No luck needed for Chris Flores or Stacy Bush at the Lucky Leprechaun 5K

Chris Flores was in Fort Walton Beach, Florida on Saturday morning, 16 March 2024, for the thirteenth annual Lucky Leprechaun 5K. He won the race. Of course, he had also won the Lucky Leprechaun 5K in 2023. So aside from being a year older, what was different? Flores was still an alum of the Fort Walton Beach High cross-country team, as well as a former Valdosta State University Blazer. That hadn't changed. But Flores ran faster in 2024, his winning time of 16:07 eclipsing his 2023 mark of 16:12. On the women's side, master runner Stacy Bush took top honors with a 22:27, placing 21st overall.


Steven Cornelius was the first master runner in the race, taking second overall with a 17:05. Phillip Bauer, another master runner, went 17:15 for third.


Shiloh Robertson was runner-up in the women's division, placing 27th overall in 23:18. Twelve-year-old Brooklyn Naylor was third in the women's standings and 30th overall in 23:48. Naylor is a seventh-grader at Liza Jackson Prep, where she competes on the track team.


The Lucky Leprechaun started as an annual five-kilometer race in 2012. The program included a 10K from 2013 to 2023, reverting to a stand-alone 5K in 2024. 350 athletes finished the 2024 5K.


For the Northwest Florida Track Club and the Fort Walton Beach area, the grandfather of all five-kilometer races remains the annual Billy Bowlegs 5K, which goes back to 1975. The fiftieth annual Bowlegs will be contested on Saturday morning, 1 June 2024.


Top Ten Men, 2024 Lucky Leprechaun 5K

1. 16:07, Chris Flores (M, 21)
2. 17:05, Steven Cornelius (M, 43)
3. 17:15, Phillip Bauer (M, 42)
4. 18:03, James Buchanan (M, 42)
5. 18:04, Hunter Best (M, 29)
6. 18:39, Marcus Budig (M, 34)
7. 19:13, Andrew Westman (M, 42)
8. 20:14, Christopher Salgado (M, 38)
9. 20:28, Brian Looney (M, 32)
10. 20:34, Joshua Swanson (M, 31)

Top Ten Women, 2024 Lucky Leprechaun 5K

1. 22:27, Stacy Bush (F, 48)
2. 23:18, Shiloh Robertson (F, 28)
3. 23:48, Brooklyn Naylor (F, 12)
4. 24:26, Nichole Hannan (F, 46)
5. 24:45, Julie Harrington (F, 61)
6. 25:03, Cadence Garza (F, 13)
7. 25:10, Kaylene Giri (F, 43)
8. 25:40, Liz LaParch (F, 23)
9. 26:08, Patty Zamyslowski (F, 43)
10. 26:24, Susan McKenzie (F, 58)

Fort Walton Beach, Florida Lucky Leprechaun winners, 2012 - 2024
Date	Distance	Men	Women	Finishers
17 March 2012	5K	17:45, Anthony Stricker	19:24, Lisa Lewis
16 March 2013	10K	40:26, Bob Walker	40:12, Juia Tobias
	5K	16:37, Mason Powers	22:18, Cheryl Wolfe
15 March 2014	10K	38:32, Ashley Armstrong	37:21, Cheryl Held
	5K	16:41, Caden Ewing	22:53, Cheryl Veltman
14 March 2015	10K	42:32, Jason Strong	41:43, Elizabeth Heering	96
	5K	17:23, Jason Nodjomian	21:06, Nicole Escoffier	257
12 March 2016	10K	40:08, Douglas Bustillo	45:38, Paula Piazza	93
	5K	17:55, Austin Zivney	19:13, Line Lauritsen	345
16 March 2017	10K	37:59, Drew Bruner	42:02, Anna Morelock	82
	5K	16:20, Jake Fisk	19:35, Line Lauritsen	290
17 March 2018	10K	37:49, Jonathan Campbell	41:56, Karina Sterrett	130
	5K	17:52, Jacob Knox	18:54, Katja Blunden	457
16 March 2019	10K	35:29, Derek Sandblom	41:58, Gina Kline	142
	5K	16:20, Nathan Isaacs	19:47, Rachel Staples	356
14 March 2020	10K	34:10, Timothy Richard	47:21, Samantha Pinson	88
	5K	16:39, Steven Cornelius	20:07, Sarah Stolp	322
13 March 2021	10K	39:30, Marcus Budig	42:29, Gabrielle Ghiloni	116
	5K	15:25, Matthew Bevil	16:32, Margaret Connelly	315
12 March 2022	10K	35:50, Timothy Richard	43:26, Sarah Saris	79
	5K	18:16, Cesar Adams	22:19, Denise Arciniega	219
11 March 2023	10K	34:49, Nikolai Rhodes	44:36, April Classick	78
	5K	16:12, Chris Flores	17:52, Val Curtis	298
16 March 2024	5K	16:07, Chris Flores	22:27, Stacy Bush	350

Links

• Complete results of the 2024 Lucky Leprechaun 10K and 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQa4dgbBTiCMs3HJZGfZexmJFumwVXuN2miuhoKEKhDAUgjh9ejnQ6r3LuoDzYJEaUiuHGgXe4C9jqz/pubhtml
  
  
• 2019 story, “Derek Sandblom goes 35:29 for a new Lucky Leprechaun 10K record”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/03/fwb-lucky-leprechaun-2019.html
  
  
• 2018 story, “Campbell and Sterrett were first to the end of the rainbow at the Lucky Leprechaun 10K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/03/fwb-lucky-leprechaun-2018.html
  
  
• Northwest Florida Track Club
  http://nwftc.com
  
  
• Lucky Leprechaun on Facebook
  https://www.facebook.com/Lucky-Leprechaun-5k10k-RunWalk-314025588647516/
  
  
• Upcoming lucky races in the Tallahassee region on the Trouble Afoot! race calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#3064

Leonardo Canete and Virginia Marlow take the prize at the Bowlegs 5K

I've met many historians over the years. They were good people, and I would like to deserve their respect. So I feel obligated to point out that there never was a pirate called ""Billy Bowlegs." There was a Florida pirate (polite people say "adventurer") named William Bowles, and a Florida Seminole chief called Billy Bowlegs. Neither were good people by 21st century standards. Somehow the two got confused, and Fort Walton Beach, Florida celebrates an annual Billy Bowlegs Pirate Invasion. We don't really need to discuss whether or not a pirate invasion is something to celebrate, do we? Anyway, since 1975 the Billy Bowlegs Road Race has been part of that festival.


Tallahassee master runner Leonardo Canete won the 49th annual Billy Bowlegs 5K on Saturday morning, 3 June 2023, running 17:32 and finishing nearly a minute and a half ahead of the next runner. On the women's side, top finisher Virginia Marlow finished exactly a minute and a half ahead of the next woman in the race, placing ninth overall in 20:28.


Eli Scharf, an eighth-grader on the cross-country team at Destin Middle School, took second in the race at 18:58. Master runner Bobby Flynn ran 19:11 for third--one place better than his finish in the 2022 Billy Bowlegs.


Floorje Rawa took the runner-up spot in the women's standings, coming in twentieth overall in 21:58. A few steps behind Rawee, April Classick finished 22nd overall in 22:02, making her the third woman and first woman master in the race.


198 athletes finished the Northwest Florida Track Club's 2023 Billy Bowlegs 5K. Mike O'Brien directed the race.


Top Ten Men, 2023 Billy Bowlegs 5K

1. 17:32, Leonardo Canete (M, 44)
2. 18:58, Eli Scharf (M, 13)
3. 19:11, Bobby Flynn (M, 43)
4. 19:37, Yancey Ream (M, 52)
5. 19:45, Ramsey Reaves (M, 16)
6. 19:52, Greg Dawson (M, 44)
7. 19:55, Scott Pena (M, 29)
8. 19:59, David Walters (M, 60)
9. 20:30, Tim Sullivan (M, 64)
10. 20:57, Zach Smith (M, 16)

Top Ten Women, 2023 Billy Bowlegs 5K

1. 20:28, Virginia Marlow (F, 36)
2. 21:58, Floorje Rawee (F, 31)
3. 22:02, April Classick (F, 42)
4. 22:14, Liz Mosler (F, 26)
5. 22:23, Addie Brooks (F, 17)
6. 22:36, Beverly Fair (F, 52)
7. 23:50, Susan Frazer (F, 28)
8. 24:10, Catherine Barnett (F, 39)
9. 24:43, Lauren Desjardin (F, 30)
10. 24:54, Alex Furtado (F, 27)

Billy Bowlegs Road Race winners, 1975 - 2023
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
31 May 1975	Mike Clay	Cathy Sigler	82
5 June 1976	14:30*, Tim Simpkins	17:11*, Esther Stovall	132
4 June 1977	14:33*, Ken Misner	17:37*, Nancy McCormac	202
3 June 1978	14:48*, Jeff Galloway	17:43*, Nancy McCormac	~450
2 June 1979	14:58.5*, Mike Conley	17:52*, Dolly Harrison
31 May 1980	14:43*, Fred Carley Jr.	17:28*, Dolly Harrison	~1200
30 May 1981	14:43*, Jere Boutz	17:30*, Judy Stokley	~1200
5 June 1982	14:33*, Mike Zerressen	17:04*, Judy Stokely
4 June 1983	14:34*, Mike Zerressen	17:04*, Barbara Balzer	1086
2 June 1984	14:28*, J.D. Evilsizer	17:41*, Barbara Balzer	1039
1 June 1985	14:17*, Mark Patterson	16:39*, Helen Rogers	1475
7 June 1986	14:45*, Mike Plumb	Michele Linihan
6 June 1987	14:26*, James Frazier	18:03*, Jodie Steigerwald	1100+
5 June 1993	15:01, Matt Dobson
7 June 1997	15:14, Everett Whiteside	17:14, Sarah Kramer
6 June 1998	15:10, Everett Whiteside	18:18, Kelly Wild
5 June 1999	14:56, Rudolf Jun	17:59, Kelly Wild
3 June 2000	15:51, Rudolph Jun	17:29, Anna Pichrtova	524
2 June 2001	15:44, Steve Garst	18:06, Kelly Wild	530
1 June 2002	15:34, Everett Whiteside	20:08, Sarah Nandes	557
7 June 2003	16:07, James Frazier	18:27, Sarah Kramer	472
5 June 2004	16:22, Travis Deutman	18:23, Kelly Wild	382
5 June 2005	16:11, Brennan Galloway	18:34, Kelly Wild	450
4 June 2006	16:38, James Uthmeier	18:29, Kelly Wild	516
3 June 2007	15:41, Everett Whiteside	19:02, Kelly Wild	667
8 June 2008	16:06, Kyle Vanzile	19:07, Anna Hallex	685
6 June 2009	16:27, Adam Saloom	19:52, Kate Accardo	778
5 June 2010	15:55, Adam Saloom	18:57, Megan Jenkins	600
4 June 2011	15:57, Adam Saloom	19:46, Lisa Lewis	658
2 June 2012	15:21, Adam Saloom	19:20, Debby Vannoy	711
1 June 2013	15:45, Adam Saloom	18:50, Cynthia Blendermann	621
7 June 2014	16:29, Frito Bandito	18:52, Cheryl Held	530
6 June 2015	16:37, Dewayne Riley	19:05, Logan Bishop	495
4 June 2016	16:46, Dewayne Riley	19:47, Lillian Holtery	402
3 June 2017	16:47, Dewayne Riley	21:07, Brigid Gutierrez	290
2 June 2018	16:38, Dewayne Riley	19:02, Presley Miles	334
1 June 2019	16:00, Matt Blunden	19:37, Sophie Kellogg	333
1 June 2020	Tim Sullivan	Andrea Kay
5 June 2021	15:37, Matt Bevil	17:19, Margaret Conelly	159
4 June 2022	17:22, Philip Bauer	18:24, Val Curtis	242
3 June 2023	17:32, Leonardo Canete	20:28, Virginia Marlow	198
* Early races in the series were three miles rather than five kilometers.

Links

• Complete results of Fort Walton Beach's 2023 Billy Bowlegs 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ4ZxmRoI-xddfAteSFejSaV76vLjGttAiwPoHILJ6ZpMOGvF2yHA9k0PGtHmok5Ef2o_LE5lCOCdJi/pubhtml
  
  
• 2022 story, “Billy Bowlegs 5K in the morning works for Phillip Bauer and Val Curtis”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2022/06/fwb-bowlegs-2022.html
  
  
• 2019 story, “Matt Blunden and Sophie Kellogg take home the loot from the Billy Bowlegs 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/06/fwb-bowlegs-2019.html
  
  
• 2017 story, “Dewayne Riley rolls to his third straight Billy Bowlegs 5K title”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/06/fwb-bowlegs-2017.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “Riley and Bishop win the race inspired by the Dread Pirate Bowles”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/06/fwb-bowlegs-2015.html
  
  
• USATF Course Certification Map FL13020EBM for the 2015 Billy Bowlegs 5K
  https://certifiedroadraces.com/certificate/?type=l&id=FL13020EBM
  
  
• The race named after the real Billy Bowlegs
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/01/bowlegs-2019.html
  
  
• Find other 40-year-old races in the Tallahassee region on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2927

Billy Bowlegs 5K in the morning works for Phillip Bauer and Val Curtis

Since 1975, Fort Walton Beach, Florida has been the home of the Billy Bowlegs 5K Night Race. The event is named after William Bowles (1763–1805), who was never called "Billy Bowlegs" during his lifetime--not even behind his back. Adding to the contradictions, on Saturday morning, 4 June 2022, the 48th annual edition of the "Night Race" started at 7:30 AM. Phillip Bauer didn't waste any time worrying about the paradoxes. The Destin, Florida master runner raced the 3.1-mile course in 17:22, winning by about 100 meters. Niceville, Florida marathoner Val Curtis was the first woman in the race, coming in fourth overall in 18:24.


Bauer had been fifth in the 2021 Bowlegs, but improved his time by nearly a minute to take the title in 2022. Andre Hammond finished runner-up to Bauer, going 17:44. Six days earlier, Bauer and Hammond had tangled in Eglin's Gate-to-Gate Memorial Day 4.4-Mile Run, with similar results--Bauer had been sixth in 25:49 and Hammond seventh in 26:28. Behind both of them at Bowlegs, Nick Morken placed third in 18:08. Morken had been a distance runner at nearby Niceville High (2011-2014) and later in Jacksonville at the University of North Florida (2014-2018).


Charleen Elizondo, a rising senior on the cross-country team at North Bay Haven High, took second in the women's standings and sixth overall in 19:22. Avery Briggs of Portsmouth, Virginia was the third woman and eleventh overall in 20:47. April Brookhart was the first woman master and seventh female finisher, 35th overall in 22:47.


242 athletes finished the Northwest Florida Track Club's 2022 Billy Bowlegs 5K. Ava Suydan directed the race.


Top Ten Men, 2022 Billy Bowlegs 5K Night Race

1. 17:22, Philip Bauer (M, 40)
2. 17:44, Andre Hammond (M, 38)
3. 18:08, Nick Morken (M, 26)
4. 18:52, Bobby Flynn (M, 42)
5. 19:54, Marcus Budig (M, 33)
6. 20:03, Zachary Murzyn (M, 19)
7. 20:29, Yancy Ream (M, 51)
8. 20:42, Zach Bryan (M, 30)
9. 20:51, Trevor Ctibor (M, 27)
10. 20:52, Tim Sullivan (M, 63)

Top Ten Women, 2022 Billy Bowlegs 5K Night Race

1. 18:24, Val Curtis (F, 35)
2. 19:22, Charleen Elizond0 (F, 18)
3. 20:47, Avery Briggs (F, 36)
4. 21:48, Lakyn Carmichael (F, 18)
5. 22:38, Sydney Sailors (F, 32)
6. 22:45, Delilah Jucha (F, 10)
7. 22:47, April Brookhart (F, 41)
8. 23:19, Mia Jucha (F, 10)
9. 24:15, Collen Heath (F, 39)
10. 24:25, Gianna Paul (F, 23)

Billy Bowlegs Midnight Run winners, 1975 - 2022
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
31 May 1975	Mike Clay	Cathy Sigler	82
5 June 1976	14:30*, Tim Simpkins	17:11*, Esther Stovall	132
4 June 1977	14:33*, Ken Misner	17:37*, Nancy McCormac	202
3 June 1978	14:48*, Jeff Galloway	17:43*, Nancy McCormac	~450
2 June 1979	14:58.5*, Mike Conley	17:52*, Dolly Harrison
31 May 1980	14:43*, Fred Carley Jr.	17:28*, Dolly Harrison	~1200
30 May 1981	14:43*, Jere Boutz	17:30*, Judy Stokley	~1200
5 June 1982	14:33*, Mike Zerressen	17:04*, Judy Stokely
4 June 1983	14:34*, Mike Zerressen	17:04*, Barbara Balzer	1086
2 June 1984	14:28*, J.D. Evilsizer	17:41*, Barbara Balzer	1039
1 June 1985	14:17*, Mark Patterson	16:39*, Helen Rogers	1475
7 June 1986	14:45*, Mike Plumb	Michele Linihan
6 June 1987	14:26*, James Frazier	18:03*, Jodie Steigerwald	1100+
5 June 1993	15:01, Matt Dobson
7 June 1997	15:14, Everett Whiteside	17:14, Sarah Kramer
6 June 1998	15:10, Everett Whiteside	18:18, Kelly Wild
5 June 1999	14:56, Rudolf Jun	17:59, Kelly Wild
3 June 2000	15:51, Rudolph Jun	17:29, Anna Pichrtova	524
2 June 2001	15:44, Steve Garst	18:06, Kelly Wild	530
1 June 2002	15:34, Everett Whiteside	20:08, Sarah Nandes	557
7 June 2003	16:07, James Frazier	18:27, Sarah Kramer	472
5 June 2004	16:22, Travis Deutman	18:23, Kelly Wild	382
5 June 2005	16:11, Brennan Galloway	18:34, Kelly Wild	450
4 June 2006	16:38, James Uthmeier	18:29, Kelly Wild	516
3 June 2007	15:41, Everett Whiteside	19:02, Kelly Wild	667
8 June 2008	16:06, Kyle Vanzile	19:07, Anna Hallex	685
6 June 2009	16:27, Adam Saloom	19:52, Kate Accardo	778
5 June 2010	15:55, Adam Saloom	18:57, Megan Jenkins	600
4 June 2011	15:57, Adam Saloom	19:46, Lisa Lewis	658
2 June 2012	15:21, Adam Saloom	19:20, Debby Vannoy	711
1 June 2013	15:45, Adam Saloom	18:50, Cynthia Blendermann	621
7 June 2014	16:29, Frito Bandito	18:52, Cheryl Held	530
6 June 2015	16:37, Dewayne Riley	19:05, Logan Bishop	495
4 June 2016	16:46, Dewayne Riley	19:47, Lillian Holtery	402
3 June 2017	16:47, Dewayne Riley	21:07, Brigid Gutierrez	290
2 June 2018	16:38, Dewayne Riley	19:02, Presley Miles	334
1 June 2019	16:00, Matt Blunden	19:37, Sophie Kellogg	333
1 June 2020	Tim Sullivan	Andrea Kay
1 June 2021	15:37, Matt Bevil	17:19, Margaret Conelly	159
4 June 2022	17:22, Philip Bauer	18:24, Val Curtis	242
* Early races in the series were three miles rather than five kilometers.

Links

• Complete results of Fort Walton Beach's 2022 Billy Bowlegs 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRHolaT6QaKzdTJ8uSry8bfXtXSBz5yh7Rr6u0LIHIK7gfNCU7UXxlHRTC7F75p6OPVf5GneqU_Wb_T/pubhtml
  
  
• 2019 story, “Matt Blunden and Sophie Kellogg take home the loot from the Billy Bowlegs 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/06/fwb-bowlegs-2019.html
  
  
• 2017 story, “Dewayne Riley rolls to his third straight Billy Bowlegs 5K title”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/06/fwb-bowlegs-2017.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “Riley and Bishop win the race inspired by the Dread Pirate Bowles”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/06/fwb-bowlegs-2015.html
  
  
• USATF Course Certification Map FL13020EBM for the 2015 Billy Bowlegs 5K
  https://certifiedroadraces.com/certificate/?type=l&id=FL13020EBM
  
  
• The race named after the real Billy Bowlegs
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/01/bowlegs-2019.html
  
  
• Find other 40-year-old races in the Tallahassee region on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2832

It was an All-Blunden Father's Day 5K in Fort Walton Beach

After three years of annual races, the one thing that you can say about Props Brewery's Father's Day 5K is that it keeps getting faster.


Austin Epstein won the inaugural edition of the Fort Walton Beach, Florida race in 2017, setting the course standard of 17:31 while Claudia Howes established the women's record of 21:51. Epstein came back in 2018, lowering his record to 17:20. In that same race, Susan Frazier pushed the women's mark down to 20:51.


The trend of speedier times continued at the third annual Father's Day 5K on Saturday evening, 15 June 2019. Destin, Florida athlete Matt Blunden won the race by 100 meters, breaking Epstein's record with a 16:25. Master runner Katja Blunden took the women's title, placing fifth overall in 18:23--a new record for the women.


It wasn't the first pair of Blunden-Blunden wins at an Okaloosa County race. Just under three weeks earlier, Matt Blunden had taken the men's title at Eglin Air Force Base's 2019 Gate-to-Gate Memorial Day Race, where Katja Blunden had led the women.


Nathan Isaacs joined Matt Blunden in running under Austin Epstein's course record at the Father's Day 5K; Isaacs ran 16:45 to take second. Derek Sandblom was third in 18:12; he had finished fourth in the 2018 race. Kent Glover, a rising senior on the Hewitt-Trussville High cross-country team, was fourth in 18:23. It was Glover's third straight appearance in the top ten of the Father's Day 5K. Ken Lawrence was the first male master in the race, placing sixth in the men's standings and seventh overall in 19:15.

But Katja Blunden was the first overall master runner. Blunden was also the first of four women to go under the old women's record for the race. Rachel Staples was second in that group, placing eighth overall in 19:19. Kambry Smith, a rising junior and the ace of the girls' cross-country team at Fort Walton Beach High, was third in the women's standings and tenth overall in 19:30. Susan Frazier, who had set the old record in 2018, was the fourth woman and eleventh overall in 20:23.


178 athletes finished Props Brewery's 2019 Father's Day 5K.


Top Ten Men, 2019 Props Brewery Father's Day 5K

1. 16:25, Matt Blunden (M, 39)
2. 16:45, Nathan Isaacs (M, 25)
3. 18:12, Derek Sandblom (M, 27)
4. 18:23, Kent Glover (M, 17)
5. 19:08, Lucas Thomson (M, 33)
6. 19:15, Ken Lawrence (M, 51)
7. 19:27, Aaron Bouchey (M, 32)
8. 21:23, Fil Piazza (M, 56)
9. 21:49, Jerry Kalka (M, 33)
10. 21:59, Jason Boyeskie (M, 44)

Top Ten Women, 2019 Props Brewery Father's Day 5K

1. 18:31, Katja Blunden (F, 40)
2. 19:19, Rachel Staples (F, 33)
3. 19:30, Kambry Smith (F, 16)
4. 20:23, Susan Frazier (F, 24)
5. 21:01, Krysti Golden (F, 25)
6. 22:08, Ashley Selvey (F, 33)
7. 22:33, Cassicy Lindsay (F, 31)
8. 23:01, Samantha Yanez (F, 20)
9. 23:51, Angela Gilzene (F, 37)
10. 24:42, Tiffany Howell-Phillips (F, 34)

Props Brewery Father's Day 5K winners, 2017 - 2019
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
17 June 2017	17:31, Austin Epstein	21:51, Claudia Howes	180
16 June 2018	17:20, Austin Epstein	20:51, Susan Frazier	191
15 June 2019	16:25, Matt Blunden	18:23, Katia Blunden	178

Links

• Complete results of the 2019 Props Brewery Father's Day 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSkIQWokb0mNqoAqZpvZm61uhstuIgVMM08wu2DSDY12gJTxG1K5CIyR5y7iq1QNcwlei94vHYCyEDW/pubhtml
  
  
• 2018 story, “More props for Austin Epstein at the Props Father's Day 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/06/props-fathers-day-2018.html
  
  
• 2017 story, “Epstein and Howes earn props at the Props Father's Day 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/06/props-fathers-day-2017.html
  
  
• Props Brewery and Grill
  http://www.propsbrewery.com/
  
  
• Find an upcoming race at your favorite brewery on the Trouble Afoot! racing calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2540

Matt Blunden and Sophie Kellogg take home the loot from the Billy Bowlegs 5K

For four years in a row, 2015 to 2018, Dewayne Riley had won Fort Walton Beach, Florida's Billy Bowlegs 5K. The annual night race was becoming the Dewayne Riley show. But at the 45th annual Bowlegs on Saturday, 1 June 2019, two things changed. The first was that after 44 years of racing after sundown, the Bowlegs became a morning event. The second was Riley didn't win. Instead, Destin, Florida's Matt Blunden galloped across the finish line nearly a minute before any other runner, winning the Bowlegs in 16:00. Twelve-year-old Sophie Kellog took home the women's title, placing seventh overall in 19:37.


Blunden's wining time was the fastest at Bowlegs since 2013, when Adam Saloom was first in 15:45. Four-time champ and Milton, Florida athlete Riley was runner-up in 16:50. Zach Bryan came in third in 17:39. Tim "Boomer" Sullivan was the fastest master runner in the race, placing eighth in the men's standings and ninth overall in 20:42.


Just five days earlier, Blunden had won another race in Okaloosa County, scoring a victory in Eglin Air Force Base's 43rd annual Gate-to-Gate Memorial Day Race. Sophie Kellog, the Bowlegs women's champ, had also raced Gate-to-Gate, placing sixth in the women's division. Ashley Selvey was second to Kellog at Bowlegs, coming in fourteenth overall in 21:21. Brianna Moring was the third woman and fifteenth overall in 21:39. Sheryl Downs was Bowlegs' top woman master, the seventh female finisher and 25th overall in 22:53.


The Billy Bowlegs 5K takes it's name from Fort Walton Beach's Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival, a celebration founded on the mistaken notion that the pirate William Bowles had the nickname "Billy Bowlegs." Regardless of the name, in five different decades and two different centuries the Bowlegs 5K has been an important date on the athletic calendar of the Emerald Coast. 333 athletes finished the 2019 Billy Bowlegs 5K.


Top Ten Men, 2019 Billy Bowlegs 5K Night Race

1. 16:00, Matt Blunden (M, 39)
2. 16:50, Dewayne Riley (M, 32)
3. 17:39, Zach Bryan (M, 27)
4. 18:09, Gregg Lamb (M, 32)
5. 18:10, Philip Bauer (M, 37)
6. 19:33, Cade Mayfield (M, 15)
7. 19:49, Lucas Thompson (M, 33)
8. 20:42, Tim Sullivan (M, 60)
9. 20:49, Logan Escobedo (M, 16)
10. 20:57, Michael Ayers (M, 34)

Top Ten Women, 2019 Billy Bowlegs 5K Night Race

1. 19:37, Sophie Kellogg (F, 12)
2. 21:21, Ashley Selvey (F, 33)
3. 21:39, Brianna Moring (F, 25)
4. 22:02, Sarah Kellogg (F, 12)
5. 22:16, Brigid Guiterrez (F, 26)
6. 22:51, Emily Kellogg (F, 14)
7. 22:53, Sheryl Downs (F, 53)
8. 23:34, Samantha Yanez (F, 20)
9. 23:45, Jourdan Perrin (F, 28)
10. 23:56, Donna Harris (F, 50)

Billy Bowlegs Midnight Run winners, 1975 - 2017
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
31 May 1975	Mike Clay	Cathy Sigler	82
5 June 1976	14:30*, Tim Simpkins	17:11*, Esther Stovall	132
4 June 1977	14:33*, Ken Misner	17:37*, Nancy McCormac	202
3 June 1978	14:48*, Jeff Galloway	17:43*, Nancy McCormac	~450
2 June 1979	14:58.5*, Mike Conley	17:52*, Dolly Harrison
31 May 1980	14:43*, Fred Carley Jr.	17:28*, Dolly Harrison	~1200
30 May 1981	14:43*, Jere Boutz	17:30*, Judy Stokley	~1200
5 June 1982	14:33*, Mike Zerressen	17:04*, Judy Stokely
4 June 1983	14:34*, Mike Zerressen	17:04*, Barbara Balzer	1086
2 June 1984	14:28*, J.D. Evilsizer	17:41*, Barbara Balzer	1039
1 June 1985	14:17*, Mark Patterson	16:39*, Helen Rogers	1475
7 June 1986	14:45*, Mike Plumb	Michele Linihan
6 June 1987	14:26*, James Frazier	18:03*, Jodie Steigerwald	1100+
5 June 1993	15:01, Matt Dobson
7 June 1997	15:14, Everett Whiteside	17:14, Sarah Kramer
6 June 1998	15:10, Everett Whiteside	18:18, Kelly Wild
5 June 1999	14:56, Rudolf Jun	17:59, Kelly Wild
3 June 2000	15:51, Rudolph Jun	17:29, Anna Pichrtova	524
2 June 2001	15:44, Steve Garst	18:06, Kelly Wild	530
1 June 2002	15:34, Everett Whiteside	20:08, Sarah Nandes	557
7 June 2003	16:07, James Frazier	18:27, Sarah Kramer	472
5 June 2004	16:22, Travis Deutman	18:23, Kelly Wild	382
5 June 2005	16:11, Brennan Galloway	18:34, Kelly Wild	450
4 June 2006	16:38, James Uthmeier	18:29, Kelly Wild	516
3 June 2007	15:41, Everett Whiteside	19:02, Kelly Wild	667
8 June 2008	16:06, Kyle Vanzile	19:07, Anna Hallex	685
6 June 2009	16:27, Adam Saloom	19:52, Kate Accardo	778
5 June 2010	15:55, Adam Saloom	18:57, Megan Jenkins	600
4 June 2011	15:57, Adam Saloom	19:46, Lisa Lewis	658
2 June 2012	15:21, Adam Saloom	19:20, Debby Vannoy	711
1 June 2013	15:45, Adam Saloom	18:50, Cynthia Blendermann	621
7 June 2014	16:29, Frito Bandito	18:52, Cheryl Held	530
6 June 2015	16:37, Dewayne Riley	19:05, Logan Bishop	495
4 June 2016	16:46, Dewayne Riley	19:47, Lillian Holtery	402
3 June 2017	16:47, Dewayne Riley	21:07, Brigid Gutierrez	290
2 June 2018	16:38, Dewayne Riley	19:02, Presley Miles	334
1 June 2019	16:00, Matt Blunden	19:37, Sophie Kellogg	333
* Early races in the series were three miles rather than five kilometers.

Links

• Complete results of Fort Walton Beach's 2019 Billy Bowlegs 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQQ1AOlsTJV7h07WRFSizV3B0R-33CDtNAqk1MzR-o5Lls7DIF7qroyfhvIjS4WjY1XZWDiB92bNao9/pubhtml
  
  
• 2017 story, “Dewayne Riley rolls to his third straight Billy Bowlegs 5K title”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/06/fwb-bowlegs-2017.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “Riley and Bishop win the race inspired by the Dread Pirate Bowles”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/06/fwb-bowlegs-2015.html
  
  
• USATF Course Certification Map FL13020EBM for the 2015 Billy Bowlegs 5K
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=FL13020EBM
  
  
• The race named after the real Billy Bowlegs
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/01/bowlegs-2019.html
  
  
• Find other 40-year-old races in the Tallahassee region on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2530

Derek Sandblom goes 35:29 for a new Lucky Leprechaun 10K record

There are many good places in Fort Walton Beach, Florida to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day. But the place to be on the morning before Saint Patrick's Day, Saturday, 16 March 2019, was the eighth annual Lucky Leprechaun Road Race. Nearly 500 runners thought so, anyway, coming to the Lucky Leprechaun to race either a 10K or a 5K. The fastest of those in the main event, the 10K race, was Derek Sandblom, the winner in a new Lucky Leprechaun record of 35:29. Destin, Florida master runner Gina Kline was the first woman in the 10K, placing seventh overall in 41:58.


An alumnus of the United States Air Force Academy, Sandblom lives in Destin, but just a few years ago he was a club runner at the University of Maryland, competing in both track and cross-country. His 35:29 trimmed more than two minutes off the previous Lucky Leprechaun record, the 37:49 posted by master runner Jonathan Campbell in the 2018 race. Timothy Kogge also ran faster than the old mark, finishing runner-up in 36:48. Jordan Furtado took third in 39:25. Rick Neitzey was the first master runner in the 10K and sixth overall in 41:21.


Sarah Stolp was second in the women's standings, coming in ninth overall in 42:54. Master runner Jamie Tassa was the third female finisher and eleventh overall in 43:57.


142 athletes finished the 2019 Lucky Leprechaun 10K.


Top Ten Men, 2019 Lucky Leprechaun 10K

1. 35:29, Derek Sandblom (M, 27)
2. 36:48, Timothy Kogge (M, 35)
3. 39:25, Jordan Furtado (M, 27)
4. 40:04, Bobby Flynn (M, 38)
5. 40:55, Jerry Kalka (M, 32)
6. 41:21, Rick Neitzey (M, 50)
7. 42:53, Todd Tompkins (M, 28)
8. 43:06, Greg Dawson (M, 40)
9. 44:11, David Shearon (M, 49)
10. 45:26, John Ebbrecht (M, 49)

Top Ten Women, 2019 Lucky Leprechaun 10K

1. 41:58, Gina Kline (F, 42)
2. 42:54, Sarah Stolp (F, 33)
3. 43:57, Jamie Tassa (F, 41)
4. 44:34, Joan Mosher (F, 32)
5. 46:34, Margaret Compton (F, 36)
6. 46:38, Cassandra Zienin (F, 29)
7. 47:45, Claire Jones (F, 43)
8. 48:05, Onnie Retkofsky (F, 41)
9. 48:08, Jenifer Tomasello (F, 38)
10. 48:09, Jennifer Byrne (F, 28)

United States Air Force 2LT Nathan Isaacs of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida won the shorter race, the 5K, running 16:20. A week earlier, Isaacs had run 16:35 in another Irish-themed 5K, the McGuire's Saint Patrick's Day Run. At 17:50, Steve Cornelius took second in the 3.1-mile event. Ken Lawrence was the first master runner in the 5K, edging Deion Cossio for third place, 19:10 to 19:11.


Another Destin athlete, Rachel Staples, was the first woman in the 5K, finishing eighth overall in 19:47. 100 meters back, Amy Yeoman took second in the women's standings, placing eleventh overall in 20:11. Niceville, Florida's Sarah Saris was the first woman master and third female finisher, 48th overall in 24:57.


356 athletes finished the 5K.


Top Ten Men, 2019 Lucky Leprechaun 5K

1. 16:20, Nathan Isaacs (M, 25)
2. 17:50, Steve Cornelius (M, 38)
3. 19:10, Ken Lawrence (M, 51)
4. 19:11, Deion Cossio (M, 25)
5. 19:18, Walter Piper (M, 16)
6. 19:26, Yancey Ream (M, 48)
7. 19:48, Jonathan Campbell (M, 41)
8. 19:57, Frank McKenzie (M, 54)
9. 20:22, Kent Watson (M, 49)
10. 20:33, Zachary Cooper (M, 22)

Top Ten Women, 2019 Lucky Leprechaun 5K

1. 19:47, Rachel Staples (F, 33)
2. 20:11, Amy Yeoman (F, 25)
3. 22:31, Sarah Saris (F, 48)
4. 22:36, Alex Errington (F, 23)
5. 23:18, Laura McIntire (F, 32)
6. 23:32, Ashley Tribou (F, 26)
7. 23:41, Andrea Korenek (F, 39)
8. 23:57, Dita Novak (F, 41)
9. 24:52, Paula Piazza (F, 54)
10. 24:57, Susan McKenzie (F, 53)

Fort Walton Beach, Florida Lucky Leprechaun winners, 2012 - 2019
Date	Distance	Men	Women	Finishers
17 March 2012	5K	17:45, Anthony Stricker	19:24, Lisa Lewis
16 March 2013	10K	40:26, Bob Walker	40:12, Juia Tobias
	5K	16:37, Mason Powers	22:18, Cheryl Wolfe
15 March 2014	10K	38:32, Ashley Armstrong	37:21, Cheryl Held
	5K	16:41, Caden Ewing	22:53, Cheryl Veltman
14 March 2015	10K	42:32, Jason Strong	41:43, Elizabeth Heering	96
	5K	17:23, Jason Nodjomian	21:06, Nicole Escoffier	257
12 March 2016	10K	40:08, Douglas Bustillo	45:38, Paula Piazza	93
	5K	17:55, Austin Zivney	19:13, Line Lauritsen	345
16 March 2017	10K	37:59, Drew Bruner	42:02, Anna Morelock	82
	5K	16:20, Jake Fisk	19:35, Line Lauritsen	290
17 March 2018	10K	37:49, Jonathan Campbell	41:56, Karina Sterrett	130
	5K	17:52, Jacob Knox	18:54, Katja Blunden	457
16 March 2019	10K	35:29, Derek Sandblom	41:58, Gina Kline	142
	5K	16:20, Nathan Isaacs	19:47, Rachel Staples	356

Links

• Complete results of the 2019 Lucky Leprechaun 10K and 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vShnRjjriaNtZAfdxO2hmh7NarRjiWDKfnNLLiYbfYoHhHmwgw6q_rmrDp2he5tZFgx_4xf09ao1RGj/pubhtml
  
  
• 2018 story, “Campbell and Sterrett were first to the end of the rainbow at the Lucky Leprechaun 10K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/03/fwb-lucky-leprechaun-2018.html
  
  
• Lucky Leprechaun's 2019 photos
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2304355542947834&type=1&l=586d86389e
  
  
• Northwest Florida Track Club
  http://nwftc.com
  
  
• Lucky Leprechaun on Facebook
  https://www.facebook.com/Lucky-Leprechaun-5k10k-RunWalk-314025588647516/
  
  
• Upcoming lucky races in the Tallahassee region on the Trouble Afoot! race calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2462

Nathan Isaacs and Christine Westcott have a holly, jolly Egg Nog Jog

In United States road racing, right after the last Turkey Trot is run, the calendar changes from November to December, and the schedule fills up with Jingle Bell Runs. Oh, there's a Frosty 5K here and there, and some Red Nose Runs, but there are nearly as many Jingle Bell Runs in December as there are Turkey Trots in November. Fort Walton Beach, Florida breaks that pattern with the Egg Nog Jog. Nearly 200 athletes gathered at Uptown Station on Saturday morning, 22 December 2018, for the nineteenth annual Egg Nog Jog 5K.


Nathan Isaacs won the 3.1-mile race in 16:32, finishing just ahead of the 16:38 posted by the runner-up, Steven Cornelius. Master runner Christine Westcott was the women's champ, placing sixth overall in 20:12.


Behind Isaacs and Cornelius, Phillip Bauer took third in 18:01. Bauer had also placed third in the 2017 Egg Nog Jog. David Waid was the fastest master runner in the race, beating out 2017's top master Ken Lawrence, 18:47 to 19:03. Waid and Lawrence were fourth and fifth overall.


Master runner Lisa Lewis was the runner-up on the women's side, coming in eighth overall in 20:41. Thirteen-year-old Gracie Atkinson of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, a cross-country runner at Presbyterian Christian School, took third in the women's standings, placing fifteenth overall in 21:58.


173 athletes finished the 2018 Egg Nog Jog 5K.


Top Ten Men, 2018 Egg Nog Jog 5K

1. 16:32, Nathan Isaacs (M, 25)
2. 16:38, Steven Cornelius (M, 38)
3. 18:01, Phillip Bauer (M, 37)
4. 18:47, David Waid (M, 50)
5. 19:03, Ken Lawrence (M, 51)
6. 20:26, Marcus Budig (M, 29)
7. 20:48, Jeff McGuirk (M, 45)
8. 20:54, Kent Watson (M, 49)
9. 21:07, Jay McKenzie (M, 56)
10. 21:10, Tim Boomer Sullivan (M, 59)

Top Ten Women, 2018 Egg Nog Jog 5K

1. 20:12, Christine Westcott (F, 48)
2. 20:41, Lisa Lewis (F, 48)
3. 21:58, Gracie Atkinson (F, 13)
4. 22:43, Tammy Roughneen (F, 42)
5. 23:32, Donna Harris (F, 49)
6. 23:33, Jennifer Tomasello (F, 38)
7. 23:49, Andrea Korenek (F, 39)
8. 24:19, McKenzie Toth (F, 12)
9. 24:33, Delaney Cookman (F, 16)
10. 25:09, Moira Conley (F, 20)

Egg Nog Jog 5K winners, 2000 - 2018
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
17 December 2005
23 December 2006	16:32, Nathan Tarver	20:24, Kendra Appelt
21 December 2007	18:10, Jolly Thornhill	20:43, Cheryl Wolfe	129
19 December 2008
18 December 2009
17 December 2011			124
22 December 2012
21 December 2013	15:55, Matthew Travaglini	21:17, Paula Piazza	123
20 December 2014	16:00, Charlie Shackelford	23:38, Cheryl Veltman	77
19 December 2015	18:00, Tim Kogge	21:08, D'Aun RIggs	156
17 December 2016	15:50, Nick Morken	21:16, Erin Bernier	141
16 December 2017	16:13, Matt Blunden	20:50, Amber Carpenter	134
22 December 2018	16:32, Nathan Isaacs	20:12, Christine Westcott	173

Links

• Complete results of the 2018 Egg Nog Jog 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRurJajK1srHszZpFB7MbMC-9ziOQQAqFBwRVn9nTjeAXehJf9xXheWOFk__pZXQvVhM9beNEhm6nni/pubhtml
  
  
• Find upcoming runs in the Tallahassee region on the latest Trouble Afoot! racing calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2393

Matt Buys and Katja Blunden lead the Hurricane Michael Relief Run

Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday, 10 October 2018. Two months later, the region was still recovering. It will be for some time.


Storm recovery takes resources. Nowadays, it seems like everyone's favorite fund-raiser is a 5K road race. In Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Props Brewery had started putting on a an annual Fathers Day 5K in 2017. Why not a 5K Hurricane relief fundraiser as well? So on Saturday morning, 15 December 2018, on the opposite end of the calendar from the Props Father's Day 5K, Props Brewery and Run For It hosted the Hurricane Michael Relief Run 5K.


Matt Buys won the 3.1-mile race by just over 100 meters, running 18:31. Katja Blunden was the women's champ, placing third overall in 19:06.


John Guagenti finished runner-up in the 5K with an 18:57. Frank McKenzie was first master runner across the finish line, placing third in the men's standings and fifth overall in 20:34.


Rachel Staples was second on the women's side and fourth overall in 19:25. Susan Frazier, winner of Props' 2018 Fathers Day 5K, was the third woman and ninth overall in 21:09. Donna Harris was the top woman master and sixth female finisher, 29th overall in 24:09.


164 athletes finished the Hurricane Michael Relief Run 5K. The race may be over, but storm recovery is not.


Top Ten Men, 2018 Hurricane Michael Relief Run 5K

1. 18:31, Matt Buys (M, 32)
2. 18:57, John Guagenti (M, 29)
3. 20:34, Frank McKenzie (M, 54)
4. 20:40, Erik Williams (M, 39)
5. 20:48, Kent Watson (M, 49)
6. 20:51, Luis Mercado (M, 38)
7. 21:21, Javier Guitron (M, 35)
8. 21:39, Jay McKenzie (M, 56)
9. 21:56, Ricardo Betanto (M, 32)
10. 22:01, Brad DeSmith (M, 40)

Top Ten Women, 2018 Hurricane Michael Relief Run 5K

1. 19:06, Katja Blunden (F, 39)
2. 19:25, Rachel Staples (F, 33)
3. 21:09, Susan Frazier (F, 24)
4. 23:35, Andrea Korenak (F, 39)
5. 24:05, Rebecca Cox (F, 22)
6. 24:09, Donna Harris (F, 49)
7. 24:36, Paula Piazza (F, 54)
8. 24:48, Angela Gilzene (F, 37)
9. 25:00, Clarissa Seales (F, 34)
10. 25:20, Libanessa Pichardo (F, 38)

Links

• Complete results, 2018 Hurricane Michael Relief Run 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQoG2tfpELKu2C_U1YIQ6ekReEjsuhMV0K-7cuGTw3_ElgK-73nqLKTCuW733JeJUoJMG7SnomqAOY8/pubhtml
  
  
• Upcoming events on the latest Trouble Afoot! racing calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2389

More props for Austin Epstein at the Props Father's Day 5K

In 2017, at Fort Walton Beach, Florida's inaugural Props Brewery Father's Day 5K, Austin Epstein ran faster than anyone else in the race, winning the event in 17:31. Returning for the second annual Props 5K on Saturday evening, 16 June 2018, Epstein ran faster still, lowering his own course record to 17:20. Susan Frazier won the women's title in 20:51, chopping a minute off the women's course record and placing seventh overall.


A graduate of Navarre High, Epstein just finished his first year at Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, where he ran cross-country and track for the ERAU Eagles. Behind Epstein, Nathan Isames took second in 18:11. Myles Gibson of Donalsonville, Georgia was the fastest master runner in the race, placing third overall in 19:17.


Jensen Shonk, a rising sophomore on the cross-country team at Fort Walton Beach High, nabbed second in the women's standings, placing eleventh overall in 21:48. Only a few steps behind Shonk in 21:51, Ashley Selvey was the third woman and thirteenth overall. Lori Dierig was the first woman master and fifth female finisher, eighteenth overall in 23:32.


The 2018 Father's Day 5K started and finished at Props Brewery and Tap Room, 125 Lovejoy Road, in Fort Walton Beach. 191 athletes finished the 3.1-mile race.


Top Ten Men, 2018 Props Brewery Father's Day 5K

1. 17:20, Austin Epstein (M, 19)
2. 18:11, Nathan Isames (M, 24)
3. 19:17, Myles Gibson (M, 51)
4. 19:41, Derek Sandblom (M, 26)
5. 20:23, Matt Buys (M, 31)
6. 23:37, Kent Glover (M, 16)
7. 20:52, Cliff Ennis (M, 37)
8. 21:00, Reece Pasley (M, 14)
9. 21:33, Rick Leonardi (M, 56)
10. 21:49, Kyle Lundberg (M, 33)

Top Ten Women, 2018 Props Brewery Father's Day 5K

1. 20:51, Susan Frazier (F, 23)
2. 21:48, Jensen Shonk (F, 15)
3. 21:51, Ashley Selvey (F, 32)
4. 23:31, Heidi Dierig (F, 16)
5. 23:32, Lori Dierig (F, 48)
6. 23:59, Paula Piazza (F, 54)
7. 25:02, Joey Shonk (F, 12)
8. 25:46, Sarah Calhoun (F, 32)
9. 26:32, Carrie Broyles (F, 40)
10. 26:40, Shannon Clough (F, 30)

Props Brewery Father's Day 5K winners, 2017 - 2018
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
17 June 2017	17:31, Austin Epstein	21:51, Claudia Howes	180
16 June 2018	17:20, Austin Epstein	20:51, Susan Frazier	191

Links

• Complete results of the 2018 Props Brewery Father's Day 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSmU4wT1fR_YW5A_bfWk1D2rQA0VWb832R-n2l3vnU4fiKfL32QfDneeTGB0yYjG2D8zeHxi2p9lmI7/pubhtml
  
  
• 2017 story, “Epstein and Howes earn props at the Props Father's Day 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/06/props-fathers-day-2017.html
  
  
• Props Brewery and Grill
  http://www.propsbrewery.com/
  
  
• Find an upcoming race at your favorite brewery on the Trouble Afoot! racing calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2289

Campbell and Sterrett were first to the end of the rainbow at the Lucky Leprechaun 10K

Master runner Jonathan Campbell celebrated Saint Patrick's Day on the street of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, winning the Northwest Florida Track Club's seventh annual Lucky Leprechaun 10K on Saturday morning, 17 March 2018. Finishing more than 400 meters ahead of the next runner, Campbell completed the course in 37:49. Karina Sterrett was the first woman in the 10K, placing fourth overall in 41:56. 130 athletes finished the 6.2-mile race.


Panama City Beach, Florida master runner David Shearon took second in the race, running 39:20. The 2017 Lucky Leprechaun 10K champion, Drew Brunner, was third in 40:32.


Ashley Selvey was runner-up on the women's side, placing eighth overall in 46:02. Margaret Compton took third in the women's standings and tenth overall in 48:05. The top woman master and fourth female finisher was Chrissie Kirila, fourteenth overall in 49:02.


Top Ten Men, 2018 Lucky Leprechaun 10K

1. 37:49, Jonathan Campbell (M, 40)
2. 39:20, David Shearon (M, 48)
3. 40:32, Drew Brunner (M, 30)
4. 44:13, Rick Leonardi (M, 56)
5. 45:28, Bill Brewer (M, 53)
6. 45:49, David Griffin (M, 55)
7. 47:09, Jason Morway (M, 40)
8. 48:22, William Gibson (M, 15)
9. 48:52, Tim Dreyer (M, 54)
10. 48:59, Randy Frith (M, 70)

Top Ten Women, 2018 Lucky Leprechaun 10K

1. 41:56, Karina Sterrett (F, 29)
2. 46:02, Ashley Selvey (F, 32)
3. 48:05, Margaret Compton (F, 35)
4. 49:02, Chrissie Kirila (F, 48)
5. 49:21, Edie Ezell (F, 60)
6. 50:30, Suzette McKenzie (F, 50)
7. 51:02, Anna Calhoon (F, 29)
8. 51:11, Mindy Carter (F, 30)
9. 52:12, Jennifer Fox (F, 35)
10. 53:44, Eve Phillips (F, 54)

The Lucky Leprechaun race was only a 5K when it was first held in 2012. The 10K was added in 2013, but the 5K has remained on the program. Choctawhatchee high sophomore cross-country runner Jacob Knox won the shorter race in 2018, running 17:52. Just under 100 meters behind Knox, Katja Blunden of Destin, Florida set a new Lucky Leprechaun women's record in the 5K, finishing second overall in 18:54.


Matt Blunden edged Chris Roach for second in the men's 5K standings, 19:08 to 19:09. Blunden and Roach were third and fourth overall. Frank McKenzie was the fastest master runner in the race and the fifth male finisher, sixth overall in 19:20.

At 21:00, Whitney Ezell was the second woman and thirteenth overall. Kelly Wild was the top woman master and third female finisher, 27th overall in 22:13.


457 athletes finished the 2018 Lucky Leprechaun 5K.


Top Ten Men, 2018 Lucky Leprechaun 5K

1. 17:52, Jacob Knox (M, 16)
2. 19:08, Matt Blunden (M, 38)
3. 19:09, Chris Roach (M, 25)
4. 19:17, Aaron Haugan (M, 34)
5. 19:20, Frank McKenzie (M, 53)
6. 19:33, Eric Davis (M, 33)
7. 19:44, James Hurst (M, 27)
8. 20:27, Brandon Joseph (M, 21)
9. 20:33, Ethan Norton (M, 11)
10. 20:38, Spencer Weide (M, 27)

Top Ten Women, 2018 Lucky Leprechaun 5K

1. 18:54, Katja Blunden (F, 39)
2. 21:00, Whitney Ezell (F, 30)
3. 22:13, Kelly Wild (F, 53)
4. 22:21, Paula Piazza (F, 53)
5. 23:00, Marketta Rypova (F, 35)
6. 23:05, Julie Scott (F, 38)
7. 23:07, Susan McKenzie (F, 52)
8. 23:08, Jenifer Tomasello (F, 37)
9. 23:09, Andrea Korenek (F, 38)
10. 24:08, Tiffany Law (F, 29)

Fort Walton Beach, Florida Lucky Leprechaun winners, 2012 - 2018
Date	Distance	Men	Women	Finishers
17 March 2012	5K	17:45, Anthony Stricker	19:24, Lisa Lewis
16 March 2013	10K	40:26, Bob Walker	40:12, Juia Tobias
	5K	16:37, Mason Powers	22:18, Cheryl Wolfe
15 March 2014	10K	38:32, Ashley Armstrong	37:21, Cheryl Held
	5K	16:41, Caden Ewing	22:53, Cheryl Veltman
14 March 2015	10K	42:32, Jason Strong	41:43, Elizabeth Heering	96
	5K	17:23, Jason Nodjomian	21:06, Nicole Escoffier	257
12 March 2016	10K	40:08, Douglas Bustillo	45:38, Paula Piazza	93
	5K	17:55, Austin Zivney	19:13, Line Lauritsen	345
16 March 2017	10K	37:59, Drew Bruner	42:02, Anna Morelock	82
	5K	16:20, Jake Fisk	19:35, Line Lauritsen	290
17 March 2018	10K	37:49, Jonathan Campbell	41:56, Karina Sterrett	130
	5K	17:52, Jacob Knox	18:54, Katja Blunden	457

Links

• Complete results of the 2018 Lucky Leprechaun 10K and 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRjZ-WRfJnyds8SBuVW0ja1oPcLVi6jjDMRzvK7qMHXkVTRqu1AnSRSyBuRkXReSXvd7J01Z4GNPksd/pubhtml
  
  
• Northwest Florida Track Club
  http://nwftc.com
  
  
• Lucky Leprechaun on Facebook
  https://www.facebook.com/Lucky-Leprechaun-5k10k-RunWalk-314025588647516/
  
  
• Upcoming lucky races in the Tallahassee region on the Trouble Afoot! race calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2226

Epstein and Howes earn props at the Props Father's Day 5K

It was Austin Epstein's day at the Father's Day 5K. On Saturday evening, 17 June 2017, Epstein won Props Brewery's first-year event by more than 70 meters, running 17:31 through the streets of Fort Walton Beach. Claudia Howes was the first woman in the race, placing eleventh overall in 21:51.


Epstein, the overall winner, had just graduated from Navarre High, where he was a 2016 District champion in cross country and a 2017 District champion in two events on the track, the 1600 and the 3200. Tim Kogge was second to Epstein in 17:47, and Steve Harris placed third overall in 18:18. Karl Denninger was the fastest master runner in the 5K, finishing fourteenth overall in 22:59.


Placing twentieth overall, Julie Houtman edged Paula Piazza for the runner-up spot in the women's standings, 23:55 to 23:58. Piazza was the first woman master in the race and 21st overall.


The inaugural Father's Day 5K was contested on a flat, out-and-back course starting and finishing at Props Brewery and Tap Room, 125 Lovejoy Road, in Fort Walton Beach. 180 athletes finished the race.


Top Ten Men, 2017 Props Brewery Father's Day 5K

1. 17:31, Austin Epstein (M, 18)
2. 17:47, Tim Kogge (M, 33)
3. 18:18, Steve Harris (M, 37)
4. 18:23, Nathan Isaacs (M, 23)
5. 18:34, J T Perot (M, 17)
6. 19:02, Thomas Achtien (M, 26)
7. 19:12, Anthony D'Amato (M, 33)
8. 20:29, Matt Rays (M, 30)
9. 21:08, Kent Glover (M, 15)
10. 21:34, Cliff Ennis (M, 36)

Top Ten Women, 2017 Props Brewery Father's Day 5K

1. 21:51, Claudia Howes (F, 19)
2. 23:55, Julie Houtman (F, 37)
3. 23:58, Paula Piazza (F, 53)
4. 26:46, Kathy Bryant (F, 30)
5. 27:05, Nikki Perot (F, 42)
6. 27:34, Tamara Burrton (F, 45)
7. 27:34, Holly Black (F, 46)
8. 27:44, Cheryl Hammer (F, 60)
9. 27:49, Molly Pennela (F, 33)
10. 27:56, Sarah Denninger (F, 20)

Links

• Complete results of the 2017 Props Brewery Father's Day 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iS-Zzc7cq93L_MT0xKv4V7UY0ZG1WqD78bD96nGYT_8/pubhtml
  
  
• Props Brewery and Grill
  http://www.propsbrewery.com/
  
  
• Find an upcoming race at your favorite brewery on the Trouble Afoot! racing calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2009

Dewayne Riley rolls to his third straight Billy Bowlegs 5K title

Back in 1975, when the inaugural Billy Bowlegs Midnight Run was contested on the streets of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, the run was three miles long, it was a midnight race that actually started at midnight, and there was a rotating trophy. The names of the winners were engraved on the trophy, and anyone who won the annual event three years in a row got to keep it permanently.


Over the years the Billy Bowlegs was bumped up to a stylishly metric five kilometers and the starting time was moved to earlier in the evening. I'm not sure what happened with the rotating trophy, but it was many years before anyone managed to win the race three times. Winning the race even once was impressive enough. It took nine years before Mike Zeressen became the first to win the Bowlegs twice in a row, in 1982 and 1983.


So it was no small accomplishment when on Saturday evening, 3 June 2017, Dewayne Riley of Milton, Florida won the 43rd annual Billy Bowlegs 5K, his third title in three years at the Fort Walton Beach classic. The race finished on the Fort Walton Beach High School track, and Riley's winning time was 16:47, which put him half a lap of the 400-meter track ahead of the runner-up. Of Riley's three Bowlegs wins, it was his largest margin of victory.


Sheldon Harris took second in 17:30, just ahead of the 17:37 posted by third-place runner Owen Bradley of Birmningham, Alabama. Jonathan Campbell was the fastest master runner in the race, placing eighth overall in 18:52.


Brigid Gutierrez of Niceville, Florida took the women's title, coming in 21st overall in 21:07. Donna Harris was the first woman master and second female finisher, 47th overall in 23:19. Eleven-year-old Joey Shonk edged fourteen-year-old Jensen Shonk for third in the women's standings, both girls clocked in 23:21. The Shonks each ran on the Liza Jackson Prep School cross-country team during the 2016 season.


290 athletes finished the 2017 Billy Bowlegs 5K. Results Event Timing, LLC, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida timed and scored the run.


Top Ten Men, 2017 Billy Bowlegs 5K Night Race

1. 16:47, Dewayne Riley (M, 30) Milton, FL
2. 17:30, Sheldon Harris (M, 20)
3. 17:37, Owen Bradley (M, 39) Birmingham, AL
4. 17:47, Tim Kogge (M, 33) Fort Walton Beach, FL
5. 18:14, Anthony Damato (M, 33)
6. 18:16, Payton Watson (M, 16) Freeport, FL
7. 18:34, Steve Harris (M, 37) Pensacola, FL
8. 18:52, Jonathan Campbell (M, 40)
9. 19:10, Ken Lawrence (M, 49)
10. 19:21, Kent Glover (M, 15)

Top Ten Women, 2017 Billy Bowlegs 5K Night Race

1. 21:07, Brigid Gutierrez (F, 24) Niceville, FL
2. 23:19, Donna Harris (F, 48)
3. 23:21, Joey Shonk (F, 11)
4. 23:21, Jensen Shonk (F, 14)
5. 23:33, Shannon Lord (F, 21) Valparaiso, FL
6. 23:37, Susan Frazier (F, 22)
7. 23:39, Paula Piazza (F, 53)
8. 24:50, Donna Pink (F, 49)
9. 25:14, Kristen Santroch (F, 28) Fort Walton Beach, FL
10. 25:16, Margie Clements (F, 54)

Billy Bowlegs Midnight Run winners, 1975 - 2017
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
31 May 1975	Mike Clay	Cathy Sigler	82
5 June 1976	14:30*, Tim Simpkins	17:11*, Esther Stovall	132
4 June 1977	14:33*, Ken Misner	17:37*, Nancy McCormac	202
3 June 1978	14:48*, Jeff Galloway	17:43*, Nancy McCormac	~450
2 June 1979	14:58.5*, Mike Conley	17:52*, Dolly Harrison
31 May 1980	14:43*, Fred Carley Jr.	17:28*, Dolly Harrison	~1200
30 May 1981	14:43*, Jere Boutz	17:30*, Judy Stokley	~1200
5 June 1982	14:33*, Mike Zerressen	17:04*, Judy Stokely
4 June 1983	14:34*, Mike Zerressen	17:04*, Barbara Balzer	1086
2 June 1984	14:28*, J.D. Evilsizer	17:41*, Barbara Balzer	1039
1 June 1985	14:17*, Mark Patterson	16:39*, Helen Rogers	1475
7 June 1986	14:45*, Mike Plumb	Michele Linihan
6 June 1987	14:26*, James Frazier	18:03*, Jodie Steigerwald	1100+
5 June 1993	15:01, Matt Dobson
7 June 1997	15:14, Everett Whiteside	17:14, Sarah Kramer
6 June 1998	15:10, Everett Whiteside	18:18, Kelly Wild
5 June 1999	14:56, Rudolf Jun	17:59, Kelly Wild
3 June 2000	15:51, Rudolph Jun	17:29, Anna Pichrtova	524
2 June 2001	15:44, Steve Garst	18:06, Kelly Wild	530
1 June 2002	15:34, Everett Whiteside	20:08, Sarah Nandes	557
7 June 2003	16:07, James Frazier	18:27, Sarah Kramer	472
5 June 2004	16:22, Travis Deutman	18:23, Kelly Wild	382
5 June 2005	16:11, Brennan Galloway	18:34, Kelly Wild	450
4 June 2006	16:38, James Uthmeier	18:29, Kelly Wild	516
3 June 2007	15:41, Everett Whiteside	19:02, Kelly Wild	667
8 June 2008	16:06, Kyle Vanzile	19:07, Anna Hallex	685
6 June 2009	16:27, Adam Saloom	19:52, Kate Accardo	778
5 June 2010	15:55, Adam Saloom	18:57, Megan Jenkins	600
4 June 2011	15:57, Adam Saloom	19:46, Lisa Lewis	658
2 June 2012	15:21, Adam Saloom	19:20, Debby Vannoy	711
1 June 2013	15:45, Adam Saloom	18:50, Cynthia Blendermann	621
7 June 2014	16:29, Frito Bandito	18:52, Cheryl Held	530
6 June 2015	16:37, Dewayne Riley	19:05, Logan Bishop	495
4 June 2016	16:46, Dewayne Riley	19:47, Lillian Holtery	402
3 June 2017	16:47, Dewayne Riley	21:07, Brigid Gutierrez	290
* Early races in the series were three miles rather than five kilometers.

Links

• Complete results of Fort Walton Beach's 2017 Billy Bowlegs 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VZA3NsRaooyMD6j67ALxf1Ek585LI4lOa7RNCdPD3QU/pubhtml
  
  
• 2015 story, “Riley and Bishop win the race inspired by the Dread Pirate Bowles”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/06/fwb-bowlegs-2015.html
  
  
• USATF Course Certification Map FL13020EBM for the 2015 Billy Bowlegs 5K
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=FL13020EBM
  
  
• Find other 40-year-old races in the Tallahassee region on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1992