A sweetheart of a race in Tifton for Anthony and Oslund

Atlanta Track Club master runner Kurt Anthony won the 18th annual 5K Sweetheart Run in Tifton, Georgia, on 21 February 2015, running 19:41. Brenau University track star Elena Oslund finished in the runner-up spot, taking the women's title with a 19:51. 132 athletes finished the 3.1-mile race, which started and finished at the offices of Rehabilitation Services of Tifton.


Oslund was back for a visit in South Georgia just one week after setting Brenau University school records in both the indoor mile and the 3000-meter run (5:24.69 and 10:48.66 for the statisticians). After going to high school in North Carolina, Oslund had become acquainted with South Georgia while competing for the Darton State College cross-country team. Oslund spent a semester after Darton State at Lindsey Wilson College, but now she's back in Georgia racing for the Brenau Golden Tigers in Gainesville.


Lorenzo Gomez, Jr., of Omega, Georgia, took third in the Sweetheart Run, running 20:09. Fourth place went to Omega master runner Lorenzo Gomez in 20:09, and Colquitt County High cross-country alumnus Steven Johnson finished fifth in 21:05.


Tift Middle School cross-country runner Emily Golden was second in the women's standing, coming in ninth overall in 21:32. Sarah Turner of Tifton was the third female finisher, placing 10th overall in 22:12. Tifton's Penny Peters was the fourth female finisher and first master woman, 17th overall in 24:25.


The Sweetheart Run is held annually by Rehabilitation Services of Tifton. Proceed from the 5K and the one-mile "Clot Trot" benefit Hemophilia of Georgia.


Top Ten Men, 2015 Tifton Sweetheart Run 5K

1. 19:41 ~ Kurt Anthony (M, 45-49) Kennesaw, GA
2. 19:58 ~ Lorenzo Gomez (M, 25-29) Omega, GA
3. 20:09 ~ Lorenzo Gomez (M, 45-49) Omega, GA
4. 21:05 ~ Steven Johnson (M, 15-19) Norman Park, GA
5. 21:17 ~ Joseph Knoll (M, 35-39) Tifton, GA
6. 21:26 ~ Austin Bennett (M, 15-19) Tifton, GA
7. 21:30 ~ Benjamin Hess (M, 35-39) Tifton, GA
8. 22:31 ~ Richard Golden (M, 45-49) Tifton, GA
9. 22:41 ~ Rick Register (M, 50-54) Lake Park, GA
10. 22:57 ~ James Hawke (M, 45-49) Sylvester, GA

Top Ten Women, 2015 Tifton Sweetheart Run 5K

1. 19:51 ~ Elena Oslund (F, 20-24) Gainesville, GA
2. 21:32 ~ Emily Golden (F, 11-14) Tifton, GA
3. 22:12 ~ Sarah Turner (F, 20-24) Tifton, GA
4. 24:25 ~ Penny Peters (F, 45-49) Tifton, GA
5. 24:42 ~ Ashlee Golden (F, 11-14) Tifton, GA
6. 25:28 ~ Anna Lee Atwater (F, 15-19) Tifton, GA
7. 25:42 ~ Jeannette MacDonald (F, 60-64) Sylvester, GA
8. 26:32 ~ April Jowers (F, 30-34) Tifton, GA
9. 27:35 ~ Anne Veazey (F, 35-39) Tifton, GA
10. 27:43 ~ Kelly Golden (F, 45-49) Tifton, GA

Known Sweetheart Run 5K winners, 2003 - 2015
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
22 February 2003	16:26, Josh Myers	21:03, Angela Cobb	97
11 February 2006	16:55, John Seppala	20:36, Kristen Ray	124
10 February 2007	17:16, David Marley	20:14, Brittney Skiles	128
21 February 2009
13 February 2010	16:22, Austin McDonald	23:22, Madison Honeycutt
12 February 2011	17:00, Hunter Honeycutt	22:06, Madison Honeycutt
11 February 2012	19:38, Matthew Myers	22:54, Ashlee Golden
9 February 2013	19:31, Michael Love	21:50, Ashlee Golden	155
22 February 2014	20:35, Lorenzo Gomez	22:16, Ashlee Golden	172
21 February 2015	19:41, Kurt Anthony	19:51, Elena Oslund	132
Any help in filling the gaps for 1998-2002, 2004-2005, and 2008-2009 would be greatly appreciated.

Links

• Complete results of the 2015 Tifton, Georgia, Sweetheart Run 5K
  http://www.rehaboftifton.com/SHR/Results.html
  
  
• 2011 story, “Honeycutt and Honeycutt break hearts at Tifton's Sweetheart Run”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/02/tifton-sweetheart-2011.html
  
  
• Upcoming races in Tifton and other cities within 100 miles of Tallahassee at Trouble Afoot!
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1322

De Jesus and Oslund flit through Gnat Days 5K

Two southwest Georgia road racing institutions, the Gnat Days 5K and the Rose City 10K, were just six days apart this year. You couldn't call them twin races, though. Almost everything the Gnat Days race has, the Rose City Run seems to have more. Gnat Days is 3.1 miles long, Rose City is 6.2 miles long. Camilla, home of Gnat Days, is well into the south part of Georgia, less than 40 miles from the Florida border. Thomasville, home of the Rose City Run, is 30 miles farther south than Camilla. 124 athletes finished this year's Gnat Days 5K on 2 May 2014. 463 finished this year's Rose City 10K on 26 April 2014. Gnat Days is an old race, going back to 1988. Rose City is older, going back to 1978.


Still, Camilla has the gnats, cloud-like swarms of them. Thomasville makes no claims on Camilla's gnats.


Arnoldo De Jesus of Albany, Georgia, had raced in the 2014 Rose City Run, and he was in Camilla for the 27th annual Gnat Days just six days later. Apparently De Jesus was recovered and ready to compete; he won the Friday evening 5K in Camilla in 18:32. De Jesus was one of several athletes who ran both races. For instance, runner-up Elena Oslund had finished second in the women's standings in the Rose City 10K this spring. In the Gnat Days 5K, Oslund won the women's title in 18:50.


Leesburg, Georgia, runner Dennis Moore hadn't been in Thomasville, but he was certainly in Camilla. Moore was third overall in 19:12, claiming the top master spot in the Gnat Days 5K. Albany master runner Kurt Anthony was fourth in 19:46. A Rose City Run veteran came out on top in a close race for fifth--Thomasville's Gareth Pyle ran 19:53 to edge out Camilla's Michael McGahee (6th, 19:55) and Thomasville's Chad Johnson (7th, 19:57).


Thomasville master runner Mary Anne Grayson, a three-time women's champ in the Gnat Days 5K, was the women's runner-up, placing 10th overall in 20:45.


Top Ten Men, 2014 Gnat Days 5K

1. 18:31.40 ~ Arnoldo DeJesus (M, 28) Albany, GA
2. 19:11.64 ~ Dennis Moore (M, 45) Leesburg, GA
3. 19:45.15 ~ Kurt Anthony (M, 48) Albany, GA
4. 19:52.57 ~ Gareth Pyle (M, 35) Thomasville, GA
5. 19:54.11 ~ Michael McGahee (M, 36) Camilla, GA
6. 19:56.58 ~ Chad Johnson (M, 43) Thomasville, GA
7. 20:02.79 ~ Phillip Morris (M, 48) Pelham, GA
8. 20:27.83 ~ Dennis Fuchs (M, 44) Albany, GA
9. 20:46.66 ~ Jeff Urbanski (M, 51) Warner Robins, GA
10. 21:21.44 ~ Daniel DeMott (M, 13) Moultrie, GA

Top Ten Women, 2014 Gnat Days 5K

1. 18:49.88 ~ Elena Oslund (F, 21) Albany, GA
2. 20:44.37 ~ Mary Anne Grayson (F, 48) Thomasville, GA
3. 21:28.67 ~ Janet Urbanski (F, 44) Warner Robins, GA
4. 24:40.41 ~ Jennifer Bendewish (F, 39) Cairo, GA
5. 24:54.73 ~ Jill Hope (F, 33) Camilla, G
6. 27:19.25 ~ Blair Pollock (F, 9) Vada, GA
7. 27:32.05 ~ Ashley Maxwell (F, 32) Leesburg, GA
8. 27:36.25 ~ Buffy Keene (F, 44) Donalsonville, GA
9. 27:38.40 ~ Jennifer Wisham (F, 35) Camilla, GA
10. 27:40.04 ~ Trish Brinkley (F, 37) Meigs, GA

Gnat Days 5K Champions, 2005 - 2014
Date	Men	Women
2 May 2014	18:32, Arnoldo DeJesus	18:50, Elena Oslund
3 May 2013	19:06, James Taylor	24:33, Ashtin Banks
4 May 2012	17:51, Stephen Robbins	19:47, Mary Anne Grayson
6 May 2011	17:35,  Masked Avenger	23:53,  Jenna Willingham
30 April 2010	17:36,  Kyle Harris	19:59,  Mary Anne Grayson
1 May 2009	17:39,  Nathan Norton	19:51,  Mary Anne Grayson
2 May 2008	18:12,  Todd Smoot	22:35,  Diane Johnson
4 May 2007	16:59,  Todd Smoot	22:49,  Diane Johnson
5 May 2006	17:27,  Clint Watkins	22:02,  Lori Rawlings
6 May 2005	17:06,  Dr. Robert Feldman	21:12,  Debbie Wittmer
1 May 2004
3 May 2003
14 May 1994
12 June 1993
13 June 1992
8 June 1991	15:33, Louis Floyd	18:20,  Vikki Saga
9 June 1990
10 June 1989*
11 June 1988**	John Tuttle (14:14.7)	Carla Borovicka (16:28)

Links

• Complete results of the 2014 Gnat Days 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hc_hSEY2Y7bQrva5mFUswSn0l2RmINhEfgAM9TSTYD4/pubhtml
  
  
• 2013 story, "No flies on Taylor or Banks in Camilla"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/05/gnat-days-2013.html
  
  
• 2012 story, "Robbins and Grayson beat the swarm in Camilla"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/05/gnat-days-2012.html
  
  
• 2011 story, "Avenger and Willingham in a cloud of...gnats"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/05/gnat-2011.html
  
  
• Find races not requiring insect repellent on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1138

Victories in Albany for Calhoun and Oslund in the Love Run

Up north, high school and collegiate athletes spend the winter racing on indoor tracks--sometimes as small as eleven laps to a mile, wooden ovals with banked turns that could have been made for roller derby. In Georgia, though, by February the preps are looking at the start of outdoor track season. Even so, Wright Calhoun, a sophomore distance runner at Southland Academy in Americus, found time on the morning of Feb. 8 to lead a field nearly 300 runners around the streets of Albany, Georgia. It was the Heather Lanier Yeiser Love Run, and Calhoun won the first-year 5K in 17:42. Lee County High School math teacher Josh Fix was runner-up in 17:58. The fastest master runner in the race was Leesburg's Dennis Moore, who finished third overall in 19:22.


Darton College's Elena Oslund finished atop the women's standings by almost three and a half minutes, placing fourth overall in 19:52. Janie Plowden, a freshman cross-country runner at Albany's Westover High, was the women's runner-up, placing 21st overall in 23:21. Amy Cain was the top woman master in the race, 27th overall in 23:48.


The Love Run was in support of Heather Lanier Yeiser of Albany, a first grade teacher at Deerfield-Windsor School who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Yeiser was first diagnosed in October and is currently about halfway through chemotherapy. The race was sponsored by Wild Side Running of Albany.


Top Ten Men, 2014

1. 17:42 ~ Wright Calhoun (M, 16)
2. 17:58 ~ Josh Fix (M, 39)
3. 19:22 ~ Dennis Moore (M, 45)
4. 19:54 ~ Kurt Anthony (M, 48)
5. 20:46 ~ Ty Bettis (M, 40)
6. 20:51 ~ Dennis Fuchs (M, 44)
7. 21:04 ~ Jacob Blakey (M, 14)
8. 21:20 ~ William Hancock (M, 51)
9. 21:32 ~ Sergio Fairias (M, 29)
10. 21:45 ~ Fin Sarat (M, 18)

Top Ten Women, 2014

1. 19:52 ~ Elena Oslund (F, 20)
2. 23:21 ~ Janie Plowden (F, 15)
3. 23:48 ~ Amy Cain (F, 43)
4. 24:21 ~ Hadley Holt (F, 11)
5. 24:55 ~ Sage Barkley (F, 10)
6. 25:01 ~ Wendy Hester (F, 49)
7. 25:14 ~ Spenser Wilkinson (F, 24)
8. 25:16 ~ Gail Conley (F, 41)
9. 25:29 ~ Kate Jones (F, 21)
10. 25:31 ~ Kaitlyn Winter (F, 19)

Links

• Complete results of the 2014 Heather Lanier Yeiser Love Run 5K
  http://www.runningintheusa.com/Results/View.aspx?ResultsID=122992
  
  
• "Teachers hosting ‘The Love Run’ in support of friend"
  http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2014/feb/01/teachers-hosting-8216the-love-run8217-in-support/
  
  
• Another race won by Wright Calhoun
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/valdosta-independence-2013.html
  
  
• Another race won by Elena Oslund
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/01/kiwanis-river-run-2014.html
  
  
• Find Calhoun's or Oslund's next victory on the Trouble Afoot! calendar of upcoming races
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1078

Harris and Oslund were rollin' on the river

The tenth annual Kiwanis River Run 10K belonged to the collegians. When the 6.2-mile race through the Bainbridge, Georgia, Earl Maye Boat Basin Park was over, Berry College cross-country runner Kyle Harris had won in 35:43. On the women's side, Darton State College harrier Elena Oslund took the title with a 41:51, a new women's record for the event. Donalsonville, Georgia, master runner Myles Gibson, the 2013 Kiwanis River Run 10K champion, finished runner-up in 38:11. Mary Anne Grayson of Thomasville, Georgia, was the top women master in the race, placing 13th overall in 44:46. 50 athletes finished the race.


It was a chilly Saturday morning on 4 January 2014 when the race started at 9:00 AM. Kyle Harris went right to the front of the 10K field. After a mile of running, Myles Gibson was four seconds behind Harris. Tallahassee's Reikan Lin and Bainbridge master runner Greg Waddell trailed Gibson, fighting for third. A mile later, Harris had stretched his lead over Gibson to nearly twenty seconds, while Lin and Waddell continued to run almost side by side. Halfway through the race Harris had warmed up enough to discard his outer long-sleeved shirt, continuing onward with shorts, T-shirt, gloves, and a one-minute lead. In second, Gibson was over 40 seconds ahead of Lin and Waddell, who were still locked in a duel for third.


Kyle Harris built up a lead of over 600 meters during the second half of the race on his way to posting a winning time of 35:43. Defending champ Myles Gibson hung on to second place, finishing in 38:11 as the first master runner. While racing for third, Reikan Lin and Greg Waddell started to make up ground on Gibson. Late in the race, Lin broke away from Waddell to take third, 38:44 to 38:55.


Elena Oslund just finished her second year of running cross country for the Darton State College cavaliers of Albany, Georgia, but she also has four years of high school cross-country experience competing for North Henderson High in Hendersonville, North Carolina. In the flat Earl Maye Boat Basin, nothing like the western North Carolina hills challenged Oslund. She cruised through the first mile of the Bainbridge Kiwanis River Run 10K in 6:25, leading the women's field. Her nearest competitor, Thomasville's Mary Anne Grayson, was nearly 100 meters back. Grayson would end up running 44:46, which would have won the women's title at eight of the nine previous River Runs. It wasn't fast enough to beat Oslund in 2014. Oslund was the first woman across the finish line, placing seventh overall. Her time of 41:51 took more than a minute off the River Run 10K women's record of 43:11 set eight years ago by Allison Eagen. Grayson was runner-up and top master. Paula O'Neill of Tallahassee, Florida, was the third woman finisher, 16th overall in 47:41. Tallahassee's Michelle Perry was fourth for the women, 18th in 49:02. Dothan, Alabama, master runner Carolyn Houston placed fifth in the women's standings, finishing 19th overall in 49:15.


Top Ten Men, 2014 Bainbridge Kiwanis River Run 10K

1. 35:42.66 ~ Kyle Harris (M, 19) Bainbridge, GA
2. 38:10.97 ~ Myles Gibson (M, 47) Donalsonville, GA
3. 38:43.91 ~ Reikan Lin (M, 23) Tallahassee, FL
4. 38:54.69 ~ Greg Waddell (M, 47) Bainbridge, GA
5. 40:53.41 ~ Perry Waddell (M, 16) Bainbridge, GA
6. 41:41.78 ~ Phillip Sura (M, 43) Tallahassee, FL
7. 42:19.04 ~ Nathan Adams (M, 30) Tallahassee, FL
8. 42:53.83 ~ Michael Kennett (M, 40) Tallahassee, FL
9. 43:06.85 ~ Kurt Anthony (M, 48) Albany, GA
10. 43:48.92 ~ A. Whatley (M, 43)

Top Ten Women, 2014 Bainbridge Kiwanis River Run 10K

1. 41:50.65 ~ Elena Oslund (F, 20) Albany, GA
2. 44:45.44 ~ Mary Anne Grayson (F, 47) Thomasville, GA
3. 47:40.26 ~ Paula O'Neill (F, 52) Tallahassee, FL
4. 49:01.69 ~ Michelle Perry (F, 28) Tallahassee, FL
5. 49:14.63 ~ Carolyn Houston (F, 41) Dothan, AL
6. 50:27.46 ~ Debbie Peters (F, 52) Tallahassee, FL
7. 53:32.77 ~ Julia Sura (F, 42) Tallahassee, FL
8. 53:58.02 ~ Sharon Crews (F, 46)
9. 56:48.10 ~ Suzanne Angell (F, 48) Bainbridge, GA
10. 56:50.06 ~ Dale French (F, 28)

In the junior race at the Kiwanis River Run, the 5K, it was a good day for the Bainbridge High School cross-country team. Chase Harris, a junior-year member of the Bearcat squad, won the 3.1-mile race for second year in a row, running 17:26. Bainbridge High senior Dre Banks was runner-up in 18:40.  Another Bainbridge High senior, Paige Braswell, finished at the top of the women's standings, placing sixth overall in 20:11. 35 athletes completed the 5K.


Top Ten Men, 2014 Bainbridge Kiwanis River Run 5K

1. 17:25.39 ~ Chase Harris (M, 16) Bainbridge, GA
2. 18:39.58 ~ Dre Banks (M, 17) Bainbridge, GA
3. 19:40.40 ~ Arnold DeJesus (M, 27)
4. 20:00.92 ~ Chip Nix (M, 37)
5. 20:06.46 ~ Caleb Harris (M, 12)
6. 21:30.96 ~ Mike Houston (M, 14)
7. 21:50.79 ~ Colby Nix (M, 14)
8. 24:59.79 ~ Michael Raybon (M, 49)
9. 26:54.41 ~ Jerry Armstrong (M, 66)
10. 27:51.63 ~ Butch Binford (M, 56)

Top Ten Women, 2014 Bainbridge Kiwanis River Run 5K

1. 20:10.83 ~ Paige Braswell (F, 17) Bainbridge, GA
2. 27:50.72 ~ Paula Grollman (F, 60)
3. 33:07.79 ~ Hollie Lloyd (F, 50)
4. 33:53.62 ~ Alice Warner (F, 50)
5. 34:10.47 ~ Dana Raybon (F, 56)
6. 34:22.01 ~ Sandra Binford (F, 55)
7. 35:02.69 ~ Rima Rosman (F, 44)
8. 35:07.72 ~ Sarah Houston (F, 11)
9. 35:10.25 ~ Abby Armstrong (F, 12)
10. 35:11.30 ~ Jane Harrison (F, 53)

Ten years of Bainbridge Kiwanis River Run winners, 2005-2014
Date	Distance	Men	Women	Finishers
8 Jan 2005	10K	J P Chesser	Shana Martin	33
	5K	Nathan Norton	Debbie Wittmer	30
7 Jan 2006	10K	35:59, Michael Douma	43:11, Allison Eagen	35
	5K	19:38, Gabe Mitchell	23:42, Shana Martin	39
6 Jan 2007	10K	35:49, Jay Wallace	45:39, Fran McLean	89
	5K	19:59, Steve Baxter	23:39, Shana Martin	30
5 Jan 2008	10K	35:13, David Marky	47:50, Lou Ellen Jayroe	36
	5K	18:15, Nathan Norton	19:28, Jana Stolting	32
3 Jan 2009	10K	35:50, Jessie Close	47:44, Kirsten Baggett	34
	5K	18:40, Nathan Norton	23:45, Erika Pemberton	63
2 Jan 2010	10K	37:45, Joel Piotrowski	51:20, Jessica Monk	42
	5K	19:27, Devin Ferrell	23:35, Helen Jean Thompson	54
8 Jan 2011	10K	33:55, Rick Jennings	49:15, Jessica Monk	32
	5K	19:21, Davey Reynolds	26:28, Carolyn Houston	30
21 Jan 2012	10K	35:11, Cody Mallchok	45:33, Angelina Horne	57
	5K	17:20, Luis Navarro	23:30, Amber Braswell	43
19 Jan 2013	10K	37:18, Myles Gibson	46:07, Juanita Chalmers	62
	5K	17:14, Chase Harris	19:00, Sheryl Rosen	47
4 Jan 2014	10K	35:43, Kyle Harris	41:51, Elena Oslund	50
	5K	17:26, Chase Harris	20:11, Paige Braswell	35

Links

• Complete results of the 2014 Bainbridge Kiwanis River Run 10K at gulfwinds.org
  http://www.gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2014/Kiwanis%20River%20Run%202014.asp
  
  
• More photos of the 2014 Bainbridge Kiwanis River Run 10K
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10104025352148873.1073741941.5215641&l=1c5a9111f7
  
  
• USATF course certification map (GA11101WC) for the Bainbridge Kiwanis River Run 10K
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=GA11101WC
  
  
• 2013 story, "Gibson, Chalmers rout rivals in River Run 10K"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/01/kiwanis-river-run-2013.html
  
  
• 2012 story, "Fast on the Flint, Mallchok and Horne win River Run 10K"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/01/kiwanis-river-run-2012.html
  
  
• 2011 story, "Jennings and Monk are the rapidest River Runners in Bainbridge"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/01/kiwanis-river-run-2011.html
  
  
• Find your next race in the Tallahassee region using the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1052