Hensley and DeFranco return for more Payne and more wins

Paynes Prairie lies south of Gainesville, Florida. If you had been there 10,000 years ago or so, you might have seen mastodons, mammoths, or giant ground sloths. If you make a more recent visit to Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, you might see bison, alligators, or feral horses. And if you were in the park on Saturday morning, 24 March 2018, you could have seen 180 athletes doing their best to deal with the boggy footing and challenging terrain of the area, strugging to finish the eighth annual Trail of Payne 10K cross-country race.


Gainseville athlete Bobby Hensley won the race by more than 200 meters, running 35:56. It was Hensley's second Trail of Payne title; he had also won the race in 2016. Meredith DeFranco of Gainesville was also a repeat winner. After winning the women's division in the 2015 Trail of Payne, DeFranco returned to the race in 2018 and picked up a second women's win, placing tenth overall in 43:30.


The only other man to have won two Trail of Payne races is Mike Hensley, who scored wins in 2012 and 2015. Aside from DeFranco, the only runner to have twice been the first woman at the Trail of Payne 10K was Stephanie McGrail, a three-time winner: 2013, 2016, and 2017. McGrail set the women's course record in the 2017 race.


Behind Hensley, John Sansalone was second in the race, running 36:51. Before graduating from Gainesville's Saint Francis Catholic High in 2013, Sansalone had been a standout on the school's cross-country team. Anton Matchev, an eighth-grader on the cross-country team at Gainesville's Abraham Lincoln Middle School, edged David Cox for third, 38:46 to 38:47. Right behind Cox, Gainesville runner Luke Flory and Patrick Gallagher fought for fifth. Both runners were clocked in 38:48, but Flory made it across the finish line before Gallagher. Gallagher, sixth overall, was the first master runner in the race.


Rae Powers was the women's runner-up and seventeenth overall in 44:35. Lara Drondoski edged two-time Trail of Payne champion Stephanie McGrail for third in the women's standings, both athletes running 45:10. Drondoski and McGrail were eighteenth and nineteenth overall. Elisabeth Diamond of Bell, Florida was the first woman master in the 10K and the twelfth female finisher, 44th overall in 52:55.


Start 2 Finish Race Management timed the race.


Top Ten Men, 2018 Trail of Payne 10K

1. 35:56, Bobby Hensley (M, 33) Gainesville, FL
2. 36:51, John Sansalone (M, 22) Gainesville, FL
3. 38:46, Anton Matchev (M, 14)
4. 38:47, David Cox (M, 32)
5. 38:48, Luke Flory (M, 39) Gainesville, FL
6. 38:48, Patrick Gallagher (M, 42) Gainesville, FL
7. 40:34, Ben Huron (M, 41)
8. 40:58, Dan Stoner (M, 43)
9. 42:32, Cedric Torres (M, 23)
10. 43:41, Andy Natwick (M, 36)

Top Ten Women, 2018 Trail of Payne 10K

1. 43:30, Meredith DeFranco (F, 34) Gainesville, FL
2. 44:35, Rae Powers (F, 26)
3. 45:10, Lara Drondoski (F, 24)
4. 45:10, Stephanie McGrail (F, 31)
5. 45:20, Kate Egan (F, 33)
6. 47:30, Sarah Williams (F, 38)
7. 48:19, Kristen Urichko (F, 23)
8. 50:15, Safi Chalfin-Smith (F, 15) Gainesville, FL
9. 51:10, Melissa Land (F, 36)
10. 51:59, Laura Coppola (F, 39)

Trail of Payne 10K winners, 2011 - 2018
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
19 March 2011	35:56, Christian Kern	41:06, Tatiana Titova	271
17 March 2012	34:37, Mike Hensley	40:33, Tenley Godfrey	342
16 March 2013	37:12, Christopher Raye	40:22, Stephanie McGrail	273
29 March 2014	37:16, Nick Auyeung	41:30, Carol Rowe	244
28 March 2015	34:02, Mike Hensley	42:12, Meredith DeFranco	271
26 March 2016	35:42, Bobby Hensley	43:11, Stephanie McGrail	194
25 March 2017	33:16, Enoch Nadler	39:44, Stephanie McGrail	207
24 March 2018	35:56, Bobby Hensley	43:30, Meredith DeFranco	180

Links

• Complete results of the 2018 Trail of Payne 10K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ_RabqYCp2mRfKYqPpz6jbeFb2ZpVGONNG_DgH9Ra26lceSdNUshtVcd7YtjClxJ3lRq4oSV1aQmen/pubhtml
  
  
• 2017 story, “Team Florida Track Club's Nadler and McGrail run through Payne to victory”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/03/payne-trail-2017.html
  
  
• 2016 story, “Bobby Hensley overcomes Payne”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/03/payne-trail-2016.html
  
  
• Trail of Payne 10K Facebook Page
  https://www.facebook.com/TrailOfPayne10k/
  
  
• Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park
  https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Paynes-Prairie
  
  
• Find more Payne-ful races on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2231

Bobby Hensley overcomes Payne

There was once a mighty body of water south of Gainesville, Alachua Lake. The lake was large enough that steamships plied its waters. Then one day in 1891 a sinkhole opened up in the lake, and it was as if the stopper had been pulled out of the drain in God's bathtub. Lake Alachua was sucked down the sinkhole and into the Floridan aquifer, stranding turtles, fish, alligators, and the steamer Chakala. Alachua Lake was gone, and what was left was Payne's Prairie. Today the prairie is home to Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, which in turn is home to the Trail of Payne 10K cross country race. The sixth annual Trail of Payne was held in the park on a wet Saturday morning, 26 March 2016.


Bobby Hensley won that 2016 race, running 35:42. Mike Hensley, a two-time Trail of Payne champ, finished runner-up in 36:26. Shawn Webber was the top master runner in the race, edging Peter Licari 39:07 to 39:10 for third place overall.


An athlete using the unlikely nom de guerre of Pix McGrix took the women's title, coming in seventh overall in 43:11. Becky Gomez finished runner-up in the women's standings, placing eighth overall in 44:20. Virgina Hatch was the third woman in the race, eighteenth overall in 48:24. Danielle Heath (26th, 50:33) edged Elisabeth Diamond 27th, 50:36) for the first woman master; Heath and Diamond were the fifth and sixth female finishers.


Some parts of the course were flooded, but nothing that hinted at the return of Alachua Lake, and certainly nothing to cause a trail runner's heart to quail. 194 athletes finished the sixth annual Trail of Payne 10K. Start 2 Finish Race Management timed the race.


Top Ten Men, 2016 Trail of Payne 10K

1. 35:42 ~ Bobby Hensley (M, 31)
2. 36:26 ~ Mike Hensley (M, 30)
3. 39:07 ~ Shawn Webber (M, 41)
4. 39:10 ~ Peter Licari (M, 21)
5. 40:05 ~ Dan Stoner (M, 41)
6. 40:33 ~ Rob Robins (M, 43)
7. 44:29 ~ Sean Black (M, 47)
8. 45:07 ~ Xi Cao (M, 26) Gainesville, FL
9. 45:30 ~ Chris Vulpe (M, 50)
10. 46:10 ~ Michael Attard (M, 28)

Top Ten Women, 2016 Trail of Payne 10K

1. 43:11 ~ Pix McGrix (F, 29)
2. 44:20 ~ Becky Gomez (F, 24)
3. 48:24 ~ Virginia Hatch (F, 32)
4. 49:24 ~ Eva George (F, 31) Gainesville, FL
5. 50:33 ~ Danielle Heath (F, 51)
6. 50:36 ~ Elisabeth Diamond (F, 56) Bell, FL
7. 51:11 ~ Rebecca Pieters (F, 32)
8. 51:42 ~ Aylena Carlson (F, 19) Gainesville, FL
9. 51:56 ~ Kristen Hall (F, 25)
10. 52:06 ~ Morgan Keppel (F, 23) Gainesville, FL

Trail of Payne 10K winners, 2011 - 2016
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
19 March 2011	35:56, Christian Kern	41:06, Tatiana Titova	271
17 March 2012	34:37, Mike Hensley	40:33, Tenley Godfrey	342
16 March 2013	37:12, Christopher Raye	40:22, Stephanie McGrail	273
29 March 2014	37:16, Nick Auyeung	41:30, Carol Rowe	244
28 March 2015	34:02, Mike Hensley	42:12, Meredith DeFranco	271
26 March 2016	35:42, Bobby Hensley	43:11, Pix McGrix	194

Links

• Complete results of the 2016 Trail of Payne 10K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IZUI-xNRnIK31ajWjlrC1l9zCWROxWAMxtTPO2KfE7M/pubhtml
  
  
• Trail of Payne 10K Facebook Page
  https://www.facebook.com/TrailOfPayne10k/
  
  
• Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park
  https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Paynes-Prairie
  
  
• Find more Payne-ful races on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1661

Hensley and Veltcheva victorious at Race The Tortoise

Florida's O'Leno State Park is certainly worth a visit. You'll miss it if you're rushing through the state on Interstate 75, you'll find it on the relatively quite US 41/441 just north of High Springs. Once you're there, you can stroll across the Sante Fe River on the suspension bridge for hikers, check out the Civilian Conservation Corps museum, or walk down to the river sink--where Suwannee cooters enjoy carousel rides on logs floating around the whirlpool formed by the Sante Fe draining into the underworld.


And if you're at the park on the first Saturday morning in March, you can also run the Race The Tortoise 5K.


Bobby Hensley was the fastest of 177 athletes exercising that option in O'Leno on 5 March 2016. The Gainesville, Florida distance runner won the eighth annual race in 16:32, finishing almost half a kilometer ahead of the next runner. Gainesville's Dan Stoner was the top master in the race for the second year in a row, this time placing second overall in 18:11.


Just a few steps behind Stoner, Ani Veltcheva was the first female finisher, coming in third overall in 18:16. A sixth-grader at Gainesville's Abraham Lincoln Middle School, Veltcheva had also won the Race The Tortoise women's title in 2014. Gainesville's Shelby Wentworth (8th, 22:20) was second in the women's standings and Keystone Heights athlete Sara Ratelle (14th, 23:07) was third. Lavonne Rembert of Gainesville was the top woman master and fourth female finisher, placing sixteenth overall in 23:46.


The annual Race The Tortoise 5K 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 2016 race was provided by Milestone Race Authority of Jacksonville, Florida.


Top Ten Men, 2016 Race The Tortoise 5K

1. 16:32 ~ Bobby Hensley (M, 31) Gainesville, FL
2. 18:11 ~ Dan Stoner (M, 41) Gainesville, FL
3. 21:20 ~ Michael Fowler (M, 42) Gainesville, FL
4. 21:32 ~ Mike Collins (M, 28) Gainesville, FL
5. 22:05 ~ Ozzy Vidal (M, 39) Gainesville, FL
6. 22:07 ~ John Davis (M, 56) Gainesville, FL
7. 22:28 ~ Ron Hall (M, 51) Gainesville, FL
8. 22:33 ~ Stephen Hagen (M, 53) Gainesville, FL
9. 22:39 ~ Jay Peacock (M, 53) Gainesville, FL
10. 22:45 ~ Jason Ratelle (M, 40) Keystone Heights, FL

Top Ten Women, 2016 Race The Tortoise 5K

1. 18:16 ~ Ani Veltcheva (F, 11) Gainesville, FL
2. 22:20 ~ Shelby Wentworth (F, 24) Gainesville, FL
3. 23:07 ~ Sara Ratelle (F, 35) Keystone Heights, FL
4. 23:46 ~ Lavonne Rembert (F, 44) Gainesville, FL
5. 24:02 ~ Loretta Engler (F, 62) High Springs, FL
6. 24:11 ~ Elke Sheider (F, 54) Lake City, FL
7. 26:17 ~ Robin Politowicz (F, 54) Gainesville, FL
8. 26:23 ~ Christine Larkins (F, 34) Gainesville, FL
9. 26:48 ~ Julia Chi (F, 41) Gainesville, FL
10. 26:58 ~ Patti Stokes (F, 35) Waldo, FL

Race The Tortoise 5K winners, 2009 - 2016
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

Links

• Complete results of the 2016 Race The Tortoise 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DMuJLRgWCI2mWIaGGDIZEIFx3YfLwc01s_XQUY7ONec/pubhtml
  
  
• 2015 story, “Denisova and Matchev are steady but not slow at Race The Tortoise”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/03/tortoise-2014.html
  
  
• 2014 story, “Clark and Veltcheva are more hare than tortoise at O'Leno 5K”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/03/tortoise-2014.html
  
  
• O'Leno State Park
  http://www.floridastateparks.org/oleno/
  
  
• The Friends of O'Leno
  http://friendsofoleno.org/
  
  
• Race The Tortoise 5K course certification map USATF #FL09011EBM
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=FL09011EBM
  
  
• Any reptile race within 100 miles of Tallahassee will be here
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1630