Leading a field of 55 long-distance runners, Fanxiu Zhu won the ninth annual Hospice Half Marathon in Dasher, Georgia on Saturday morning, 8 February 2020. The Tallahassee, Florida master runner covered the 13.1-mile course in 1:30:29. Another Sunshine State master runner, Tara Atchley of Hudson, Florida, was the first woman in the half-marathon, placing fourth overall in 1:39:05.Master runner Camilo Ordonez took second in the race with a 1:33:10. Just six days earlier, Ordonez had run the Tallahassee Marathon, finishing the 26.2 miles in 4:53:58. Valdosta, Georgia master runner Rick Mazurkiewicz was third in 1:33:56, slightly faster than the 1:34:52 that had earned him a fourth-place showing in the 2018 Hospice Half.
Valdosta master runner Sandra Griffin nabbed the runner-up spot in the women's standings, placing sixth overall in 1:44:01. Tracey Cole, a Pinetta, Florida master runner, was the third woman and eigth overall in 1:45:47. Greta Mikell of Tallahassee was the fourth female finisher and tenth overall in 1:49:51. Earlier in the week on 2 February 2020, Mikell had run 1:51:28 in the Tallahassee Half-Marathon.
55 athletes finished the 2020 Hospice Half Marathon. The race was run in cool, clear conditions on roads through the countryside south of Valdosta on USATF-certified course GA18003WC. A Course/Line, LLC, of Valdosta timed the race and provided finish line services.
Top Ten Men, 2020 Hospice Half Marathon
- 1:30:28.2, Fanxiu Zhu (M, 51) Tallahassee, FL
- 1:33:09.7, Camilo Ordonez (M, 41) Tallahassee, FL
- 1:33:55.1, Rick Mazurkiewicz (M, 52) Valdosta, GA
- 1:43:14.8, Mike Mason (M, 40) Valdosta, GA
- 1:44:40.8, Renaldas Smidtas (M, 55) Jasper, FL
- 1:46:13.0, Eric Castor (M, 46) Valdosta, GA
- 1:51:52.9, Tyler Carver (M, 18) Tallahassee, FL
- 1:54:03.2, Billy Carson Taylor (M, 71) Valdosta, GA
- 1:54:31.5, Daniel Zenobia (M, 37) Valdosta, GA
- 1:58:05.9, Steve Jones (M, 49) Valdosta, GA
Top Ten Women, 2020 Hospice Half Marathon
- 1:39:04.2, Tara Atchley (F, 41) Hudson, FL
- 1:44:00.1, Sandra Griffin (F, 52) Valdosta, GA
- 1:45:46.8, Tracey Cole (F, 40) Pinetta, FL
- 1:49:50.6, Greta Mikell (F, 23) Tallahassee, FL
- 1:57:55.4, Terri Prange (F, 61) Good Thunder, MN
- 1:57:58.6, Karisa Zickos (F, 41) Valdosta, GA
- 1:58:25.1, Shannon Emanuel (F, 32) Ray City, GA
- 2:00:26.6, Hilary Willis (F, 28) Valdosta, GA
- 2:01:06.9, Sophie Gentry (F, 46) Hahira, GA
- 2:02:43.8, Rebecca Schilling (F, 29) Valdosta, GA
| Hospice Half Marathon champions, 2011 - 2020 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Men | Women | Finishers |
| 19 February 2011 | 1:25:36, Masked Avenger | 1:43:03, Brandi Faircloth | 72 |
| 17 February 2012 | 1:23:09, Stan Darsh | 1:37:58, Amy Sharon | 76 |
| 16 February 2013 | 1:20:45, Ryan Kelly | 1:32:23, Beth Sweeny | 107 |
| 15 February 2014 | 1:21:44, Ryan Kelly | 1:30:28, Beth Sweeny | 84 |
| 27 February 2016 | 1:17:14, Roger Schmidt | 1:32:31, Anna Busby | 56 |
| 25 February 2017 | 1:35:07, Ariel Godwin | 1:50:45, Brandy Van Jura | 56 |
| 17 February 2018 | 1:25:21, Kevin Sweeny | 1:42:28, Jenny Early | 45 |
| 9 February 2019 | 1:26:37, Colin Prinsloo | 1:36:27, Carsen Pastirik | 72 |
| 8 February 2020 | 1:30:29, Fanxiu Zhu | 1:39:05, Tara Atchley | 55 |
| The race was not held in 2015. | |||
Links
- Complete results of the 2020 Hospice Half Marathon, courtesy of A Course/Line, LLC
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQAS_tBXk_GEBbMi9Q-mphGnKeCqUvWmpt9zGJjRkrqI7eLFRQ9lgkITzKL8cyNwM1w8ZwVDuHNuLuN/pubhtml
- 2019 story, “In Dasher, Colin Prinsloo and Carsen Pastirik lead the Hospice Half Marathon”
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/02/hospice-half-2019.html
- 2018 story, “Kevin Sweeny and Jenny Early leave Dasher with Hospice Half titles”
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/02/hospice-half-2018.html
- 2017 story, “Godwin and Van Jura go the distance in the Hospice Half”
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/02/hospice-half-2017.html
- 2016 story, “Schmidt and Busby take the Hospice Half titles home to Tallahassee”
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/02/hospice-half-2016.html
- 2014 story, “Ryan and Sweeny repeat at Dasher half marathon”
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/02/hospice-half-2014.html
- 2013 story, “Kelly and Sweeny set records in third annual Hospice Half”
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/02/hospice-half-2013.html
- 2011 story, “Avenger, Faircloth dash through Dasher to Hospice Half victories”
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/02/hospice-half-2011.html
- USATF course certification map GA18003WC for the 2018 Hospice Half Marathon
http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=GA18003WC
- If there's another new half marathon, you'll find it on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
