Tallahassee's 2019 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run

2019 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run

Saturday, 27 July 2019 @ 7:00 PM ET

Florida State University's Mike Long Track

Chieftain Way and Spirit Way, Tallahassee, Florida

---

We all learn from our mistakes. Of course, sometimes we only learn what they look like. "Wow! I did that again!" Tallahassee's Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run is that kind of mistake.


The first Devil-Take-The-Hindmost in Tallahassee was back in the 1970s. You'd think we'd know better after that. Instead, we kept doing it again, year after year. There was actually a seven-year stretch after 2004 where there was no Devil-Take-The-Hindmost, but the run inexplicably returned in 2011. Instead of abandoning the event entirely, the rules were occasionally refined in hopes of making the race less miserable. That hope was not realized. Since 2013, these have been the rules:

• There is a two-minute limit on each lap.
• You must finish the lap before the two minutes are up, and you can't start the next lap until the two minutes are up.
• The first lap will start at 0:00, the second at 2:00, the third at 4:00, and so on.
• At the end of each lap, the Devil will take his due, removing the last runner from the track, plus anyone who didn't complete the lap in two minutes.
• The run continues until one runner is left on the track.

Oh, and before the first lap, there is a "lap zero" where the only rule is that you must stay behind the Devil. No one gets to leave the track on that lap; casualties and the clock start on the next lap.


Who wins? The Devil, of course. The Devil's own far-from-idle hand, Bill Lott, will keep time.


No entry fee. No T-shirt. No finisher medals. No personalized race bibs. You enter by showing up on the starting line, and you register when the Devil gets you (and the Devil will). Spectators are welcome, but are reminded that it's poor form to say that they wish they had participated instead. Participants are reminded that it's poor form to say they wish they had watched instead. Refreshments? As they say in River City, Iowa, "You can eat your fill of all the food you bring yourself."


Questions? Post them below! The Devil may answer. You may even like the answer. Don't bet on it.


Links

• The Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run over the years, with results and links to photos
  
  
  • 2018: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/07/devil-2018.html
    
    
  • 2017: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/07/devil-2017.html
    
    
  • 2016: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/07/devil-2016.html
    
    
  • 2015: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-2015.html
    
    
  • 2014: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/08/devil-2014.html
    
    
  • 2013: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-2013.html
    
    
  • 2012: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/07/devil-2012.html
    
    
  • 2011: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2011.html
    
    
  • 2004: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2004.html
    
    
  • 1993: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-1993.html
    
    
  • 1992: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-1992.html
    
    
  • 1990: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-1990.html
    
  
  
• Announcements for previous Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Runs
  
  
  • 2011: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-returns-2011.html
    
    
  • 2013: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-returns-2013.html
    
    
  • 2014: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/07/devil-returns-2014.html
    
    
  • 2015: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-returns-2015.html
    
    
  • 2017: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/07/devil-returns-2017.html
    
    
  • 2018: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/07/devil-returns-2018.html
    
    
  • 2019: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/07/devil-returns-2019.html
    
  
  
• Find upcoming races of a more usual sort on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2559

The Devil couldn't catch Clay Milford

Earlier this year I was reading Bill Kenley’s novel about cross-country running, High School Runner: Freshman. If I remember one thing about the book, it’s that early in the story the Pennsgap High cross-country team does a workout that includes a Devil-take-the-Hindmost run.

Clay Milford

We have one of those in Tallahassee, and last Saturday, July 28, Chile High senior Clay Milford won Tallahassee’s Devil-take-the-Hindmost race, the sole survivor of a field of 21 runners.


In Kenley’s book, one of his character describes how the run works. “So you can’t be last in Devil, that’s the main rule. If you’re last at the finish line, the Devil gets you. Since there are six of you guys, that means the winner and the second place finisher will run five laps each.”

The Devil leads

The Tallahassee race wasn’t limited to just one small cross-country squad, so with 21 runners lining up on the track at 7:00 PM, the winner would have to go twenty laps. The rest would be removed one at a time, one at the end of each 400-meter lap, by the Devil.


Kat Sack was this year’s Devil, and led the runners on their first lap around the track. This was a parade lap, a free lap where no runner would be removed. After that, the Devil stepped off the track and waited for the end of the second lap to start her harvest.

The surge at the end of lap nine

Zachary Bridges and Anna Bridges ended the second lap with an Alphonse-and-Gaston routine. “I’ll be last.” “No, I’ll be last.” Tiring off their antics, the Devil took both athletes off the track.


Eight-year-old Chloe Molen left the track after the third lap, and Jennie Merchant after four laps. The remaining runners started their second mile.

Rory Claussen

Master runner Stuart Poage bowed out on lap five. The Devil nabbed Panama City master runner Neil Claussen on lap six, and Spencer Claussen after lap seven. The second mile ended with Ryan Poage going to the Devil on lap eight.


After leading most of the way, master runner Paul Guyas was taken by the Devil after nine laps. Eric Godin left the track on the tenth lap. Thirteen-year-old Rory Claussen of Panama City was the last female runner left on the track, but the Devil got her after eleven laps. Master runner Brian Molen couldn’t escape the Devil on the twelfth lap, leaving just two other master runners on the track--Duane Evans and Philip Sura. The Devil took Evans on the thirteenth lap, and Sura on the fourteenth. Only seven runners were left.

Vince Molosky

Vince Molosky was the first of the seven, leaving the track after a hard-fought fifteenth lap. That lap exhausted Matt McCurdy, the 2017 Devil-take-the-Hindmost winner, and he jogged the sixteenth lap, his run over after four miles.


“It took a year, but I got you!” chortled the Devil.

Lap 17

Ryan “Weather Tiger” Truchelut went out at the end of the seventeenth lap. On the eighteenth lap the Devil snatched Jake Mazziotta, a second-year runner on the Virginia Military Institute cross-country team. Three runners were left, none of whom wanted to yield an inch. Trying to lean ahead of Bryce Cole and Clay Milford at the line, Chris O'Kelley stumbled and fell. When he looked up, the Devil was directing him off the track. The nineteenth lap was over, and so was O’Kelley’s race.


The battle on the nineteenth lap had exhausted Cole; the Embry-Riddle cross-country runner could only trot around the track on the twentieth lap while Milford galloped away from him. After five miles, the Devil got Cole, and Milford got the win.

Chris O'Kelley, Clay Milford, Bryce Cole

“This is one that Jake and I have wanted to do for a lot of years,” said Milford.


The race has been going on for a lot of years. Tallahassee’s Devil-take-the-Hindmost was first run back in the 1970s. It has been almost annual since then; there have been more summers with a Devil-take-the-Hindmost than without one. It’s an unusual event, but the novelty is a welcome break from the endless summer miles. And of course there’s no more appropriate time to run with the Devil than midsummer in Tallahassee, when it’s as hot as...you know.

Devil Take The Hindmost Race Mike Long Track, Tallahassee, Florida Saturday, 28 July 2018 @ 7:00 PM ET Place First Name Last Name M/F Age Hometown Laps 1.   Clay Milford M 18 Tallahassee, FL 21 2.   Bryce Cole M 20 Wakulla, FL 20 3.   Chris O'Kelley M 25 Tallahassee, FL 19 4.   Jake Mazziotta M 20 Tallahassee, FL 18 5.   Ryan Truchelut M 32 Tallahassee, FL 17 6.   Matt McCurdy M 25 Tallahassee, FL 16 7.   Vince Molosky M 39 Tallahassee, FL 15 8.   Philip Sura M 48 Tallahassee, FL 14 9.   Duane Evans M 51 Tallahassee, FL 13 10.   Brian Molen M 42 Tallahassee, FL 12 11.   Rory Claussen F 13 Panama City, FL 11 12.   Eric Godin M 34 Tallahassee, FL 10 13.   Paul Guyas M 40 Tallahassee, FL 9 14.   Ryan Poage M 12 Tallahassee, FL 8 15.   Spencer Claussen M 13 Panama City, FL 7 16.   Neil Claussen M 44 Panama City, FL 6 17.   Stuart Poage M 43 Tallahassee, FL 5 18.   Jennie Merchant F 26 Tallahassee, FL 4 19.   Chloe Molen F 8 Tallahassee, FL 3 20.   Anna Bridges F 21 Tallahassee, FL 2 Zachary Bridges M 25 Tallahassee, FL 2

Links

• More photos of the 2018 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10112230072748023.1073742364.5215641&type=1&l=90121d56f9
  
  
• Mike Rowland's photos of the 2018 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race
  https://www.facebook.com/mike.rowland.351/media_set?set=a.10209580659472951.1073741853.1821804264&type=3
  
  
• David DeJesus' video of the 2018 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InbsjTKgX6Q
  
  
• Trouble Afoot! coverage of past Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Races, with results and links to photos
  
  • 2017: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/07/devil-2017.html
    
  • 2016: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/07/devil-2016.html
    
  • 2015: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-2015.html
    
  • 2014: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/08/devil-2014.html
    
  • 2013: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-2013.html
    
  • 2012: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/07/devil-2012.html
    
  • 2011: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2011.html
    
  • 2004: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2004.html
    
  • 1993: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-1993.html
    
  • 1992: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-1992.html
    
  • 1990: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-1990.html
    
  
  
• Announcement for previous Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Races
  
  • 2011: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-returns-2011.html
    
  • 2013: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-returns-2013.html
    
  • 2014: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/07/devil-returns-2014.html
    
  • 2015: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-returns-2015.html
    
  • 2017: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/07/devil-returns-2017.html
  
  
• Find the date of the next Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2310

Tallahassee's 2018 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run

2018 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run

Saturday, 28 July 2018 @ 7:00 PM ET

Florida State University's Mike Long Track

Chieftain Way and Spirit Way, Tallahassee, Florida

---

There are institutions that come back by popular demand, and then there are those that return even though no one seems to demand them. You can debate which of those categories that the Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run falls under, but there is no debating that the race will be back again on Saturday, 28 July 2018 at 7:00 PM eastern time on Florida State University's Mike Long Track.


The history of the Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run in Tallahassee stretches back into the 1970s, and over the years different variations on the rules were tried. None of them worked well, so in 2013 the Devil modified the rules again. Those rules didn't work well, either, but after being used each year from 2013 to 2017, they have the weight of tradition now. So we're stuck with them in 2018:

• There is a two-minute limit on each lap.
• You must finish the lap before the two minutes are up, and you can't start the next lap until the two minutes are up.
• The first lap will start at 0:00, the second at 2:00, the third at 4:00, and so on.
• At the end of each lap, the Devil will take his due, removing the last runner from the track, plus anyone who didn't complete the lap in two minutes.
• The run continues until one runner is left on the track.

Who wins? The Devil, of course. The Devil's own right left hand, Bill Lott, will keep time.


No entry fee. No T-shirt. Weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth are optional. Enter by showing up on the starting line, and register when your run is over and the Devil has taken you (and the Devil will take you). Spectators are welcome. Refreshments are strictly bring-your-own.


Questions? Post them below. The Devil may answer. The Devil may even answer honestly. Don't count on it.


Links

• The Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run over the years, with results and links to photos
  
  
  • 2017: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/07/devil-2017.html
    
    
  • 2016: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/07/devil-2016.html
    
    
  • 2015: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-2015.html
    
    
  • 2014: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/08/devil-2014.html
    
    
  • 2013: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-2013.html
    
    
  • 2012: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/07/devil-2012.html
    
    
  • 2011: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2011.html
    
    
  • 2004: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2004.html
    
    
  • 1993: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-1993.html
    
    
  • 1992: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-1992.html
    
    
  • 1990: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-1990.html
    
  
  
• Announcements for previous Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Runs
  
  
  • 2011: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-returns-2011.html
    
    
  • 2013: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-returns-2013.html
    
    
  • 2014: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/07/devil-returns-2014.html
    
    
  • 2015: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-returns-2015.html
    
    
  • 2017: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/07/devil-returns-2017.html
    
  
  
• Find upcoming races of a more usual sort on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2306

Running with the Devil and Matt McCurdy

Matt McCurdy, a Florida State University doctoral student in applied mathematics, won Tallahassee's annual Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race at the Mike Long Track on Saturday evening, 29 July 2017. That's more impressive when you know what the Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race is.

Matt McCurdy

Briefly, a Devil-Take-The-Hindmost race is a run where the last runner is taken off the track at the end of each lap. In Tallahassee, removal is done by the Devil, or at least by someone dressed as the Devil. The winner is the last athlete left on the track. In the Tallahassee version, the first lap is a parade lap and elimination doesn't start till the end of the second lap. Each elimination lap has a two-minute limit. Anyone who doesn't finish the lap in two minutes is out of the race. Also, no one can start the next lap till the two minutes is up, allowing the field to regroup at the end of each lap. The length of the race depends upon the number of runners. If there are 50 athletes in the field, the race could go on for 50 laps.


27 athletes made it to the starting line of the 2017 race. At 7:00 PM, the Devil led them around the track for their first lap. Then the Devil waited for the end of the second lap and her first victim.

The First Lap

The first to be taken off the track was Alexa Poage, an eighth-grader on the cross-country team at Deerlake Middle School, out after two laps. After the third lap the Devil grabbed Nashville, Georgia master runner John Bolmer. The Devil had an especially good harvest at the end of the fourth lap, collecting Zack Bridges, Zack Scharlepp, and Lance Bolmer. 22 survivors started their second mile.


Wakulla master runner Doug Cole went to the Devil after the fifth lap, Tallahassee master runner Mike Boll after the sixth. Eleven-year-old Tallahassee runner Ryan Poage fell after seven laps, and master runner Stuart Poage after eight laps. The third mile began.

Stuart Poage

The Devil caught Tallahassee master runner Monica Judd at the end of the ninth lap, leaving Kat Sack and Katie Sherron as the last two women on the track. Matt Hohmeister was the Devil's victim on the tenth lap. Zach DeVeau, pushing his infant son Barrett in a stroller, was gone after the eleventh lap. Seth Kerr couldn't avoid the Devil's embrace at the end of lap twelve. Lap thirteen proved unlucky for Morgan Bolmer, a Berrien County High sophomore cross-country runner, taken by the Devil after that lap.


Two master runners went out next, Laryn Flikkema after lap fourteen and Brian Molen after lap fifteen. Kat Sack was the Devil's victim on the sixteenth lap, so Katie Sherron was the only woman left on the track. The women's champ only lasted one more lap, though; Sherron was gone after lap seventeen. Jack McDermott, the last master runner left in the race, fell into the Devil's clutches after eighteen laps. Eight runners were left.

Lap 18

Ryan Truchelut yanked his shoes off before starting the nineteenth lap, but barefoot running didn't help him evade the Devil. Truchelut never saw lap twenty. Bobby Duggleby did survive to start the twentieth lap, but met the Devil at the end of that circuit. Paul Guyas, exhausted by lap twenty, couldn't keep up on the 21st lap and was greeted by the Devil. Trevor Sununu had won the 2016 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race in 2016, going 21 laps without being caught by the Devil. In 2017 he went 22 laps before the Devil caught him. Added together, Sununu covered 43 laps before meeting the Devil, but meet her he did. The field was down to four.


Charlie Johnson took the lead on lap 23. Matt McCurdy and Chris O'Kelley let him go, safe because they were ahead of Bryce Cole. The Devil got Cole at the end of that lap, leaving three runners.

Lap 22

Johnson and McCurdy left O'Kelley behind for the Devil on the 24th lap, McCurdy hugging the rail to conserve energy. The Devil watched as Johnson and McCurdy started the 25th lap and a 400-meter duel for the win. The Devil would take the loser.


The Devil wouldn't get McCurdy. Starting off at a scorching sprint, McCurdy jumped out ahead of Johnson and didn't let up. It wasn't a surprise, though, for anyone familiar with McCurdy's career on the track team of Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.

Charlie Johnson & Matt McCurdy

"I ran the 800 and the 4 x 400 relay," said McCurdy. "I've got some leg speed."


McCurdy finished the 25th lap safely, half a straightaway ahead of Johnson, winning the race. The Devil had to be satisfied with Johnson and 25 other souls. As for McCurdy getting away, well, there's always next year. The Devil can be patient.

Charlie Johnson

Nancy Stedman starred as the Devil at the 2017 event. Bill Lott was timer and gatekeeper, while Tec Thomas kept score. The three kept the event running smoothly in spite of any obstruction Herb Wills could come up with. The next Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race will be Saturday, 28 July 2018, unless it isn't.

Devil Take The Hindmost Race Mike Long Track, Tallahassee, Florida Saturday, 29 July 2017 @ 7:00 PM ET Place First Name Last Name M/F Age Hometown Laps 1.   Matt McCurdy M 24 Tallahassee, FL 26 2.   Charlie Johnson M 37 Tallahassee, FL 25 3.   Chris O'Kelley M 24 Tallahassee, FL 24 4.   Bryce Cole M 19 Wakulla, FL 23 5.   Trevor Sununu M 21 Tallahassee, FL 22 6.   Paul Guyas M 39 Tallahassee, FL 21 7.   Bobby Duggleby M 26 Tallahassee, FL 20 8.   Ryan Truchelut M 31 Tallahassee, FL 19 9.   Jack McDermott M 48 Tallahassee, FL 18 10.   Katie Sherron F 35 Tallahassee, FL 17 11.   Kat Sack F 25 Tallahassee, FL 16 12.   Brian Molen M 41 Tallahassee, FL 15 13.   Laryn Flikkema M 41 Tallahassee, FL 14 14.   Morgan Bolmer M 14 Nashville, GA 13 15.   Seth Kerr M 29 Tallahassee, FL 12 16.   Zach DeVeau M 29 Tallahassee, FL 11 Barrett DeVeau M 1 Tallahassee, FL 11 17.   Matt Hohmeister M 36 Tallahassee, FL 10 18.   Monica Judd F 43 Tallahassee, FL 9 19.   Stuart Poage M 42 Tallahassee, FL 8 20.   Ryan Poage M 11 Tallahassee, FL 7 21.   Mike Boll M 53 Tallahassee, FL 6 22.   Doug Cole M 52 Wakulla, FL 5 23.   Zack Scharlepp M 34 Tallahassee, FL 4 Lance Bolmer M 10 Nashville, GA 4 Zack Bridges M 34 Tallahassee, FL 4 26.   John Bolmer M 41 Nashville, GA 3 27.   Alexa Poage F 13 Tallahassee, FL 3

Links

• More photos of the 2017 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10110256440023823.1073742287.5215641&type=1&l=0f185cadbd
  
  
• All about the 2016 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race, with results and links to photos
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/07/devil-2016.html
  
  
• All about the 2015 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race, with results and links to photos
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-2015.html
  
  
• All about the 2014 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race, with results and links to photos
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/08/devil-2014.html
  
  
• All about the 2013 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race, with results and links to photos
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-2013.html
  
  
• All about the 2012 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race, with results and links to photos
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/07/devil-2012.html
  
  
• All about the 2011 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race, with results and links to photos
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2011.html
  
  
• All about the 2004 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race, with results and links to photos
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2004.html
  
  
• All about the 1993 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race, including results
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-1993.html
  
  
• All about the 1992 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race, including results
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-1992.html
  
  
• All about the 1990 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race, including results
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-1990.html
  
  
• Announcement for previous Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Races
  
  • 2011: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-returns-2011.html
    
  • 2013: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-returns-2013.html
    
  • 2014: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/07/devil-returns-2014.html
    
  • 2015: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-returns-2015.html
    
  • 2017: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/07/devil-returns-2017.html
  
  
• Find the date of the next Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2043

Tallahassee's 2017 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run

2017 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run

Saturday, 29 July 2017 @ 7:00 PM ET

Florida State University's Mike Long Track

Chieftain Way and Spirit Way, Tallahassee, Florida

---

You know how a rash will seem to almost go away, only to flare up again? Tallahassee's Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run is similarly persistent. It will be back, just as irritating as ever, on Saturday, 29 July 2017 at 7:00 PM eastern time on Florida State University's Mike Long Track.


The history of the Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run in Tallahassee stretches back into the 1970s, and over the years different variations on the rules were tried. None of them worked well, so in 2013 the Devil modified the rules again. Those ruled didn't work well, either, but after being used each year from 2013 to 2016, they have the weight of tradition now. So we're stuck with them in 2017:

• There is a two-minute limit on each lap.
• You must finish the lap before the two minutes are up, and you can't start the next lap until the two minutes are up.
• The first lap will start at 0:00, the second at 2:00, the third at 4:00, and so on.
• At the end of each lap, the Devil will take his due, removing the last runner from the track, plus anyone who didn't complete the lap in two minutes.
• The run continues until one runner is left on the track.

Who wins? The Devil, of course. The Devil's own right left hand, Bill Lott, will keep time.


No entry fee. No T-shirt. Weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth are optional. Enter by showing up on the starting line, and register when your run is over and the Devil has taken you (and the Devil will take you). Spectators are welcome. Refreshments are strictly bring-your-own.


Questions? Post them below. The Devil may answer. The Devil may even answer honestly. Don't count on it.


Links

• The Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run over the years, with results and links to photos
  
  
  • 2016: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/07/devil-2016.html
    
    
  • 2015: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-2015.html
    
    
  • 2014: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/08/devil-2014.html
    
    
  • 2013: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-2013.html
    
    
  • 2012: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/07/devil-2012.html
    
    
  • 2011: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2011.html
    
    
  • 2004: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2004.html
    
    
  • 1993: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-1993.html
    
    
  • 1992: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-1992.html
    
    
  • 1990: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-1990.html
    
  
  
• Announcements for previous Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Runs
  
  
  • 2011: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-returns-2011.html
    
    
  • 2013: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-returns-2013.html
    
    
  • 2014: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/07/devil-returns-2014.html
    
    
  • 2015: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-returns-2015.html
    
  
  
• Find upcoming races of a more usual sort on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2038

Victory to Sununu while everyone else goes to the Devil

Spikes or flats? Race in the front of the pack or run from the back? Sit and surge, or run fast and steady?


These were all strategies discussed by the athletes and spectators at Tallahassee, Florida's annual Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race on Saturday evening, 23 July 2016. None of the tactics worked in the end, because sooner or later the Devil caught every runner that stepped onto Florida State University's Mike Long Track that evening. Every runner, that is, except for Trevor Sununu, the 2016 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost champion.

Trevor Sununu

Unique among track events, only one runner in the Devil-Take-The-Hindmost race goes the whole distance. After the first lap, the last runner at the end of each lap is taken off the track. This continues until only one runner is left to complete the last lap. That remaining runner celebrates victory; the Devil celebrates a full harvest.


At the 2016 race 23 runners made it to the starting line, which meant that the winner might have to run as far as 23 laps. The other 22 athletes wouldn't have to go nearly as far. The Devil led the runners through the first lap, then waited to see who she would be taking from the track after lap two.

Lap one, the "Parade Lap"

The first victim was Anna Bridges. After that the Devil took Alisa Ivanina at the end of the third lap and Zach Bridges at the end of the fourth. That was the first mile. During the second mile, the Devil started by snatching Mike Boll, then Stuart Poage, then Doug Cole. The Devil concluded the second mile by taking two runners from the track at the end of the eighth lap--Zach Scharlepp and Erik Andersen. There were 15 athletes left on the track, but the Devil knew that fourteen of them belonged to her.


The last woman left on the track, Katie Sack, was taken by the Devil at the end of the ninth lap. Philip Sura bowed out after ten laps, and Brian Molen made it no farther than the eleventh lap. Mark Tombrink went to the Devil after twelve laps. The thirteenth lap was especially unfortunate for the runners. The Devil took Zach DeVeau, and Arnoldo De Jesus and Hawthorne Hay each decided he could go no farther. Eight competitors remained to start the fourteenth lap.

Katie Sack

The Devil showed Carter Hay the exit after fourteen laps. Vince Molosky surged into the lead on the fifteenth lap while the Devil seized Eric Godin. On the sixteenth lap, though, it was Molosky's turn to go to the Devil. Trevor Sununu set a stiff pace on the seventeenth lap, and his older brother Tyler Sununu ended up in the Devil's clutches. Trevor Sununu stayed in front on the eighteenth lap, and Paul Guyas ended up in the back as the Devil's next victim. Three runners were left on the track to start the nineteenth lap--Bryce Cole, Trevor Sununu, and Ryan Truchelut.


Trevor Sununu continued to push the pace on the nineteenth lap. Ryan Truchelut couldn't keep up with him, but he could stay ahead of Brycye Cole, and Cole went to the Devil. Sununu and Truchelut were left alone on the track to start the championship lap. Under the eyes of the spectators in the stands and the gleeful Devil, Sununu ran away from Truchelut. The Devil got Truchelut and Sununu got the win.

Tyler Sununu and the Devil

Credit is due Danielle Zemola for taking up the pitchfork and playing the Devil in 2016. Jane Skalski deserves thanks for compiling results. Bill Lott did everything else that it was possible to do. Herb Wills looked very important and it's possible that he did something, except nobody seems to know what it was.


The rumors that Territorial Governor Andrew Jackson ran in Tallahassee's first Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race are entirely without merit, but the event does go back to the 1970s. Written records are next to nonexistent, but you can find people who will insist that the race was held more-or-less annually till 1999. After a hiatus the race reappeared for a year in 2004, then returned to an annual schedule in 2011. You can expect it to return in 2017, probably in July, unless it doesn't. With the Devil you just never know.

Devil Take The Hindmost Race Mike Long Track, Tallahassee, Florida Saturday, 23 July 2016 @ 7:00 PM ET Place First Name Last Name M/F Age Hometown Laps 1. Trevor Sununu M 20 Tallahassee, FL 21 2. Ryan Truchelut M 30 Tallahassee, FL 20 3. Bryce Cole M 18 Tallahassee, FL 19 4. Paul Guyas M 38 Tallahassee, FL 18 5. Tyler Sununu M 27 Tallahassee, FL 17 6. Vince Molosky M 37 Tallahassee, FL 16 7. Eric Godin M 32 Tallahassee, FL 15 8. Carter Hay M 45 Tallahassee, FL 14 9. Zach DeVeau M 28 Tallahassee, FL 13 Arnoldo De Jesus M 30 Albany, GA 13 Hawthorne Hay M 14 Tallahassee, FL 13 12. Mark Tombrink M 28 Tallahassee, FL 12 13. Brian Molen M 40 Tallahassee, FL 11 14. Philip Sura M 46 Tallahassee, FL 10 15. Katie Sack F 24 Tallahassee, FL 9 16. Zach Scharlepp M 33 Tallahassee, FL 8 Erik Andersen M 33 Tallahassee, FL 8 18. Doug Cole M 51 Wakulla, FL 7 19. Stuart Poage M 41 Tallahassee, FL 6 20. Mike Boll M 52 Tallahassee, FL 5 21. Zach Bridges M 22 Tallahassee, FL 4 22. Alisa Ivanina F 19 Albany, GA 3 23. Anna Bridges F 19 Tallahassee, FL 2

Links

• More photos of the 2016 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10107926366549743.1073742206.5215641&l=b3a5d83233
  
  
• Arnoldo De Jesus of the Good Life City Runners has a few words for the Devil
  https://glcrunners.blogspot.com/2016/07/2016-devil-take-hindmost-run-fsu-mike.html
  
  
• All about the 2015 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run, with results and links to photos
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-2015.html
  
  
• All about the 2014 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run, with results and links to photos
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/08/devil-2014.html
  
  
• All about the 2013 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run, with results and links to photos
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-2013.html
  
  
• All about the 2012 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run, with results and links to photos
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/07/devil-2012.html
  
  
• All about the 2011 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run, with results and links to photos
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2011.html
  
  
• All about the 2004 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run, with results and links to photos
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2004.html
  
  
• All about the 1993 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run, including results
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-1993.html
  
  
• All about the 1992 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run, including results
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-1992.html
  
  
• All about the 1990 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run, including results
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-1990.html
  
  
• Announcement for previous Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Runs
  
  • 2011: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-returns-2011.html
    
  • 2013: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-returns-2013.html
    
  • 2014: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/07/devil-returns-2014.html
    
  • 2015: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-returns-2015.html
    
  
  
• Find the date of the next Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1739

Tallahassee's 1999 Devil Take The Hindmost Run

The 1999 Devil Take The Hindmost Race was the last one directed by Shannon Sullivan, who had produced the race annually for a long, long time. It was also the last Devil Take The Hindmost in Tallahassee during the twentieth century, and the last till the race was revived in 2004.


Mary Jean Yon was the Devil at this edition of the race, harvesting 22 of the 23 souls on the track. The winner and last runner left on the track was Paul "Jody" Spangler, who went on to win the Palace Saloon 5K the following spring, the Rose City 10K in 2001, and is currently a track coach at the University of Florida. Cynthia Campbell was the last woman on the track. But you can see that in the results below.

Results, Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run Mike Long Track, Tallahassee, Florida Saturday, 21 August 1999 @ 7:00 PM ET Place Name Laps 1.   Jody Spangler 24 2.   Tommy Kunish 23 3.   Ryan Deak 22 4.   Dwayne Maddron 21 5.   Doug Gorton 20 6.   Jose Quintero 19 7.   Zach Heissner 18 8.   Pete Peters 17 9.   Taylor Drake 16 10.   Dave Stewart 15 11.   Ryan Atkins 14 12.   Danny Fritz 13 13.   David Ogletree 12 14.   Bob Gagen 11 15.   Cynthia Campbell 10 16.   Logan Wolcott 10 17.   David Fermin 9 18.   Nathan Adams 7 19.   Nick Stewart 7 20.   Todd McGowan 6 21.   Vicky Galano 5 22.   Cindy Antoun 4 23.   Bob Keller 3

Links

• Other Devil Take The Hindmost Races of times past
  
  • 2015: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-2015.html
    
  • 2014: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/08/devil-2014.html
    
  • 2013: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-2013.html
    
  • 2012: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/07/devil-2012.html
    
  • 2011: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2011.html
    
  • 2004: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2004.html
    
  • 1999: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-1999.html
    
  • 1993: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-1993.html
    
  • 1992: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-1992.html
    
  • 1990: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-1990.html
    
  
  
• Announcement for previous Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Runs
  
  • 2011: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-returns-2011.html
    
  • 2013: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-returns-2013.html
    
  • 2014: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/07/devil-returns-2014.html
    
  • 2015: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-returns-2015.html
    
  
  
• Find the date of the next Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1449

Cox beats the Devil again

In the middle of the hottest part of the year in Tallahassee, Florida, on Saturday evening, 25 July 2015, Stephen Cox won the annual Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run on Florida State University's Mike Long Track.


So what is a Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run?


In Tallahassee it's a track race where at the end of each 400-meter lap, the runner in last place is removed from the track by an official dressed as the Devil. The removals start at the end of the second lap and continue till only one competitor is left, the winner. Just to keep things interesting, there's a two-minute limit on each lap--athletes have two minutes to finish a lap, and the next lap can't start till the two minutes are up. If it seems complicated, you might be able to get further clarification from the Devil--probably while you're being escorted off the track.


Just after 7:00 PM, 27 athletes started the 2015 version of this morality play without a moral. The Devil, fiendishly played by Mandy Hudson, plucked nine-year-old Ryan Poage from the track after the second lap, followed by Mike Burns at the end of the third lap, and Alexa Poage at the end of the fourth. The remaining runners had gone a mile and the Devil was just getting started.


Michael McCarroll, Michael Molen, Cole Tessier, and Stuart Poage were the lap-by-lap casualties during the second mile. Wakulla's Doug Cole was taken by the Devil after lap nine. The Devil grabbed Eric Dueno at the end of lap ten, and Nico Wienders declined to run another lap, giving the Devil two victims. Katie Sack went at the end of the eleventh lap, and Perry Waddell at the end of the twelfth. Not everyone watching from the stands was entirely sure that Sack or Waddell were actually last when they were snatched, but they were close enough to tempt the Devil, and the Devil's decision is always final.


Philip Sura left the track after thirteen laps, and Mark Tombrink after fourteen. Sean Hudson's connections with the Devil weren't enough to get him past lap fifteen. The Devil gave Brian Molen the hook at the end of the sixteenth lap. Jack McDermott made it through seventeen laps, but no farther. Katie Sherron, the last woman left in the field, was taken by the Devil after eighteen laps. Gary Galvez kicked past Eric Godin at the end of the nineteenth lap, leaving Godin to the Devil. After that effort, though, Galvez had nothing left and was gone after twenty. After five miles, five runners were left circling the track--Bryce Cole, Stephen Cox, Zach DeVeau, Tyler Heath, and Roger Schmidt.


Schmidt was the first victim of the final five, left behind for the Devil at the end of the 21st lap. Tyler Heath, an alumnus of the Wellington High cross-country team, settled for fourth place when the Devil took him after 22 laps. Stephen Cox led the 23rd lap, and it looked like 2014 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost champion Zach DeVeau would join him in a showdown on the 24th lap. But Bryce Cole kicked past DeVeau to end lap 23. DeVeau, meet Devil. Cole and Cox advanced to the 24th lap.


There was no final lap drama, though. Cox surged away from Cole immediately, leaving no doubt that Cole was going to be Devil-bait at the end of the 24th lap. Cox, the 2013 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost champion, had won again in 2015. It was one of Cox's last races in Tallahassee, and probably his last Devil-Take-The-Hindmost race in the capital city.


"In three weeks I'm moving to Eugene [Oregon]," said Cox. "I'm going to have to suck it up and live in Tracktown."


Cole, on the other hand, should be around for more Devil-Take-The-Hindmost racing. A junior on the Wakulla High cross country team, Cole counts that as a positive.


"This is my kind of race," said Cole. "I wish there were more of them."


The Devil concurs.

Devil Take The Hindmost Race Mike Long Track, Tallahassee, Florida Saturday, 25 July 2015 @ 7:00 PM ET Place First Name Last Name M/F Age Hometown Laps 1. Stephen Cox M 31 Tallahassee, FL 25 2. Bryce Cole M 17 Wakulla, FL 24 3. Zach DeVeau M 27 Tallahassee, FL 23 4. Tyler Heath M 20 West Palm Beach, FL 22 5. Roger Schmidt M 24 Tallahassee, FL 21 6. Gary Galvez M 28 Panama City, Panama 20 7. Eric Godin M 31 Tallahassee, FL 19 8. Katie Sherron F 33 Tallahassee, FL 18 9. Jack McDermott M 46 Tallahassee, FL 17 10. Brian Molen M 39 Tallahassee, FL 16 11. Sean Hudson M 45 Tallahassee, FL 15 12. Mark Tombrink M 27 Tallahassee, FL 14 13. Philip Sura M 45 Tallahassee, FL 13 14. Perry Waddell M 17 Bainbridge, GA 12 15. Katie Sack F 23 Tallahassee, FL 11 16. Nico Wienders M 44 Tallahassee, FL 10 Eric Dueno M 47 Havana, FL 10 18. Doug Cole M 50 Wakulla, FL 9 19. Stuart Poage M 40 Tallahassee, FL 8 20. Cole Tessier M 32 Tallahassee, FL 7 21. Michael Molen M 15 Tallahassee, FL 6 22. Michael McCarroll M 30 Tallahassee, FL 5 23. Alexa Poage F 11 Tallahassee, FL 4 24. Mike Burns M 50 Tallahassee, FL 3 26. Ryan Poage M 9 Tallahassee, FL 2

Links

• More photos of the 2015 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10106479121056313.1073742110.5215641&l=5d7a759f9f
  
  
• All about the 2014 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run, with results and links to photos
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/08/devil-2014.html
  
  
• All about the 2013 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run, with results and links to photos
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-2013.html
  
  
• All about the 2012 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run, with results and links to photos
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/07/devil-2012.html
  
  
• All about the 2011 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run, with results and links to photos
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2011.html
  
  
• All about the 2004 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run, with results and links to photos
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2004.html
  
  
• All about the 1993 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run, including results
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-1993.html
  
  
• All about the 1992 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run, including results
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-1992.html
  
  
• All about the 1990 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run, including results
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-1990.html
  
  
• Announcement for previous Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Runs
  
  • 2011: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-returns-2011.html
    
  • 2013: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-returns-2013.html
    
  • 2014: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/07/devil-returns-2014.html
    
  • 2015: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-returns-2015.html
    
  
  
• Find the date of the next Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Race on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1445