Saturday, 17 September 2016, was the morning of the Moultrie, Georgia YMCA's fourteenth annual Race Of The South. The numbering is a little bit tricky. The event has been held each year from 2003 onward, so that makes fourteen races. Of course, that's only if you don't count the seventeen races from 1980 to 1996, Moultrie's original Race Of The South series. The YMCA, though, decided that a seven-year hiatus was a good enough reason to start counting over, so the 31st Race Of The South was the fourteenth annual.
Go ahead and check the arithmetic. I'll wait.
No one needed higher math to determine that
Cody Pezent won the 2016 Race Of The South 10K, though. Crossing the finish line with a lead of more than 200 meters, Pezent ran the 6.2-mile course in 43:15.
Paulino Cruz of Moultrie, the
2013 Race Of The South champion, was runner-up in 44:13, and Moultrie's Julio Perez was third in 45:11. Another Moultrie athlete, Patrick Bius, was the fastest master runner in the 10K, placing sixth overall in 49:56.
Ashley Coleman of Decatur, Georgia took the women's title, placing tenth overall in 51:00. Tifton, Georgia's
Traci Newton was the first woman master and second female finisher, coming in twelfth overall in 52:02. Another Tifton master runner, Gina Purvis, was third in the women's standings and fourteenth overall in 53:13.
47 athletes finished the 2016 Race Of The South 10K.
Top Ten Men, 2016 Race of the South 10K
- 43:15 ~ Cody Pezent (M, 15) Adel, GA
- 44:13 ~ Paulino Cruz (M, 28) Moultrie, GA
- 45:11 ~ Julio Perez (M, 25) Moultrie, GA
- 45:15 ~ Mark Niday (M, 32) Moultrie, GA
- 46:47 ~ Joey Bozeman (M, 37) Moultrie, GA
- 49:56 ~ Patrick Bius (M, 42) Moultrie, GA
- 50:02 ~ Justin Baker (M, 37) Moultrie, GA
- 50:16 ~ John Coleman (M, 34) Decatur, GA
- 50:30 ~ John Hall (M, 46) Tifton, GA
- 51:06 ~ Steven Johnson (M, 39) Norman Park, GA
Top Ten Women, 2016 Race of the South 10K
- 51:00 ~ Ashley Coleman (F, 31) Decatur, GA
- 52:02 ~ Traci Newton (F, 40) Tifton, GA
- 53:13 ~ Gina Purvis (F, 57) Tifton, GA
- 54:19 ~ Pollyanna Bass (F, 44) Pavo, GA
- 55:10 ~ Angela Pezent (F, 42) Adel, GA
- 56:06 ~ Melanie Hall (F, 43) Tifton, GA
- 56:28 ~ Nena Chancy (F, 43) Tifton, GA
- 56:55 ~ Cindy Marzen (F, 46) Tifton, GA
- 57:21 ~ Whitney Pilgram (F, 28) Moultrie, GA
- 57:55 ~ Mary Gonzalez (F, 27) Moultrie, GA
Thomasville, Georgia master runner
Chad Johnson won the 5K at the Race Of The South, running the 3.1 miles through the Moultrie streets in 20:21. Moultrie runner Kat Posey was second in 21:12, and Matt Marston of Moultrie was third in 21:24.
On the women's side,
Beverly Johnson of Thomasville had won the 5K in 2014 and 2015. However, Moultrie's
Rebecca Toman foiled Johnson's attempt at a third straight title, outkicking the Thomasville runner 24:57 to 24 Toman and Johnson were eleventh and twelfth overall, while the thirteenth spot went to Colquitt County Cross Country alumna Yasmin Moctezuma, third in the women's standings in 25:55. Moultrie's
Judi Burnette was the top woman master and fourth female finisher, fourteenth overall in 26:09.
44 athletes finished the 2016 Race Of The South 5K.
Top Ten Men, 2016 Race of the South 5K
- 20:21 ~ Chad Johnson (M, 45) Thomasville, GA
- 21:12 ~ Kat Posey (M, 37) Moultrie, GA
- 21:24 ~ Matt Marston (M, 32) Moultrie, GA
- 21:31 ~ Chris Stroh (M, 46) Thomasville, GA
- 21:47 ~ Daniel DeMott (M, 15) Moultrie, GA
- 23:17 ~ Sam Marion (M, 31) Moultrie, GA
- 23:47 ~ Rolando Rosales (M, 38) Moultrie, GA
- 23:54 ~ Bill Harrison (M, 35) Moultrie, GA
- 23:56 ~ Bryce Mathis (M, 16) Moultrie, GA
- 24:30 ~ Bret Owens (M, 47) Boston, GA
Top Ten Women, 2016 Race of the South 5K
- 24:57 ~ Rebecca Toman (F, 34) Moultrie, GA
- 24:58 ~ Beverly Johnson (F, 38) Thomasville, GA
- 25:55 ~ Yasmin Moctezuma (F, 18) Moultrie, GA
- 26:09 ~ Judi Burnette (F, 46) Moultrie, GA
- 27:27 ~ Heather Grantham (F, 29) Moultrie, GA
- 28:02 ~ Nicki Underwood (F, 36) Norman Park, GA
- 30:31 ~ Chloe Tillman (F, 10) Moultrie, GA
- 30:33 ~ Celeste Owens (F, 8) Boston, GA
- 30:34 ~ Wendy Owens (F, 45) Boston, GA
- 31:39 ~ Stella Wingate (F, 34) Moultrie, GA
| Known winners of Moultrie's Race of the South |
|---|
| Date | Race | Men | Women | Finishers |
|---|
| 22 March 1980 | 10K | 32:33, Gary Slayton | 45:25, Becky Grubbs | 200+ |
| 1981 | 10K | | | |
| 20 March 1982 | 10K | 34:58, Rusty Jones | | |
| 16 April 1983 | 10K | 31:32, Adam Pinkston | 41:37, Diane Rivering | |
| 14 April 1984 | 10K | 31:33, Rick Miller | | |
| 13 April 1985 | 10K | 31:59, Jeff Milliman | | |
| 19 April 1986 | 10K | 33:39, Danny Daniels | 38:16, Janice Hochstein | |
| 11 April 1987 | 10K | 31:26, Greg Thompson | 38:39, Janice Hochstein | |
| 16 April 1988 | 10K | Jessie Close | | |
| 15 April 1989 | 10K | | | |
| 21 April 1990 | 10K | Louis Floyd | | |
| 20 April 1991 | 10K | Louis Floyd | | |
| 18 April 1992 | 10K | 35:08, Paul Wilder | | |
| 10 April 1993 | 10K | | | |
| 16 April 1994 | 10K | | | |
| 22 April 1995 | 10K | James Lee | | |
| 1996 | 10K | James Lee | | |
| No race held, 1997-2002 |
| 6 September 2003 | 10K | 39:42, Imie Mark | 45:26, Cindy Barkley | 73 |
| 5K | | | |
| 2004 | 10K | 40:31, Imie Mark | 44:23, Amy Sharon | 45 |
| 5K | | | |
| 17 September 2005 | 10K | 39:37, Ian Cooper | 50:08, Tracy McClure | 37 |
| 5K | | | 20 |
| 16 September 2006 | 10K | 37:58, Todd Smoot | 48:37, Shelby Levy | 57 |
| 5K | 21:45, Travis Walker | | |
| 15 September 2007 | 10K | 37:33, Todd Smoot | 47:02, Judy Alexander | 39 |
| 5K | 23:51, Donald Fairbanks | 26:04, Charmaine Johnson | 23 |
| 20 September 2008 | 10K | 38:28, Heath Lamb | 45:21, Kristen Kinsley | |
| 5K | 19:24, Craig Dabdoub | 18:29, Amy Paine | |
| 19 September 2009 | 10K | John Seppala | Amy Hines | |
| 5K | Jason Ewing | 22:04, Allison Peters | |
| 18 September 2010 | 10K | 41:29, Ben Hoover | 50:07, Dawn Montooth | 32 |
| 5K | 20:18, Landon Rehberg | 23:12, Kim Luque | 57 |
| 17 September 2011 | 10K | 40:00, Mark McLeod | 50:03, Thesdee Randon | |
| 5K | 18:59, Steven Johnson | 22:31, Searra Johnson | |
| 15 September 2012 | 10K | 39:44, Matt Kuhns | 46:24, Laura Lofton Weldon | 58 |
| 5K | 17:22, Jorge Villalobos | 22:35, Elizabeth Funderburk | 121 |
| 21 September 2013 | 10K | 40:45, Paulino Cruz | 50:00, Nancy Marto | 50 |
| 5K | 19:07, Steven Johnson | 25:19, Tiffany Smith | 78 |
| 20 September 2014 | 10K | 43:36, Paulino Cruz | 42:48, Amy Hines | 38 |
| 5K | 20:28, Steven Johnson | 23:36, Beverly Hamilton | 56 |
| 19 September 2015 | 10K | 39:01, Daniel Butzin | 52:52, Mary Galambos | 32 |
| 5K | 18:40, Steven Johnson | 22:44, Beverly Hamilton | 49 |
| 17 September 2016 | 10K | 43:15, Cody Pezent | 51:00, Ashley Coleman | 47 |
| 5K | 20:21, Chad Johnson | 24:57, Rebecca Toman | 44 |
Prior to its revival in 2003, the Race of the South was held annually from 1980
to 1996.
I'd deeply appreciate results from any of the years missing from the above table! |
Links
#1771
It's not far from Albany to Warwick, less than a half drive from a South Georgia city to a South Georgia small town. That's the trip that Joshua Grant made on Saturday morning, 14 April 2018, to get to the inaugural. National Grits Festival 5K. Grant won the five-kilometer race by nearly a kilometer, running 16:33. Ashley Coleman of Decatur, Georgia was the first woman in the race, placing fifth overall in 25:01.
