Take it from an old distance runner, there is land that demands that you lace on some shoes and do a cross-country run. Tallahassee's Phipps Park is such a property. Managed first for agriculture and then for hunting until coming under the control of the Northwest Florida Water Management District, it's a rolling mixture of meadow and woodland akin to the rural districts of Britain where cross-country running became a sport. So for the last six years Phipps Park has been home to one of Gulf Winds Track Club's annual cross-country races, the Miller Landing Madness.
There are actually three races at the Madness, eight kilometers, five kilometers, and three kilometers. The 8K and the 5K were first, with close to 400 athletes gathering for the 8:00 AM combined start.
Stanley Linton launched himself into the lead as the race started, speeding ahead of even the runners in the shorter 5K race. At the mile mark Linton, a second-year NROTC midshipman at FSU, was three seconds up on the defending champion, Vince Molosky. Will Stanford trailed Molosky, followed by 2009 Miller Landing Madness champion Chris Lake. Molosky faded, leaving the chase to Stanford. Stanford made the most of the pursuit, overtaking Linton early in the second half of the five-mile race.
"I put in a surge about three miles," said Stanford.
It was effective. A mile later, Stanford was over half a minute up on Linton and going away. Stanford went on to post a winning time of 26:29, finishing the race with a lead of almost 400 meters. Lake started to close in on Linton late in the race, but Linton was still well ahead of the UF med student at the finish line, taking second in 27:44. Lake was third in 28:04 and Molosky fourth in 29:23. Fifth place went to the top master runner in the 8K, Bryan Koon, Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Koon's time was 29:31.
In the women's competition, Tallahassee's Renee Cox led for the first two miles before being overtaken by FSU professor Katie Showman. Cox fought to remain in contact, keeping Showman in sight. With a mile to go, Cox was still less than ten seconds behind Showman. But it was the economics professor's race, and Showman finished the 8K with the Miller's Landing Madness women's title, placing 26th overall in 35:11. Cox was runner-up in the women's division, taking 30th overall in 35:32. Lisa Rutledge, the sixth female finisher, took women's master honors, coming in 43rd overall in 39:10.
Top Ten Males, 2013 Miller Landing Madness 8K
26:29 ~ Will Stanford (M, 20)- 27:44 ~ Stanley Linton (M, 19)
- 28:04 ~ Chris Lake (M, 25)
- 29:23 ~ Vince Molosky (M, 34)
- 29:31 ~ Bryan Koon (M, 41)
- 29:42 ~ Zach De Veau (M, 25)
- 29:43 ~ Gary Droze (M, 52)
- 30:14 ~ Jay Wallace (M, 49)
- 30:21 ~ Roger Schmidt (M, 22)
- 30:48 ~ Tony Guillen (M, 44)
Top Ten Females, 2013 Miller Landing Madness 8K
35:11 ~ Katie Showman (F, 31)- 35:32 ~ Renee Cox (F, 26)
- 37:01 ~ Cora Atkinson (F, 19)
- 38:16 ~ Langlee Toothman (F, 16)
- 38:59 ~ Joti Keshav (F, 37)
- 39:10 ~ Lisa Rutledge (F, 52)
- 39:28 ~ Urska Dobersek (F, 30)
- 39:40 ~ Nancy Stedman (F, 51)
- 40:01 ~ Andrea Duffy (F, 37)
- 41:02 ~ Hanna Gordon (F, 30)
Lincoln High alumnus Joseph Garcia saw that there was no drama in the Miller Landing Madness 5K. The defending champion in the shorter event, Garcia jumped out to an early lead and held it, covering the 3.1 miles in 16:55. It wasn't as fast as the Miller Landing Madness record that Garcia set in 2012, but it was good enough for the title, putting him ahead of runner-up Brian Griffith. Griffith, the cross-country coach at Florida State University School, ran 17:20. Emily Ness of Capital City Runners led wire-to-wire on the women's side, earning the women's championship with a 19:20 and placing 11th overall. Wakulla High student-athlete Madison Harris was the second female finisher in the 5K, coming in 16th overall in 20:13.
Top Ten Males, 2013 Miller Landing Madness 5K
16:55 ~ Joseph Garcia (M, 18)- 17:20 ~ Brian Griffith (M, 28)
- 17:21 ~ Connor Daughton (M, 18)
- 17:53 ~ Jake Mazziotta (M, 15)
- 18:09 ~ Jack Rutledge (M, 18)
- 18:57 ~ Elijah Ingram (M, 17)
- 19:01 ~ Bryce Cole (M, 15)
- 19:02 ~ Christoher Duncan (M, 24)
- 19:14 ~ Stephen Veliz (M, 14)
- 19:17 ~ C J Barkas (M, 17)
Top Ten Females, 2013 Miller Landing Madness 5K
19:20 ~ Emily Ness (F, 23)- 20:13 ~ Madison Harris (F, 17)
- 20:37 ~ Micah Adriani (F, 35)
- 20:51 ~ Caroline Willis (F, 14)
- 22:01 ~ Margaret Wiedeman (F, 18)
- 22:28 ~ Meagan Giddens (F, 15)
- 23:00 ~ Lydia Wiedeman (F, 16)
- 23:08 ~ Savannah Jo Fisher (F, 17)
- 23:48 ~ Whitney Austin (F, 24)
- 23:52 ~ Heather Hill (F, 17)
The Miller Landing Madness 3K is usually a preview of the local middle school cross-country season, and this year was no exception. Two eight graders, James McClure of Maclay and Jacob Dodson of Raa, reached the halfway point of the 1.8-mile race together, far ahead of the rest of the field. The two continued to outdistance the rest of the runners in the second half of the race, but McClure outdistanced Dodson as well, finishing first in 10:48. Dodson, who was fifth in last year's Leon County School's middle school championships, was runner-up in 10:59. Maclay seventh-grader Max Eastman was third in 12:03.
Chase Merrick of Swift Creek Middle School was well ahead of the rest of the girls in the race about halfway through the 3K, but Katherine Resavage of Holy Comforter closed that gap. Merrick and Resavage were just a few steps apart with a quarter mile to go. They were still only a few steps apart at the finish line, where Merrick was a few steps ahead of Resavage, 12:20 to 12:22. Grace Jackson of Deer Lake Middle School was the third girl in, running 12:57.
Top Ten Males, 2013 Miller Landing Madness 3K
10:48 ~ James McClure (M, 14)- 10:59 ~ Jacob Dodson (M, 13)
- 12:03 ~ Max Eastman (M, 13)
- 12:16 ~ Dennis Majano (M, 13)
- 12:28 ~ Zach Smith (M, 14)
- 12:29 ~ Clayton Carlson (M, 13)
- 12:31 ~ Bryce Valveri (M, 12)
- 12:32 ~ Michael Molen (M, 13)
- 12:49 ~ Harrison Obrecht (M, 14)
- 12:52 ~ Ben Smith (M, 14)
Top Ten Females, 2013 Miller Landing Madness 3K
12:20 ~ Chase Merrick (F, 11)- 12:22 ~ Katherine Resavage (F, 12)
- 12:57 ~ Grace Jackson (F, 13)
- 13:06 ~ Emma Romuald (F, 11)
- 13:10 ~ Emily Molen (F, 11)
- 13:24 ~ Emma Mcgibany (F, 13)
- 13:40 ~ Amya Bryant (F, 13)
- 13:40 ~ Hannah Hosay (F, 11)
- 13:45 ~ Shayla Nguyen (F, 13)
- 13:46 ~ Hailey Hobbs (F, 13)
| Miller Landing Madness Winners, 2008-2013 |
|---|
| Date | Race | Men | Women | Finishers |
|---|
| 30 August 2008 | 8K | 28:57, David Altmaier | 32:49, Sheryl Rosen | 76 |
| 5K | 17:12, Austin Stevens | 18:46, Jana Stolting | 110 |
| 3K | 11:21, Will Henderson | 13:14, Autumn Wable | 73 |
| 29 August 2009 | 8K | 28:05, Chris Lake | 33:03, Sarah Docter-Williams | 151 |
| 5K | 18:17, Austin Stevens | 18:17, Jana Stolting | 243 |
| 3K | 11:26, Chase Harris | 12:04, Cecelia Williams | 136 |
| 28 August 2010 | 8K | 26:28, Kevin Cook | 33:29, Sheryl Rosen | 168 |
| 5K | 17:15, Patrick Swain | 19:22, Stefanie Kurgatt | 160 |
| 3K | 11:14, Wil Luca | 13:30, Madeline Horgan | 110 |
| 27 August 2011 | 8K | 25:54, Kevin Sullivan | 32:17, Sheryl Rosen | 236 |
| 5K | 16:59, Jacob Slupecki | 20:14, Stefanie Kurgatt | 212 |
| 3K | 11:08, Evan Francis | 12:59, Cheyenne Hildinger | 157 |
| 25 August 2012 | 8K | 27:50, Vince Molosky | 36:36, Jane Johnson | 190 |
| 5K | 16:32, Joseph Garcia | 19:12, Stefanie Kurgatt | 258 |
| 3K | 10:57, Jake Mazziotta | 12:16, Adrianna Dugan | 148 |
| 24 August 2013 | 8K | 26:29, Will Stanford | 35:11, Katie Showman | 150 |
| 5K | 16:55, Joseph Garcia | 19:20, Emily Ness | 237 |
| 3K | 10:48, James McClure | 12:20, Chase Merrick | 135 |
The Miller Landing Madness was preceded in history by the Miccosukee Madness (2004-2007)
and the Tom Brown Bash (1977-2003) races. |
Links
Before the Turkey Trot races of November come the Hallowe'en-themed races of October. Tallahassee's latest entry into that category of events was the All Saints Howl-Oween 3K on Sunday afternoon, 27 October 2013. 84 athletes showed their approval of the new race by finishing the 1.86-mile course. The fastest of these was Swift Creek Middle School cross-country runner Chase Merrick; the sixth-grader won the race in 11:57. Top master honors also went to the ladies, with Kim Likens placing sixth overall in 13:06 to finish as the first master. Bobby Brooks, legend of FSU distance running, was the first male master, coming in eighth overall in 14:02.
In September Jeff Nielsen had retired from directing the Prefontaine 5K. Apparently, though, he couldn't keep away from the race directing game, because just over a month later he had put together the Howl-Oween 5K, a benefit for the Tallahassee-Leon County Animal Shelter Foundation. Appropriately enough for an event themed around the eve of All Saints Day, the race was run through the All Saints district of Tallahassee, with a starting line right on All Saints Street at the corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard. Said starting line was just a block away from the finish at the Hop Yard, but that was the direct route, and the runners had to complete a winding tour of the All Saints neighborhood to cover three kilometers.
