Lin and Harris post Freedom 5K wins

With less than 500 meters left to run, Reikan Lin swung around Lane Williams to take the lead, then raced home to win the second annual Freedom Run 5K at Wakulla Springs on Saturday morning, 29 June 2014. Lin ran 19:23 to Lane's 19:28. Less than a minute later, Seminole-to-be Madison Harris crossed the finish line in 20:12, winning the women's title for a second year straight.


The run started at 8:30 AM on the paved roads in Wakulla Springs State Park, but before the runners had gone 400 meters they were across highway 61 and headed toward Cherokee Sink on a one-lane dirt road, a green tunnel through the forest. Lane Williams was out front on the way to the sink. At the halfway point of the race, near the sink itself, the runners reversed course to return to Wakulla Springs. Williams was nearly 100 meters ahead at the start of the return trip, with Reikan Lin in second and Tallahassee master runner Joel Piotrowski trailing in third. Williams was as far ahead as he would ever get, though. On the way back, Lin and Piotrowski started to close the gap. The race was on.


"In the woods he [Williams] looked back," Lin recalled about the race back from the sink. "He saw me and picked up the pace."


Williams was still in front coming out of the forest, but Lin was right behind him as they re-crossed highway 61. Back on pavement with less than half a kilometer to go, Lin passed Williams and started to open a gap. With the finish line approaching, Williams accelerated one more time, but Lin had gotten too far ahead. It was Lin for the win, 19:23 to 19:28. Piotrowski was the top master in the race, finishing third overall in 19:42.


It may have been a valedictory race for Lin, who is leaving the Tallahassee area to pursue graduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Lin may be giving up running in Florida, but he isn't giving up running. "I'm already starting to check out the running scene up there," he said.


Madison Harris, on the other hand, should be in the Tallahassee area for at least a few more years. When Harris won the first Freedom Run 5K in 2013, she had hardly ever run a 5K before. By the time she had finished running cross country for Wakulla High that fall, though, she had run quite a few 5K races. One of those was the state championship, where she placed ninth. Early in 2014, right before track season, Harris signed a National Letter of Intent to compete for Florida State University starting in fall 2014. That means that Harris will be in the area, but it also meant that Seminole Coach Karen Harvey had something to say about Harris' race at Wakulla.


"She wanted me to run it as a workout," explained Harris. "I was supposed to run 6:30 pace."


Coach Harvey should hope that all her athletes follow instruction so closely. To the nearest second, 6:30 per mile pace for a 5K is 20:12, the exact time that Harris ran. Harris followed Renee Cox at the front of the women's field for the first half of the race, then passed Cox on the way back from Cherokee Sink. After that the race belonged to Harris. Cox was the women's runner-up, finishing sixth overall in 21:07. Kayla Webbe edged out Cora Atkinson for third in the women's standings, both runners clocked in 22:32. Paula O'Neill was the first woman master, coming in 16th overall in 23:40.


82 athletes finished the race. The event was hosted by the Wakulla High Cross-Country Boosters as a fundraiser for the school's cross-country program.


Top Ten Men, 2014 Freedom 5K

1. 19:22.67 ~ Reikan Lin (M, 24) Tallahassee, FL
2. 19:27.26 ~ Lane Williams (M, 18) Crawfordville, FL
3. 19:41.92 ~ Joel Piotrowski (M, 44) Tallahassee, FL
4. 20:15.40 ~ Shane Varn (M, 25) Tallahassee, FL
5. 21:30.34 ~ Mathias Laywell (M, 16) Tallahassee, FL
6. 21:36.22 ~ Michael Kennett (M, 40) Tallahassee, FL
7. 21:54.91 ~ Michael LaBossiere (M, 48) Tallahassee, FL
8. 22:13.87 ~ Josh Dismuke (M, 21) Crawfordville, FL
9. 22:26.77 ~ Eric Laywell (M, 49) Tallahassee, FL
10. 23:35.19 ~ David Anderson (M, 63) Tallahassee, FL

Top Ten Women, 2014 Freedom 5K

1. 20:12.00 ~ Madison Harris (F, 18) Panacea, FL
2. 21:06.93 ~ Renee Cox (F, 27) Tallahassee, FL
3. 22:31.75 ~ Kayla Webbe (F, 17) Chesterfield, FL
4. 22:31.98 ~ Cora Atkinson (F, 20) Crawfordville, FL
5. 23:05.52 ~ Urska Dobersek (F, 31) Tallahassee, FL
6. 23:39.67 ~ Paula O'Neill (F, 53) Tallahassee, FL
7. 23:45.52 ~ Margaret Wiedeman (F, 18) Crawfordville, FL
8. 23:51.68 ~ Jennifer Shafer (F, 46) Tallahassee, FL
9. 24:34.43 ~ Layla Thompson (F, 9) Tallahassee, FL
10. 24:46.77 ~ Elizabeth Stevens (F, 34) Crawfordville, FL

Freedom 5K winners, 2013-2014
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
29 June 2013	17:33, Stanley Linton	21:12, Madison Harris	107
28 June 2014	19:23, Reikan Lin	20:12, Madison Harris	82

Links

• Complete results of the Wakulla HS Cross-Country Boosters' 2014 Freedom 5K at gulfwinds.org
  http://gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2014/Wakulla%20County%20Boosters%202014.asp
  
  
• More photos of the Wakulla HS Cross-Country Boosters' 2014 Freedom 5K
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10104716872187173.1073741990.5215641&l=f1ffad943d
  
  
• Fred Deckert's photos of the Wakulla HS Cross-Country Boosters' 2014 Freedom 5K
  https://picasaweb.google.com/112560881455823075870/WakullaFree_14
  
  
• 2013 story, "Linton and Harris break loose at Freedom 5K"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/06/freedom-2013.html
  
  
• Find another upcoming race supporting scholastic cross country on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1163

Lin and O'Neill find the Nene to victory

When I was seven years old my family moved from Illinois to Tallahassee. For our first few months in Florida, we lived near Indianhead Acres. There were a lot of small culture shocks for a seven-year-old. There were no sidewalks, or storm sewers. The streets weren't laid out in blocks. They weren't called streets, either, for the most part. Everywhere I had lived up to then had been on a Street or an Avenue; Tallahassee was full of Roads, Drives, and Ways. Indianhead Acres in particular was full of Nenes.


When Indianhead Plantation became Indianhead Acres, the developer decided to give most of the streets Muscogee names. "Nene" is Muscogee for path or trail; close enough to street. So Indianhead Acres is full of road signs reading things like Hokolin Nene, Toochin Nene, and Ostin Nene. It sounds quite exotic, but those names translate as Second Street, Third Street, and Fourth Street.


All those Nenes make Indianhead Acres unique, so when the neighborhood association established a community festival in 2009, they named it Nene Fest. You can't have a proper festival without a road race, so in 2014 the Nene Fest 5K was added to the program of activities. Nene Fest had always been held in Optimist Park, the start and finish of the Tallahassee Women's Distance Festival 5K in recent years. Why not use the same USATF certified course?


Race director Jessica Kennett made that all happen, and on Saturday morning, 3 May 2014, the inaugural Nene Fest 5K started on East Indianhead Drive--one of the few non-Nenes in Indianhead Acres.


Tallahassee athlete Reikan Lin won the first-year race in 18:24, finishing nearly 200 meters ahead of runner-up Paul Guyas. Tallahassee master runner Michael Kennett was third in 20:23. Shane Varn took fourth in 20:59.


Master runner Paula O'Neill, a teacher at Leon County's Griffin Middle School, was the first woman in the race. O'Neill placed fifth overall in 22:02. Mary Vancore was the second woman finisher, eighth overall in 22:18.


133 athletes registered for either the 5K or the one-mile fun run at the 2014 Nene Fest. The race raised


Top Ten Men, 2014 Nene Fest 5K

1. 18:24 ~ Reikan Lin (M, 24)
2. 19:10 ~ Paul Guyas (M, 36)
3. 20:23 ~ Michael Kennett (M, 40)
4. 20:59 ~ Shane Varn (M, 25)
5. 22:07 ~ Mike Cipriano (M, 56)
6. 22:16 ~ John McManus (M, 29)
7. 22:49 ~ Patrick Koon (M, 8)
8. 23:41 ~ Mike Baker (M, 45)
9. 24:01 ~ Jimmy Sauls (M, 34)
10. 24:05 ~ Thomas Biance (M, 33)

Top Ten Women, 2014 Nene Fest 5K

1. 22:02 ~ Paula O' Neill (F, 52)
2. 22:18 ~ Mary Vancore (F, 50)
3. 24:06 ~ Kendra Forehand (F, 17)
4. 24:16 ~ Jennifer Hall (F, 40)
5. 24:54 ~ Martha Bademan (F, 29)
6. 25:27 ~ Cindi Goodman (F, 50)
7. 26:23 ~ Heather Kelly (F, 35)
8. 27:28 ~ Lisa Chapman (F, 27)
9. 28:08 ~ Adrienne Ruhl (F, 33)
10. 29:17 ~ Ronnie Moore (F, 40)

Links

• Complete results of the 2014 Nene Fest 5K at gulfwinds.org
  http://www.gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2014/Nene%20Fest%202014.asp
  
  
• Ansje Burdick's photos of the 2014 Nene Fest 5K and one-mile fun run
  https://www.facebook.com/ansje.burdick/media_set?set=a.10202779949592974.1073741833.1027361231
  
  
• Nene Fest 5K Facebook page
  https://www.facebook.com/nene5k
  
  
• USATF course certification map FL06045DL for the 2014 Nene Fest 5K
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=FL06045DL
  
  
• Indianhead Lehigh Neighborhood Association, hosts of Nene Fest
  http://ihlna.org/
  
  
• Road races, trail races, or nene races--you'll find 'em on the Trouble Afoot! racing calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1140

Lin's and Adriani's fast shoes prevail at Red Shoe

At the third annual Red Shoes Run, the only way Reikan Lin could beat Tony Guillen was by running his best 10K ever. So Lin did just that, posting a 36:52 to win the 19 April 2014 race through Tallahassee's Southwood community.


"It was a freaky race," said Lin. "My PR before was 38:18 and I ran 36:52."


Master runner Guillen finished runner-up in 37:07. Micah Adriani took the women's title, placing third overall in 41:05. Jennifer Shafer was the first woman master, 17th overall in 47:11.


It was a gray and sunless Saturday morning in Southwood for the race. Even though an overnight rain had stopped, a cold mist still hung in the air. The weather didn't prevent over 500 athletes from showing up in Southwood that morning, though. After an 8:00 AM one-mile fun run was over, the 10K and a 5K started at 8:30 AM on Esplanade Way. By a mile into the race Tony Guillen was leading the 10K field, with Reikan Lin six seconds back. Guillen widened that lead during the first half of the race, getting as much as 20 seconds ahead. During the second half, though, Lin started to close the gap. On Schoolhouse Road, with about a mile and a half to go, Lin had pulled to within seven seconds. He realized that he had a chance of catching Guillen.


On Grove Park Drive with less than a mile left in the race, Reikan Lin passed Tony Guillen. Driving for home, Lin pulled away. Back on Esplanade Way he crossed the finish line first in 36:52, a Red Shoe Run record. Guillen followed in 37:07, the first master runner. The next male across the line was Wakulla High junior Travis Parks, fifth overall in 41:40.


The top women preceded Parks, though. Early in the race, Micah Adriani, Jillian Heddaeus, and Renee Cox shared the lead in the women's competition. During the second half of the 10K Adriani pulled away. Cox was left far behind, but Heddaeus managed to stay within shouting distance. Literally shouting distance, as it turned out.


"I wasn't sure where to go," recalled Adriani. "I had to call back to Jillian and ask, 'Which way?'"


The two athletes managed to find their way to the finish line, Adriani in 41:06 and Heddaeus next in 41:15. Renee Cox was the third woman finisher, sixth overall in 42:35.


Top Ten Men, 2014 Red Shoe Run 10K

1. 36:51.99 ~ Reikan Lin (M, 24)
2. 37:06.92 ~ Tony Guillen (M, 45)
3. 41:39.68 ~ Travis Parks (M, 18)
4. 43:21.59 ~ Dewey Hudson (M, 42)
5. 44:35.97 ~ Michael La Bossiere (M, 47)
6. 44:59.85 ~ John Hunt (M, 46)
7. 45:58.35 ~ Mark Tombrink (M, 26)
8. 46:10.73 ~ David Plack (M, 44)
9. 46:10.85 ~ Karl Waller (M, 52)
10. 46:37.73 ~ Roy Mack Crews (M, 50)

Top Ten Women, 2014 Red Shoe Run 10K

1. 41:05.79 ~ Micah Adriani (F, 36)
2. 41:14.30 ~ Jillian Heddaeus (F, 31)
3. 42:34.85 ~ Renee Cox (F, 26)
4. 47:10.10 ~ Jennifer Shafer (F, 46)
5. 47:37.61 ~ Nicole Reichenbach (F, 24)
6. 49:45.29 ~ Angela Roberts (F, 32)
7. 49:49.36 ~ Erica Boccumini (F, 21)
8. 50:14.86 ~ Danielle Shelton (F, 32)
9. 50:18.61 ~ Mallory Brooks (F, 30)
10. 50:54.61 ~ Gee Wilson (F, 56)

In the 5K Crawfordville master runner Duane Evans set the early pace. Late in the first mile, Tallahassee's Thomas Parker passed Evans, going on to win the 3.1-mile race in 19:14. Behind Parker, Lisa Johnson and Adriana Piekarewicz dueled for the women's title. The two ran side by side during the first half of the race. In the second half, Johnson, who had won the Red Shoe Run 5K in 2012, left Piekarewicz behind. Johnson finished second overall in 19:20, the top woman in the race. Piekarewicz was third overall in 19:28. Placing fourth overall in 19:54, Duane Evans was the first master in the 5K.


Top Ten Men, 2014 Red Shoe Run 5K

1. 19:13.27 ~ Thomas Parker (M, 31)
2. 19:53.48 ~ Duane Evans (M, 46)
3. 20:18.55 ~ Thor Swanson (M, 13)
4. 20:37.80 ~ Max Eastman (M, 14)
5. 20:48.39 ~ Frankie Lapiana (M, 25)
6. 20:55.30 ~ Kevin Brumfield (M, 42)
7. 21:04.97 ~ Shane Varn (M, 25)
8. 21:25.66 ~ Camilo Ordonez (M, 35)
9. 21:41.68 ~ Michael Cipriano (M, 56)
10. 21:57.40 ~ Justin Swartz (M, 27)

Top Ten Women, 2014 Red Shoe Run 5K

1. 19:19.37 ~ Lisa Johnson (F, 32)
2. 19:27.67 ~ Adriana Piekarewicz (F, 25)
3. 22:52.46 ~ Layla Thompson (F, 9)
4. 24:18.36 ~ Jennifer Hall (F, 40)
5. 25:28.24 ~ Fran McLean (F, 56)
6. 25:42.26 ~ Caity Wrenn (F, 22)
7. 26:08.25 ~ Erika Robinson (F, 27)
8. 26:12.72 ~ Cindi Goodson (F, 50)
9. 26:16.31 ~ Melissa Suchocki (F, 41)
10. 26:22.48 ~ Karen Smith (F, 39)

The Red Shoe Run benefits the Ronald McDonald House charities of Tallahassee. All event proceeds are used for program services to pediatric patients and their families at Tallahassee's Ronald McDonald House. Ronald McDonald Houses across the country provide temporary residence for families of children receiving hospital treatment.

Ronald McDonald House Tallahassee Red Shoe Run winners, 2012-2014
Date	Distance	Men	Women	Finishers
28 April 2012	10K	38:48, Eric Godin	46:15, Susan Williams	111
	5K	19:27, Paul Guyas	18:09, Lisa Johnson	250
27 April 2013	10K	36:57, Peter Van Brussel	46:40, Shannon Colavecchio	170
	5K	17:00, Joseph Garcici	21:57, Andrea Duffy	400
19 April 2014	10K	36:52, Reikan Lin	41:06, Micah Adriani	162
	5K	19:14, Thomas Parker	19:20, Lisa Johnson	275

Links

• Complete results of the 2014 Red Shoe Run at gulfwinds.org
  http://www.gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2014/Red%20Shoes%202014.asp
  
  
• More photos of the 2014 Red Shoe Run
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10104430180115383.1073741976.5215641&l=bad6ffe1ae
  
  
• Fred Deckert's photos of the 2014 Red Shoe Run
  https://picasaweb.google.com/112560881455823075870/RedShoes14
  
  
• 2012 story, "Godin and Williams strap on their racing shoes for Red Shoes"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/05/red-shoes-2012.html
  
  
• Look for more races featuring colorful shoes on the Trouble Afoot! race calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1126