 July 2015	18:28, Planet Popper	22:30, Morgan Ryffe	211
25 July 2016	17:30, Aaron Totten-Lancaster	22:49, Katie Kilgallen	205

Links

• Complete results of the 2016 Flat Rock 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vqpnNSrSVG8aBto1YZ24Wk5n6YkyqovNFOyS-yXIeBY/pubhtml
  
  
• Columbus Roadrunners' 2016 Summer Series
  
  • Summer Solstice 5K:
    
  • Rails-to-Trails 5K: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/06/columbus-rail-2016.html
    
  • Big Dog Heatwave 5 Mi: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/07/big-dog-heatwave-2016.html
    
  • Flat Rock 5K: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/07/flat-rock-2016.html
    
  • Lakebottom Park 5K: Coming up on 20 August 2016
    
  
  
• Columbus Roadrunners
  http://www.columbusroadrunners.com/
  
  
• Looking for a race below the fall line? Try the Trouble Afoot! racing calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1743

Call it Weracoba or call it Lakebottom, but call Totten-Lancaster and Ryffe winners

Columbus, Georgia, is the county seat of Muscogee County. The Muscogee, from which the county derives its name, were banished from Columbus a long time ago, but many of their place names still appear on maps of the area. Weracoba Creek is an example. Weracoba is Muscogee for "Big Water," which seems incongruous unless you're looking at Weracoba Creek during a flood event. In 1890 the Columbus Railroad Company built a dam on Weracoba Creek forming a lake, the focus of Wildwood Park. By 1924 Columbus High School needed a new home. The city bought the park, drained the lake, and built a new Columbus High building on sixteen acres of the land. The rest became Weracoba Park, which everyone called Lakebottom Park. Thus when the Columbus Road Runners held a race there on Saturday morning, 8 August 2015, it was the Lakebottom Park 5K.


Hamilton, Georgia, master runner Aaron Totten-Lancaster won the Lakebottom Park 5K by more than 600 meters, covering the 3.1 miles in Columbus' historic midtown in 16:47. Columbus High sophomore Alex Salgado edged Columbus Northside junior Chris Schintgen for the runner-up spot, both athletes clocked in 19:15. Likewise, John Orosz just got by master runner Duane Patin to take fourth, 19:41 to 19:42.


Morgan Ryffe took the women's title. The Georgia Regents University cross country runner and Northside Columbus alumna placed tenth overall in 20:42. Columbus High senior cross country runner Alina Salgado was second in the women's competition, coming in 20th overall in 21:37. Susan Lancaster of Hamilton, Georgia, was the first woman master and third female finisher, placing 32nd overall in 22:52.


239 athletes finished the race. The Lakebottom Park 5K was fifth and final race in the Columbus Road Runners' 2015 Summer Series.


Top Ten Men, 2015 Lakebottom Park 5K

1. 16:47 ~ Aaron Totten-Lancaster (M, 40) Hamilton, GA
2. 19:15 ~ Alex Salgado (M, 14) Ft. Benning, GA
3. 19:15 ~ Christopher Schintgen (M, 17) Fortson, GA
4. 19:41 ~ John Orosz (M, 28)
5. 19:42 ~ Duane Patin (M, 45)
6. 20:16 ~ Mason Hargrove (M, 12) Smith Station, AL
7. 20:17 ~ Tony Burkett (M, 48) Midland, GA
8. 20:20 ~ Rob Kindrick (M, 50) Pine Mountain, GA
9. 20:34 ~ Ben Branton (M, 51) Salem, AL
10. 20:38 ~ Larry McClain (M, 33) Fort Benning, GA

Top Ten Women, 2015 Lakebottom Park 5K

1. 20:42 ~ Morgan Ryffe (F, 20) Midland, GA
2. 21:37 ~ Alina Salgado (F, 17) Ft. Benning, GA
3. 22:52 ~ Susan Lancaster (F, 44) Hamilton, GA
4. 23:01 ~ Alison Kroviak (F, 44) Columbus, GA
5. 23:35 ~ Taylor Elkins (F, 14) Pine Mountain, GA
6. 23:54 ~ Abby Miller (F, 29) Columbus, GA
7. 23:56 ~ Jennifer Hunter (F, 39) Columbus, GA
8. 24:09 ~ Kate Driskell (F, 34) Columbus, GA
9. 24:15 ~ Kelly Andrews (F, 37) Phenix City, AL
10. 24:22 ~ Angie Walker (F, 36) Cataula, GA

Lakebottom Park 5K winners, 2014 - 2015
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
16 August 2014	18:02, Bo Bridges	22:21, Chaille Sullivan	206
8 August 2015	16:47, Aaron Totten-Lancaster	20:42, Morgan Ryffe	239

Links

• Complete results of the Columbus Road Runners' 2015 Lakebottom Park 5K
  http://www.lightningsportsracing.com/results_detail.aspx?id=1471
  
  
• Columbus Road Runners of Columbus, Georgia
  http://www.columbusroadrunners.com/
  
  
• Look for an upcoming run on a lake bottom on the Trouble Afoot! race calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1460