Hammond and Miller swat the competition at Camilla's Gnat Days 5K

The fall line divides North from South Georgia, separating the coastal plain from the piedmont plateau. North of the fall line the terrain is hilly trending towards the mountains, the rivers are treacherous with shoals, and the soils is coarse and peppered with rocks and boulders. South of the fall line the terrain is nearly flat, the larger rivers are navigable to the sea, and the soil is fine-grained. Gnats can't breed in the soil north of the fall line; the texture and chemistry is wrong for them. The moist, sandy soil south of the fall line is perfect for the insects to breed, though, and the coastal plain is one big gnat nursery. For this reason, the fall line is often called the gnat line.


Camilla, Georgia is well south of the gnat line. No amount of swatting or spraying could ever rid Camilla of the insects, so the town celebrates them instead with an annual festival, Gnat Days. Since 1988 the festival has included a road race, the Gnat Days 5K.


Coming from Bonaire, Georgia, just south of the gnat line, Jared Hammond won the 30th annual Gnat Days 5K on Friday evening, 12 May 2017, running 18:22. Another south-of-the-gnat-line athlete, Ramsay Miller of Leesburg, Georgia, took the women's title, placing twelth overall in 21:30.


Jake Merritt, a junior on the Colquitt County High cross-country team, was runner-up in the race, going the 3.1-miles in 18:46. Trevor Boeckmann of Albany, Georgia was third in 19:29. Thomasville, Georgia's Chad Johnson was the first master runner and fourth overall in 19:40. Ben Phillips, a frosh on the Lee County High cross-country squad, grabbed fifth with a 19:54.


Women's champ Ramsay Miller also studies at Lee County High, where she is a junior on the cross-country team. Kimberly Dove of Byron, Georgia was second to Miller in the women's standings, placing fourteenth overall in 22:31. Caitlin Santiago, a frosh on the cross-country team at Westwood High in Camilla, was the third woman and seventeenth overall in 23:23. Albany's Karen McNally was the top woman master and fourth female finisher, nineteenth overall in 23:43.


145 athletes finished the 2017 Gnat Days 5K.


Top Ten Men, 2017 Gnat Days 5K

1. 18:21.06, Jared Hammond (M, 36) Bonaire, GA
2. 18:46.00, Jake Merritt (M, 17) Moultrie, GA
3. 19:28.91, Trevor Boeckmann (M, 28) Albany, GA
4. 19:39.50, Chad Johnson (M, 46) Thomasville, GA
5. 19:53.64, Ben Phillips (M, 15) Leesburg, GA
6. 20:01.94, John Kilpatrick (M, 46) Leesburg, GA
7. 20:15.92, Ashton Donahue (M, 16) Baconton, GA
8. 20:28.88, Justin Williams (M, 39) Cairo, GA
9. 20:50.56, Jaques Jones (M, 13) Baconton, GA
10. 21:18.81, Tyler Williams (M, 19) Cairo, GA

Top Ten Women, 2017 Gnat Days 5K

1. 21:29.92, Ramsay Miller (F, 17) Leesburg, GA
2. 22:30.71, Kimberly Dove (F, 29) Byron, GA
3. 23:22.91, Caitlin Santiago (F, 15) Camilla, GA
4. 23:42.52, Karen McNally (F, 53) Albany, GA
5. 23:43.72, Donica Williams (F, 37) Cairo, GA
6. 23:45.83, Arber Elan (F, 28) Columbus, GA
7. 24:07.49, Emily Phillips (F, 12) Leesburg, GA
8. 24:11.29, Jill Hope (F, 36) Camilla, GA
9. 25:03.34, Kelli Kilpatrick (F, 49) Leesburg, GA
10. 25:56.50, Elizabet Mentha (F, 15) Albany, GA

Gnat Days 5K Champions, 2005 - 2017
Date	Men	Women
12 May 2017	18:22, Jared Hammond	21:30, Ramsay Miller
13 May 2016	17:04, Chase Harris	20:32, Melissa Thompson
1 May 2015	16:11, Patrick Whitehead	22:13, Beverly Hamilton
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**	14:14.7, John Tuttle	16:28, Carla Borovicka

Links

• Complete results of the 2017 Gnat Days 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mcuyxB1-Fsa6qu09Tnunifj1bd0IR6yxSt77_Rh5F8E/pubhtml
  
  
• 2016 story, “Harris and Thompson have their day at Gnat Days”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/05/gnat-days-2016.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “Whitehead and Hamilton outrun everyone but the gnats in Camilla”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/05/gnat-days-2015.html
  
  
• 2014 story, “De Jesus and Oslund flit through Gnat Days 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/05/gnat-days-2014.html
  
  
• 2013 story, “No flies on Taylor or Banks in Camilla”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/05/gnat-days-2013.html
  
  
• 2012 story, “Robbins and Grayson beat the swarm in Camilla”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/05/gnat-days-2012.html
  
  
• 2011 story, “Avenger and Willingham in a cloud of...gnats”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/05/gnat-2011.html
  
  
• Find races not requiring insect repellent on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1972

Hammond and Cauthen weren't just crawling at the Watermelon Crawl

In Tifton, Georgia the campus of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College has been home to several road races. The Run For Love 5K has been their annually since 1990 and the Run For The Nurses each year since 2012. The 14th annual Tift County Invitational Cross Country Meet visited the campus last fall. The ABAC Fitness 5K was used to be run at at the college. And since 2014 the Watermelon Crawl 5K has been a July fixture at ABAC.


Bonaire, Georgia athlete Jared Hammond won the third annual Watermelon Crawl on Saturday morning, 9 July 2016, running the 3.1 miles in an event record 19:35. Matthew Fisher, a recent alumnus of the Tift County High cross country team, was runner-up for the second year in a row, running 19:58. Tim Bell and Bret Wagenhorst were in a close race for the top master runner spot, but Bell narrowly prevailed, taking third overall while Wagenhorst was fourth. Both runners were clocked in 21:10.


Allison Cauthen, another Bonaire runner, took the women's title, placing eighth overall in 24:26. Kaycee Goodman was second in the women's standings and ninth overall in 24:45. Guna Gunawan was the first woman master and third female finisher, placing tenth overall in 25:13. Master runner Gina Purvis was fourth on the women's side and eleventh overall in 25:23.


76 athletes finished Tifton, Georgia's third annual Watermelon Crawl 5K.


Top Ten Men, 2016 Tifton, Georgia, Watermelon Crawl 5K

1. 19:34.5 ~ Jared Hammond (M, 36) Bonaire, GA
2. 19:57.1 ~ Matthew Fisher (M, 18)
3. 21:09.5 ~ Tim Bell (M, 57)
4. 21:09.9 ~ Bret Wagenhorst (M, 53)
5. 23:20.5 ~ James Hawke (M, 49)
6. 24:10.6 ~ Shannon McCook (M, 44)
7. 24:16.4 ~ Jonathan Jones (M, 44)
8. 25:25.2 ~ Berry Clay (M, 20)
9. 27:08.3 ~ Nicholas Urquhart (M, 37)
10. 27:08.9 ~ Monty Watson (M, 44)

Top Ten Women, 2016 Tifton, Georgia, Watermelon Crawl 5K

1. 24:25.4 ~ Allison Cauthen (F, 27) Bonaire, GA
2. 24:44.9 ~ Kaycee Goodman (F, 17)
3. 25:13.0 ~ Guna Gunawan (F, 44)
4. 25:22.9 ~ Gina Purvis (F, 57)
5. 25:26.2 ~ Leighanna Perez (F, 14)
6. 25:53.6 ~ Michelle Goen (F, 40)
7. 27:20.4 ~ Courtney Thompson (F, 34)
8. 27:49.2 ~ Sheila Oliver (F, 52)
9. 28:57.8 ~ Renata Elad (F, 51)
10. 29:22.8 ~ Meagan Riley-Neuman (F, 25)

Winners of the Tifton, Georgia, Watermelon Crawl 5K, 2014 - 2016
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
12 July 2014	19:58, Lorenzo Gomez	24:47, Penny Peters	112
11 July 2015	19:54, Tony Edmondson	22:51, Heather Hall	65
9 July 2016	19:35, Jared Hammond	24:26, Allison Cauthen	76

Links

• Complete results of the 2016 Watermelon Crawl 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vQS128iSBIPvsTU0tmx0JJFdOhYVno8PnclBOE-JXrg/pubhtml
  
  
• 2015 story, “Edmondson and Hall lower records at Tifton's Watermelon Crawl”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/watermelon-crawl-2015.html
  
  
• Watermelon Crawl 5K
  http://thewatermeloncrawl.weebly.com
  
  
• Find upcoming watermelon runs, races, and crawls on the Trouble Afoot! racing calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1746

No creeping or crawling for Hammond and Gibbs at the Fire Ant 5K

Finishing more than half a kilometer ahead of the next runner, Jared Hammond won Turner County's annual Fire Ant Festival 5K on Saturday morning, 29 March 2014, in Ashburn, Georgia. The Bonaire, Georgia, athlete ran the 3.1-mile race in 18:38. Albany, Georgia, master runner Bruce Austin was runner-up in 21:02. Ashburn schoolboy Mauricio Cervantes took third in 22:28, and Juan Carlos Tryo was fourth in 22:33.


Cordele's Amelia Gibbs won the women's title, coming in fifth overall in 23:21. Allison Cauthen of Bonaire, Georgia, finished second in the women's standing for the second year in a row; this year she was seventh overall in 24:33. The 2013 Fire Ant 5K women's champ, Adrienne Worley of Cordele, was 2014's third woman finisher, placing 11th overall in 25:45. Tifton's Gina Purvis was the first woman master. The fourth woman finisher, Purvis was 14th overall in 26:45.


Somehow this year's Fire Ant 5K was the fifth Saturday in March rather than the traditional fourth Saturday. I would depend on the 2015 race returning to the fourth Saturday, though. After all in 2015 there won't be a fifth Saturday in March. So look for Georgia's next race celebrating crawling, biting pests on 28 March 2015.


Top Ten Men, 2014 Turner County (Georgia) Fire Ant Festival 5K

1. 18:38 ~ Jared Hammond (M, 33) Bonaire, GA
2. 21:02 ~ Bruce Austin (M, 44) Albany, GA
3. 22:28 ~ Mauricio Cervantes (M, 14) Ashburn, GA
4. 22:33 ~ Juan Carlos Tryo (M, 39)
5. 23:36 ~ Tony Whiddon (M, 48) Kennesaw, GA
6. 24:39 ~ Mitchell Gibbs (M, 35) Cordele, GA
7. 24:51 ~ Ubaldo Martinez (M, 38) Ashburn, GA
8. 25:34 ~ Luis Martinez (M, 11) Ashburn, GA
9. 26:27 ~ Grayson Watson (M, 16) Ashburn, GA
10. 26:38 ~ Billy Griner (M, 44) Albany, GA

Top Ten Women, 2014 Turner County (Georgia) Fire Ant Festival 5K

1. 23:21 ~ Amelia Gibbs (F, 36) Cordele, GA
2. 24:33 ~ Allison Cauthen (F, 25) Bonaire, GA
3. 25:45 ~ Adrienne Worley (F, 33) Cordele, GA
4. 26:45 ~ Gina Purvis (F, 55) Tifton, GA
5. 27:34 ~ Dale Lawson (F, 47) Cordele, GA
6. 29:08 ~ Lee Taylor (F, 17) Ashburn, GA
7. 29:43 ~ Susan Hutchinson (F, 62) Poulan, GA
8. 30:23 ~ Sonya Benson (F, 41) TyTy, GA
9. 31:55 ~ Ashley Cobb (F, 26) Fitzgerald, GA
10. 32:14 ~ Michasia Harris (F, 22) Tifton, GA

Turner County Fire Ant Festival 5K winners, 2003-2013
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
24 March 2001
23 March 2002
22 March 2003	16:37, David Coody, Jr	21:52, Kara Clark
27 March 2004	18:23, Kerry Underwood	27:26, Stephanie Langley
26 March 2005	17:22, Robert Feldman	20:20, Brooke Withers	60
25 March 2006	17:52, Ryan McDaniel	21:22, Rue Chitwood	50
24 March 2007	16:01, David Marley	20:08, Elizabeth Lambert	76
22 March 2008	16:47, David Marley	19:45, Brittney Skiles	106
28 March 2009	18:15, Nathan Norton	22:56, Amy Bartholomew	63
27 March 2010	17:54, Daniel Chevez	21:53, Susan Breeding	91
26 March 2011	17:52, Robert Smith	20:46, Ashley Duncan	97
24 March 2012	18:09, Benjamin James Weston	23:37, Jeanette MacDonald	141
23 March 2013	19:02, Robert Bledsoe	25:24, Adrienne Worley	80
29 March 2014	18:38, Jared Hammond	23:21, Amelia Gibbs	47

Links

• Complete results of the 2014 Turner County (Georgia) Fire Ant Festival 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1f1U3_OjfpqdY06mTYPB2_vQGg04LVtCh5561ZFWxh9A/pubhtml
  
  
• 2013 story, "Bledsoe and Worley winners at 2013 Fire Ant 5K"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/03/fire-ant-2013.html
  
  
• 2011 story, "ASU athletes Smith and Duncan achieve ant honors at Ashburn"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/03/fire-ant-2011.html
  
  
• Upcoming races in the region, with or without pests for mascots
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1122