Rego and Chunka defeat the Dragon Dashers

During the School of Arts and Science's second annual Dragon Dash 5K on Saturday morning, 18 January 2014, the first thing that most of the competitors saw was Chris Rego way out front, steadily pulling away from them. Rego was also the last thing they saw before the finish; he was standing at the line getting their times. Rego, a math teacher at the School of Arts and Science, did double duty that morning as the champion of the 3.1-mile race through Maclay Gardens State Park and as its head timer. I have no word on who timed Rego's 16:40. I'm also waiting to hear who shaved the Spanish Barber.


A kilometer into the race, while Chris Rego was running away from the field, master runners Mike Burns and Brian Hickey were leading the pursuit. Burns eventually shook Hickey, but was overtaken himself by another master runner, Chad Henry, with over a kilometer to go. Henry went on to take the runner-up spot in 21:06, finishing as first master. Burns was third in 21:22.


Brian Hickey ended up fifth in 23:07, because he was also passed by Kate Chunka. Chunka had finished third in the women's standings in the 2013 Dragon Dash, but this year she led the women's field from start to finish, posting a winning 21:59 and finishing fourth overall. Holly McClyman was the second woman finisher, placing ninth overall in 26:12. Third on the women's side belonged to Carmen Samarriba, 12th overall in 27:34. Joyce Edwards was the top master woman in the race, coming in 16th overall in 29:42.


Top Ten Men, 2014 Dragon Dash 5K

1. 16:39.02 ~ Chris Rego (M, 24) Tallahassee, FL
2. 21:05.94 ~ Chad Henry (M, 44)
3. 21:21.99 ~ Mike Burns (M, 48)
4. 23:06.84 ~ Brian Hickey (M, 45)
5. 24:29.68 ~ Mark Fuller (M, 49)
6. 24:51.99 ~ Matsu Pfeiffer (M, 39)
7. 25:42.45 ~ Tommy Ensley (M, 10)
8. 26:11.69 ~ Todd Johnston (M, 46)
9. 26:38.65 ~ Cody Williams (M, 33)
10. 27:34.18 ~ Ken Shick (M, 47)

Top Ten Women, 2014 Dragon Dash 5K

1. 21:58.20 ~ Kate Chunka (F, 30) Tallahassee, FL
2. 26:11.09 ~ Holly McClyman (F, 32)
3. 27:33.50 ~ Carmen Samarriba (F, 23)
4. 27:43.89 ~ Emily Webster (F, 34)
5. 29:05.94 ~ Wendy Rude (F, 39)
6. 29:41.05 ~ Joyce Edwards (F, 45)
7. 29:48.89 ~ Carrie Eller (F, 32)
8. 29:55.37 ~ Rachel Austin-Hickey (F, 36)
9. 30:27.01 ~ Jess Bain (F, 26)
10. 31:16.36 ~ Michelle Mullins (F, 42)

Links

• Complete results of the 2014 Dragon Dash 5K at gulfwinds.org
  http://www.gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2014/Dragon%20Dash%202014.asp
  
  
• More photos of the 2014 Dragon Dash 5K
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10104087153413643.1073741943.5215641&l=b088b96281
  
  
• Find another upcoming race named after a mythical creature on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1057

Veterans Day victories for Chris Rego and Renee Cox

With another new course, the VetFest Veterans Day 5K returned to the streets of downtown Tallahassee on Monday morning, 11 November 2013. School of Arts and Sciences math teacher Chris Rego the third annual race, running a course record 15:57, and outrunning a field of 147 athletes. Maclay School coach Gary Droze was the fastest master runner in the field, placing third overall in 17:20. Renee Cox was the first woman across the finish line, coming in ninth overall in 20:01. The first master woman was Paula O'Neill, 18th overall in 22:16.


After an earlier one-mile fun run was wrapped up and the national anthem was performed, the 3.1-mile main event started as scheduled at 8:30 AM on East Park Avenue near Gadsden Street. Chris Rego immediately took the lead as the runners dashed downhill toward Franklin Avenue. The math teacher was even farther ahead 800 meters farther on, when the race began a climb into the Myers Park neighborhood. FSU student Thomas Arnold followed in second, with Peter Kaus a step behind. In fourth, Gary Droze trailed Arnold and Kaus.


No one was going to catch Chris Rego that morning, though. He increased his lead through Myers Park, on the descent from the neighborhood, and on the ascent of Capitol Hill on South Monroe Street. Behind him, Thomas Arnold dropped Peter Kaus to take charge of second. Gary Droze passed Kaus to move into third. By the time the runners returned to North Gadsden Street and the finish line, Rego was over 600 meters ahead, winning the race in 15:57. Arnold placed second in 17:11, with Droze third in 17:20. Kaus took fourth in 17:33.


On the women's side Renee Cox also went right to the front immediately after the start. Going by Myers Park Cox already had a substantial lead over master runner Paula O'Neill, who was running second in the women's field. Cox continued to run strong, working her way up into the top ten overall and widening her margin over the other women. By the time Cox crossed the finish line in a women's event record of 20:01, she was almost half a kilometer ahead of the women's runner-up, Paula O'Neill. Another Tallahassee master runner, Julie Clark, was the third woman finisher, placing 28th overall in 24:02. Swift Creek Middle School cross-country runner Arianna Neely was fourth in the women's division, coming in 35th overall in 25:10.


Top Ten Men, 2013 Tallahassee VetFest 5K

1. 15:56.61 ~ Chris Rego (M, 24)
2. 17:10.07 ~ Thomas Arnold (M, 20)
3. 17:19.79 ~ Gary Droze (M, 52)
4. 17:32.88 ~ Peter Kaus (M, 29)
5. 18:52.91 ~ Andrew Smyth (M, 27)
6. 19:12.14 ~ Michael Kennett (M, 40)
7. 19:20.11 ~ Camilo Ordoñez (M, 34)
8. 19:57.02 ~ Charlie Lang (M, 15)
9. 20:09.54 ~ D'Vante Morales
10. 20:26.79 ~ Chuck Lang (M, 48)

Top Ten Women, 2013 Tallahassee VetFest 5K

1. 20:01 ~ Renee Cox (F, 26)
2. 22:16 ~ Paula O'Neill (F, 52)
3. 24:02 ~ Julie Clark (F, 52)
4. 25:10 ~ Arianna Neely (F, 13)
5. 25:16 ~ Brittany Scanameo (F, 16)
6. 25:24 ~ Jenny Brethen (F, 23)
7. 26:15 ~ Leigh Dalzell (F, 44)
8. 26:26 ~ Elizabeth Aliff (F, 16)
9. 26:28 ~ Alithea Schoborg (F, 14)
10. 26:36 ~ Lacy Randolph (F, 25 )

Tallahassee VetFest 5K winners, 2011-2013
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
14 November 2011	16:20, Alex Smyth	22:50, Sandy Holt	169
12 November 2012	19:12, James Taylor	21:34, Kelly Brennan	112
11 November 2013	15:57, Chris Rego	20:01, Renee Cox	147

Links

• Complete results of the 2013 Tallahassee VetFest 5K at gulfwinds.org
  http://gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2013/Vet%20Fest%202013.asp
  
  
• More photos of the 2013 Tallahassee VetFest 5K
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10103787576253673.1073741924.5215641&l=303b138a63
  
  
• Fred Deckert's photos of the 2013 Tallahassee VetFest 5K
  https://picasaweb.google.com/Freddecka/Veterans_13
  
  
• 2012 story, "James Taylor and Kelly Brennan cruise at Allen Beal 5K"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/11/tallahassee-veterans-day-2012.html
  
  
• 2011 story, "Veteran's Day victories for Smyth and Holt"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/11/tallahassee-veterans-day-2011.html
  
  
• Find a race to run on the next patriotic holiday using the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1092

Rego, Butler merciless at Run For Mercy 5K

Chris Rego finished at the front of a field of over 360 athletes, winning the inaugural Run For Mercy 5K in the Southwood community of Tallahassee, Florida on Saturday morning, 4 May 2013. Rego's time for the 3.1 mile race was 16:09, putting him about 60 meters ahead of runner-up John Keenan, who finished the race in 16:21. Jay Wallace was the first master runner in the race, taking third in 17:41. Jess Butler was the first woman finisher, placing eighth overall in 18:24. The first woman master across the finish line was Christy Singleton, running 21:56.


A few minutes after the posted time of 8:00 AM, the race started from the Southwood Town Center with a downhill dash on Merchants Row Boulevard. The finish line would be back up at the Town Center, so the runners would eventually have to give back the elevation they were losing. That didn't discourage anyone from rushing down Merchants Row, though. Chris Rego and John Keenan got out in front of the rest of the pack early, with Brian Manry chasing them in third. In fourth, Jess Butler was leading the women's field. By the mile mark, Rego had broken away from Keenan; both leaders were over 100 meters up on Manry. In a group just behind Manry, three master runners were eyeing one another--Jay Wallace, Tony Guillen, and Sean Hudson. Jess Butler had dropped back to eighth, but continued to set the pace in the women's competition.


Chris Rego continued to build a gap on John Keenan and was never challenged again, going on to beat Keenan to the finish line 16:09 to 16:21. Meanwhile, Wallace, Guillen, and Hudson were battling for the top master spot, picking off Manry along the way. Wallace got ahead of the group, leaving Hudson and Guillen locked in a struggle for fourth. While Wallace finishing up the final yards of a 17:41 5K, Hudson rounded the last turn a step ahead of Guillen. But Guillen had enough left in the tank to rush by Hudson on the homestretch, taking fourth 17:46 to 17:47. Jess Butler finished up her race unchallenged by the rest of the women's field, placing eighth in 18:24. Her closest rival was Teresa Ristow, ninth in 18:35.


Top Ten Males, 2013 Run For Mercy 5K

1. 16:08.3 ~ Chris Rego (M, 24)
2. 16:20.5 ~ John Keenan (M, 25)
3. 17:40.5 ~ Jay Wallace (M, 45)
4. 17:45.4 ~ Tony Guillen (M, 45)
5. 17:46.9 ~ Sean Hudson (M, 40)
6. 17:51.9 ~ Andrew Smyth (M, 26)
7. 17:56.2 ~ Brian Manry (M, 30)
8. 20:00.1 ~ Alex Kallinger (M, 15)
9. 20:32.0 ~ Tony Cortez (M, 31)
10. 20:39.0 ~ Jordan Merrick (M, 30)

Top Ten Females, 2013 Run For Mercy 5K

1. 18:23.8 ~ Jess Butler (F, 20)
2. 18:34.1 ~ Teresa Ristow (F, 19)
3. 18:44.8 ~ Shelby Salimone (F, 20)
4. 19:09.0 ~ Erika Charlassier (F, 20)
5. 20:08.0 ~ Renee Cox (F, 25)
6. 20:15.2 ~ Aubree Worden (F, 19)
7. 20:32.9 ~ Shannon Colavecchio (F, 35)
8. 21:22.9 ~ Victoria Suarez (F, 20)
9. 21:55.6 ~ Christy Singleton (F, 44)
10. 21:58.3 ~ Megan Smith (F, 15)

Links

• Complete results of the 2013 Run For Mercy 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AuBsYKIIn3TCdGNnTkhaQ3RkcE5ELXNERFdsNVAweGc&output=html
  
  
• More photos of the 2013 Run For Mercy 5K
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10103041033935463.1073741857.5215641&l=052c172637
  
  
• Kevin Sullivan's photos of the 2013 Run For Mercy 5K
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10102464457164900.1073741827.1945777&type=1&l=c4e20877c2
  
  
• Upcoming race in the Tallahassee region
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1