Howell rings a 16:53 at Blountstown's Jingle Bell Run

Blountstown Middle School's 2016 Jingle Bell Run 5K wasn't the largest race in the eight-year history of the event, but Thomas Howell made it the fastest. At that Friday evening, 9 December 2016, race, Howell broke his own course record, running the 3.1 miles through the streets of Blountstown, Florida in 16:53. Tallahassee distance runner Becky Cahill won the women's title in 22:09, placing sixth overall. 47 athletes finished the race.


Howell is an alumnus of the Blountstown High School cross-country team, but he wasn't the only athlete doing the Tigers proud that evening. Jesse Boyd and Weston Schrock, juniors on the Blountstown High cross-country squad, were the next two finishers after Howell. Boyd took second in 17:02 and Schrock third in 17:26. The Tigers' across-the-river rival, Liberty County High, was represented by alumnus Chance Logan. Logan was fourth in 17:46. Mark McCarra was the top master runner in the race and fifth overall in 21:56.


Becky Cahill had finished third in the women's standings of the 2015 Jingle Bell Run; she improved to first in 2016 by lowering her time nearly two minutes. Robin Haussmann took second in the 2016 race, placing ninth overall in 24:20. Carla Elliott of Chattahoochee, Florida was the top woman master and third female finisher, tenth overall in 24:47.


Top Ten Men, 2016 Blountstown, Florida, Middle School Jingle Bell Run 5K

1. 16:53, Thomas Howell (M, 20) Blountstown, FL
2. 17:02, Jesse Boyd
3. 17:26, Weston Schrock
4. 17:46, Chance Logan
5. 21:56, Mark McCarra
6. 23:08, Dylan Thrasher
7. 24:17, Dixson Thrasher
8. 26:06, Tony Reed
9. 26:45, Jay Edyabsky
10. 28:17, Mark Collier

Top Ten Women, 2016 Blountstown, Florida, Middle School Jingle Bell Run 5K

1. 22:09, Becky Cahill (F, 34) Tallahassee, FL
2. 24:20, Robin Haussmann
3. 24:47, Carla Elliott
4. 24:57, Lessa Bates
5. 25:42, Trace Home
6. 26:01, Edna Reed
7. 26:12, Robin Bennett
8. 27:16, Ashley McIntosh
9. 27:17, RuthAnn Eberly
10. 27:24, Courtney Smith

Blountstown Jingle Bell 5K Champions, 2009 - 2016
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
4 December 2009	19:07, Devin Ferrell	23:19, Mary Sewell
3 December 2010	18:17, Devin Ferrell	22:18, Judy Alexander	53
2 December 2011	18:12, Thomas Howell	23:21, Judy Alexander	62
30 November 2012	18:16, Thomas Howell	21:34, Hannah Plazarin	75
12 December 2013	17:15, Thomas Howell	24:06, Hannah Plazarin	109
5 December 2014	17:28, Kevin Potts	24:00, Kristi Johnson	71
4 December 2015	16:55, Thomas Howell	22:00, Lydia Miles	76
9 December 2016	16:53, Thomas Howell	22:09, Becky Cahill	47

Links

• Complete results of the 2016 Blountstown Jingle Bell 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UIuLULSSvMIJ6lU7ttiJBjIJzDJWEyGoInGQyFHTWtA/pubhtml
  
  
• 2015 story, “Happy Holidays for Howell and Miles at Blountstown's Jingle Bell Run”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/12/blountstown-jingle-bell-2015.html
  
  
• 2012 story, “Blountstown High runners Howell and Plazarin ring up two wins”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/12/blountstown-jingle-bell-2012.html
  
  
• 2011 story, “Oh what fun it is to run in the Blountstown 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/12/blountstown-jingle-bell-2011.html
  
  
• 2010 story, “Jingle Bell 5K wins in Blountstown for Ferrell and Alexander”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/12/blountstown-jingle-bell-2010.html
  
  

#1831

Militsa Mircheva cranks a 17:54 Trash Dash 5K at Apalachee Regional Park

On On 26 March 2016 Militsa Mircheva was in Cardiff, Wales competing for her native Bulgaria in the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. On 14 August 2016 Mircheva was representing Bulgaria on another continent, competing in the women's marathon at the XXXI Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Less than a month later Mircheva signed to compete for Florida State University. She would pass up competing in cross-country for the Lady Seminoles during the fall of 2016, though, waiting till track season during 2017 to start her Florida State athletic career. Which is why on Saturday morning, 29 October 2016, Mircheva was at the Apalachee Regional Park Cross-Country Course in Tallahassee, Florida, racing on yet a third continent. There, Mircheva won the sixth annual Trash Dash 5K, beating all comers, male or female, with a 17:54. Runner-up Thomas Howell was first in the men's standings; the Florida A & M student covered the course in 18:13.

Militsa Mircheva and Thomas Howell

Tallahassee Community College cross-country coach Gary Droze was the top master runner in the race, finishing right behind Howell in 18:19 and placing third overall. Michael Nesius was the third male finisher and fourth overall in 18:52.


Another Lady Seminole, Jessica Lonas, was runner-up on the women's side, placing fifth overall in 19:11. Katherine Patrick made it a Florida State sweep of the first three women's places, coming in fifteenth overall in 21:30. Leon County Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey was the top woman master and ninth female finisher, placing 31st overall in 25:10.


The Trash Dash 5K is an annual event hosted by Sustainable Tallahassee. 84 athletes finished the 2016 race.


Top Ten Women, 2016 Trash Dash 5K

1. 17:53.43, Militsa Mircheva (F, 22)
2. 19:10.28, Jessica Lonas (F, 20)
3. 21:29.22, Katherine Patrick (F, 18)
4. 22:11.80, Connie Lewis (F, 18)
5. 22:27.55, Katarina Jernberg (F, 18)
6. 22:53.26, Emma Spencer (F, 35)
7. 23:36.28, Jamila Allen (F, 27)
8. 23:54.40, Kendall Ward (F, 16)
9. 25:09.15, Angela Dempsey (F, 48)
10. 26:34.19, Sherrie Peavy (F, 48)

Top Ten Men, 2016 Trash Dash 5K

1. 18:12.17, Thomas Howell (M, 20)
2. 18:18.65, Gary Droze (M, 55)
3. 18:51.52, Michael Nesius (M, 31)
4. 19:17.45, Lane Williams (M, 20)
5. 19:24.20, Andrew Treat (M, 29)
6. 19:29.37, Michael Martinez (M, 50)
7. 19:33.86, Matthias Laywell (M, 18)
8. 19:42.44, Jay McDuffie (M, 16)
9. 19:46.98, Brady Irwin (M, 33)
10. 19:47.94, Don Smith (M, 37)

Trash Dash winners, 2011 - 2016
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
19 November 2011	17:53, Brian Corbin	21:28, Sheryl Rosen
10 November 2012	17:52, Roger Schmidt	20:33, Katie Showman	98
16 November 2013	15:54, Stanley Linton	19:06, Emily Ness	136
8 November 2014	17:12, Roger Schmidt	20:07, Katie Sherron	80
14 November 2015	15:10, Ricardo Estremera	19:28, Tara Rooney	99
29 October 2016	18:13, Thomas Howell	17:54, Militsa Mircheva	84

Links

• Complete results of the 2016 Trash Dash 5K at gulfwinds.org
  http://gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2016/Trash%20Dash%202016.asp
  
  
• Fred Deckert's photos of the 2016 Trash Dash 5K
  https://plus.google.com/photos/112560881455823075870/albums/6346955821491877313
  
  
• 2015 story, “Estremera goes 15:10 at Apalachee Regional Park in the Trash Dash 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/11/trash-dash-2015.html
  
  
• 2014 story, “Schmidt and Sherron take out the Trash”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/11/trash-dash-2014.html
  
  
• 2013 story, “No rubbish runs for Linton or Ness at the Trash Dash”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/11/trash-dash-2013.html
  
  
• 2012 story, “Schmidt and Showman dump their competition in the Trash Dash”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/11/trash-dash-2012.html
  
  
• 2011 story, “Corbin and Rosen weren't talking trash”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/11/trash-dash-2011.html
  
  
• Find the next trash dash, rubbish run, or garbage gallop on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1842

Happy Holidays for Howell and Miles at Blountstown's Jingle Bell Run

Since 2009, Florida's Blountstown Middle School has hosted their annual Jingle Bell Run 5K seven times. On four of those occasions, Thomas Howell has won the race. Howell has in fact won four of the last five Jingle Bell Runs, which might lead you to believe that the Florida A & M University cross country runner is a good bet when it comes to this particular 3.1-mile race in Blountstown, Florida. That was certainly the case on Friday evening, 4 December 2015, when Howell picked up his fourth Jingle Bell title, setting a new event record of 16:55.


Jesse Boyd, a sophomore on the Blountstown High cross country team, placed second in 18:04. Logan Chance was third in 18:24, and Blountstown High sophomore cross country runner Weston Schrock took fourth with a 20:46.


Racing on the pavement of Blountstown earlier in 2015, Kristi Johnson had won the women's title at the Catfish Crawl 5K. One of the many athletes behind Johnson that day was Lydia Miles, a master runner from Wewahitchka, Florida. That was May, though, and this was December. And in December, Miles finished ahead of Johnson in the Jingle Bell Run, finishing as the first woman and ninth overall in 22:00. Johnson was runner-up in the women's standings, tenth overall in 22:14. Third on the women's side went to Becky Cahill, twelfth overall in 23:46.


76 athletes finished Blountstown Middle School's seventh annual Jingle Bell Run 5K.


Top Ten Men, 2015 Blountstown, Florida, Middle School Jingle Bell Run 5K

1. 16:55 ~ Thomas Howell
2. 18:04 ~ Jesse Boyd
3. 18:24 ~ Logan Chance
4. 20:46 ~ Weston Schrock
5. 21:05 ~ Brenton Holt
6. 21:41 ~ Trevor Schrock
7. 21:45 ~ Braden Peddie
8. 21:57 ~ Dylan Thrasher
9. 23:31 ~ Damien Freeman
10. 24:09 ~ Eric Layne

Top Ten Women, 2015 Blountstown, Florida, Middle School Jingle Bell Run 5K

1. 22:00 ~ Lydia Miles
2. 22:14 ~ Kristi Johnson
3. 23:46 ~ Becky Cahill
4. 25:10 ~ Leisa Eastman
5. 25:10 ~ Jo Curry
6. 25:38 ~ Shann Layne
7. 26:31 ~ Hannah Causseaux
8. 27:44 ~ Robin Bennett
9. 28:07 ~ Mary Holley
10. 29:50 ~ Bonnie Seay

Blountstown Jingle Bell 5K Champions, 2009 - 2015
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
4 December 2009	19:07, Devin Ferrell	23:19, Mary Sewell
3 December 2010	18:17, Devin Ferrell	22:18, Judy Alexander	53
2 December 2011	18:12, Thomas Howell	23:21, Judy Alexander	62
30 November 2012	18:16, Thomas Howell	21:34, Hannah Plazarin	75
12 December 2013	17:15, Thomas Howell	24:06, Hannah Plazarin	109
5 December 2014	17:28, Kevin Potts	24:00, Kristi Johnson	71
4 December 2015	16:55, Thomas Howell	22:00, Lydia Miles	76

Links

• Complete results of the 2015 Blountstown Jingle Bell 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1H6xSeNMJVQaSld3a2IEEc26XCnR0S9V0ttOMUt_V7Kc/pubhtml
  
  
• 2012 story, “Blountstown High runners Howell and Plazarin ring up two wins”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/12/blountstown-jingle-bell-2012.html
  
  
• 2011 story, “Oh what fun it is to run in the Blountstown 5K”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/12/blountstown-jingle-bell-2011.html
  
  
• 2010 story, “Jingle Bell 5K wins in Blountstown for Ferrell and Alexander”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/12/blountstown-jingle-bell-2010.html
  
  

#1567

Howell and Atkinson win the mile at the Sprint

Winter is indoor track season, but there are no indoor tracks in Florida. Why should there be? It may get a bit chilly at times in the Sunshine State, but your outdoor track will never be buried under snowdrifts. You don't need to resort to a snow shovel; it's always available. Put on another pullover and go run.


Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has a rational approach to the situation. Since at least as early as 2007, the Eagles have hosted the annual Embry Riddle Indoor Outdoor Challenge--as they describe it, "indoor events on the outdoor track." On Friday evening, 9 January 2015, the Franklin County High Seahawks followed suit by hosting an outdoor meet during indoor season, the inaugural Jingle Bell Sprint. Don't let the "Sprint" fool you. In spite of the name, the meet included a full schedule of running events. In addition to the 100 meter, 200 meter, and 400 meter dashes or "sprints," there was also the 800 meter run and the crowning glory of indoor track, the mile. Actually, it was the almost-as-good 1600 meter run, but let's not fight over 944 centimeters. It was a four-lap race in the middle of what passes for winter in the Florida panhandle.


Blountstown High senior Thomas Howell and Wakulla High sophomore Bryce Cole raced ahead of the rest of the field in the 1600, quickly turning it into a two-man competition. Howell won the duel by a few steps over Cole, 4:56.1 to 4:57.3. Cora Atkinson of Life University was the fastest woman on the track, finishing fourth overall in 6:01.7. Wakulla sophomore Haleigh Martin was second in the women's standings, placing sixth overall in 6:10.4. Eastpoint, Florida, veterinarian Hobson Fulmer took top master honors, coming in ninth overall in 7:01.7.


Outdoor track season comes early enough in Florida, no later than mid February. Until then, there's the Jingle Bell Sprint.


2015 Jingle Bell Sprint 1600-meter run

1. 4:56.1 ~ Thomas Howell (M, 18) Blountstown HS
2. 4:57.3 ~ Bryce Cole (M, 16) Wakulla HS
3. 6:00.4 ~ Travis Parks (M, 18) Wakulla HS
4. 6:01.7 ~ Cora Atkinson (F, 20) Life University
5. 6:07.2 ~ Sam Roddenberry (M, 16) Wakulla HS
6. 6:10.4 ~ Haleigh Martin (F, 15) Wakulla HS
7. 6:12.6 ~ Riley Welch (M, 17) Wakulla HS
8. 6:37.2 ~ Dalton Wood (M, 15) Wakulla HS
9. 7:01.7 ~ Hobson Fulmer (M, 59) Tates Hell Track Club
10. 7:19.0 ~ Damien Freeman (M, ) Franklin County HS
11. 7:20.0 ~ Rosie Davis (F, 12) Franklin County HS
12. 8:04.4 ~ Nick Yonclas (M, 71)
13. 8:32.0 ~ Tommy Varner (M, )
14. 9:00.7 ~ Michael Martin (M, 38)

Links

• Find more races in and out of track season on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1

#1293

Howell and Miles net wins at Blountstown's Catfish Crawl

Heading west on Florida's state road 20, you'll pass a sign announcing "Blountstown--A River City." The river is the Apalachicola, which you just crossed. Blountstown is in the heart of the Florida Panhandle, and the Apalachicola was once the main artery through that heart. Riverboats gave way to trains and railroads, which were themselves replaced by highways. Blountstown's once-busy river landing serves mostly recreational boaters now. The Marianna & Blountstown Railroad is gone, the Blountstown Greenway Rail Trail in its place.


On Saturday morning, 17 May 2014, the Greenway was the site of the Blountstown Fire Department's third annual Catfish Crawl 5K. The race started just after 8:00 AM, with over 100 athletes headed south on the Greenway's paved path, twelve feet wide and shady. By the end of the first mile a lead group of three runners was well out in front of the rest of the field--Thomas Howell, David Seymour, and Elijah Sarmiento. Sarmiento, a rising sophomore on the Wewahitchka High cross-country team, wasn't with the group much longer. On the way to the turnaround at the halfway point Sarmiento fell behind, leaving a two-man race--Howell and Seymour.


Two weeks earlier Thomas Howell, a rising senior at Blountstown High, had wrapped up his track season at the State Finals in Jacksonville, placing 15th in the 1600-meter run. That same weekend David Seymour was out racing on the road of Fort Rucker, Alabama, winning the annual Army Ten-Miler Run-Off. This Saturday morning, though, the high school track star and the US Army staff sergeant were going head-to-head in the 5K.


Howell and Seymour passed the two-mile mark together. They were still racing side by side well into the third mile when Howell made his move.


"I surged with about three-quarters of a mile to go, about a 20-second surge," said Howell. "I kept going from there, pushing to the finish."


The surge was enough to drop Seymour. After finishing third in the 2012 Catfish Crawl and second in the 2013 race, Howell won on his third try with a 17:23. Seymour was second in 17:44, and Sarmiento third in 18:16.


Taking fourth place in 20:08, Travis Miller was the first master runner in the race. Miller had been back in sixth at the halfway point. After grabbing a drink at the turnaround, though, he switched to a faster gear for the race home. Miller picked up two places on the way to the finish, passing rival master runner Mark McCarron.


Women's winner Lydia Miles didn't start out in front, either. Early in the race she was running back in fourth in the women's field. The runner from Wewahitchka wasn't worried, though.


"I let other people go out too fast and then I move up," explained Miles.


Miles knew her pace. Early in the second mile of the race she passed Blountstown High senior Missy Newsome to take the lead in the women's competition. Miles never needed to look back after that, going on to win the Catfish Crawl women's title in 25:05, finishing 26th overall. She was also the first master woman in the race. Another master runner, Paulette Bryant, was runner-up in the women's standings, coming in 32nd overall in 26:07. Mitzi Woods was the third woman finisher, 33rd overall in 26:09.


117 athletes finished the 3.1-mile race. The Blountstown Fire Department uses proceeds from the race for their scholarship fund, with which they award a deserving Blountstown High senior a full scholarship to the Chipola College Fire Academy.


Top Ten Men, 2014 Catfish Crawl 5K

1. 17:23 ~ Thomas Howell (M, 17) Blountstown, FL
2. 17:44 ~ David Seymour (M, 26)
3. 18:16 ~ Elijah Sarmiento (M, 15)
4. 20:08 ~ Travis Miller (M, 44)
5. 20:30 ~ Micah McCaskill (M, 16)
6. 20:59 ~ Mark McCarron (M, 48)
7. 21:18 ~ Eric Layne (M, 30)
8. 21:46 ~ Lonnie Pitts (M, 21)
9. 21:53 ~ Marc Tomlinson (M, 36)
10. 22:21 ~ Jessie B. Smith (M, 51)

Top Ten Women, 2014 Catfish Crawl 5K

1. 25:05 ~ Lydia Miles (F, 41) Wewahitchka, FL
2. 26:07 ~ Paulette Bryant (F, 42)
3. 26:09 ~ Mitzi Woods (F, 38)
4. 26:18 ~ Missy Newsome (F, 17)
5. 26:30 ~ Ruth Ann Eberly (F, 58)
6. 26:36 ~ Robyn Griffin (F, 38)
7. 26:43 ~ Kreirstin Mosher (F, 14)
8. 27:12 ~ Erin Schwager (F, 40)
9. 27:21 ~ Danielle Miller Cameron (F, 12)
10. 27:21 ~ Mary Holley (F, 54)

Blountstown Fire Department Catfish Crawl 5K champions, 2012-2014
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
19 May 2012	17:45, Billy Naylor	21:41, Hannah Plazarin	96
18 May 2013	16:38, Billy Naylor	23:45, Hannah Plazarin	128
17 May 2014	17:23, Thomas Howell	25:05, Lydia Miles	117

Links

• Complete results of the Blountstown Fire Department's 2014 Catfish Crawl 5K
  http://www.gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2014/Catfish%20Crawl%202014.asp
  
  
• More photos of the 2014 Catfish Crawl 5K
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10104540479384763.1073741984.5215641&l=f415d0888b
  
  
• 2013 story, "Naylor and Plazarin still own the Catfish Crawl"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/05/catfish-2013.html
  
  
• 2012 story, "Naylor and Plazarin champs at Blountstown's first Catfish 5K"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/05/catfish-2012.html
  
  
• Find future fish-themed races in the region on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1141