Distance runners are notorious for excuses. Many years ago I won a 10,000-meter race on the track. The next day I read in the newspaper that the runner I had edged out for the win had said that he didn't know where the finish line was. Keep in mind that this was on a track, and during the 25-lap race we had already passed the finish line 24 times before the grim business on the home stretch.
The excuses at a local road race aren't nearly as creative, but you'll hear plenty of them. An athlete's training isn't going well, or he's coming off an injury, or he just had the flu. The course is too long, too short, too hilly, or too flat. The weather is always a good excuse. A slow time can always be blamed on extreme weather.
At the 36th annual Gulf Winds Track Club 30K, though, a lot of the usual excuses rang a little hollow when the winner broke the course record by more than three minutes.
With the runners that lined up at the start on Saturday morning, 12 January 2013, you'd expect records to be broken. Four-time GWTC 30K winner Vince Molosky was there, but so was Stanley Linton who had finished ahead of Molosky a week earlier at the Bowlegs 5K. Kevin Sullivan of Capital City Runners, a four-time member of the Canadian Olympic team, was also on the starting line outside of the Retreat on Bradley's Pond.
Vince Molosky set the early pace as the runners headed north on Old Centerville Road. Around five kilometers, though, Stanley Linton took over the lead. At seven kilometers Linton was 200 meters ahead of Molosky, with Kevin Sullivan running in a distant third. The runners held their positions through the turn-around at the halfway point on Sunny Hill Road. With ten kilomters to go, Linton was more than a full kilometer ahead of Molosky, with Sullivan another half a kilometer back, but Sullivan was already starting to close on Molosky. Linton maintained his lead, however, and ran home in 1:48:22, crushing Charlie Johnson's 2012 course record of 1:51:30. Sullivan picked off Molosky on the way back to Bradley's Pond, finishing runner-up in 1:54:48. Molosky had to be content with third place in 1:58:32.
Katie Showman didn't enjoy nearly as large a margin in the women's competition as Stanley Linton did in the men's race, but by seven kilometers she was already a few steps in front of Savannah, Georgia master runner Sarah Batt. With ten kilometers to go Showman had lengthened that lead to half a kilometer. Showman went on to successfully defend her women's title at the 30K, placing 14th overall in 2:16:42. Batt was the second woman in and the top woman master, 18th overall in 2:19:16. Four-time 30K champion and women's course record holder Sheryl Rosen was the third female finisher, 25th overall in 2:26:29.
Top Ten Males, 30K
1:48:21.88 ~ Stanley Linton (M, 19)- 1:54:47.38 ~ Kevin Sullivan (M, 38)
- 1:58:31.24 ~ Vince Molosky (M, 33)
- 2:02:02.68 ~ Grady Smith (M, 36)
- 2:03:49.66 ~ Eric Godin (M, 28)
- 2:04:33.50 ~ Jay Wallace (M, 48)
- 2:07:28.67 ~ Sean Hudson (M, 42)
- 2:09:26.76 ~ Geb Kiros (M, 46)
- 2:13:28.13 ~ Charn McAllister (M, 29)
- 2:13:49.89 ~ Bing Xu (M, 44)
Top Ten Females, 30K
- 2:16:41.38 ~ Katie Showman (M, 31)
- 2:19:15.28 ~ Sarah Batt (F, 47)
- 2:26:28.53 ~ Sheryl Rosen (F, 28)
- 2:27:57.54 ~ Micah Adriani (F, 35)
- 2:28:21.93 ~ Ashley Daily (F, 26)
- 2:29:45.54 ~ Kristine Cox (F, 35)
- 2:32:11.54 ~ Lorien Abbey (F, 45)
- 2:36:37.72 ~ Urska Dobersek (F, 30)
- 2:42:38.99 ~ Christina Greene (F, 30)
- 2:44:25.31 ~ Constance Mayo (F, 46)
While 150 athletes were meeting the challenge of the 30K, another 200 negotiated a 15K race. Tallahassee runner Will Stanford led the 15K runners on the outbound trek over the hills of Old Centerville Road, reaching the turn-around about 60 meters ahead of the next runner, Sukhi Khosla of the Leon High cross-country team. On the way back to Bradley's Pond Khosla closed the gap on Stanford, pulling even with about three kilometers to go. The two swapped the lead several times on the way to the finish, but the race wasn't decided until the final hundred meters, where Khosla prevailed over Stanford 52:57 to 53:02. Maclay distance runner Kristin Sweeney was the first female finisher in the 15K, running 64:19 for 19th overall.
Top Ten Males, 15K
52:56.28 ~ Sukhi Khosla (M, 16)- 53:01.57 ~ Will Stanford (M, 20)
- 54:23.34 ~ Will Henderson (M, 18)
- 54:50.13 ~ Charlie Johnson (M, 33)
- 54:55.37 ~ Zac Buchholz (M, 17)
- 55:35.38 ~ Jarod Hoffman (M, 17)
- 56:03.18 ~ Colin Abbey (M, 18)
- 57:08.88 ~ Hunter Scott (M, 16)
- 57:59.29 ~ Travis Covert (M, 18)
- 57:59.89 ~ Stephen Cox (M, 29)
Top Ten Females, 15K
1:04:18.19 ~ Kristin Sweeney (F, 18)- 1:05:17.50 ~ Melissa Thompson (F, 28)
- 1:07:24.32 ~ Marci Gray (F, 38)
- 1:08:53.45 ~ Mary Anne Grayson (F, 46)
- 1:09:15.57 ~ Autumn Wable (F, 17)
- 1:09:15.66 ~ Angela Wable (F, 39)
- 1:10:14.24 ~ Dana Black (F, 47)
- 1:10:38.41 ~ Juanita Chalmers (F, 30)
- 1:12:55.66 ~ Emily Ness (F, 22)
- 1:14:44.28 ~ Grace Lockhart (F, 14)
| Gulf Winds Track Club 30K Champions, 1978-2013 |
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| Dates | Men | Women |
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| 12 January 2013 | 1:48:22, Stanley Linton | 2:16:41, Katie Showman |
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| 14 January 2012 | 1:51:30, Charlie Johnson | 2:17:38, Katie Showman |
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| 15 January 2011 | 1:51:48, Vince Molosky | 2:17:15, Heather Griffis |
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| 16 January 2010 | 1:56:14, Vince Molosky | 2:14:22, Sheryl Rosen |
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| 17 January 2009 | 1:54:06, Vince Molosky | 2:11:41, Sheryl Rosen |
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| 12 January 2008 | 2:00:29, Vince Molosky | 2:17:24, Sheryl Rosen |
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| 13 January 2007 | 2:01:23, Justin Dickieson | 2:04:21, Sheryl Rosen |
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| 21 January 2006 | 2:03:36, Michael Douma | 2:09:27, Stephanie Liles |
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| 22 January 2005 | 1:56:18, Art Remillard | 2:13:50, Jane Johnson |
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| 16 January 2004 | 1:56:00, Timothy Bolton | 2:09:27, Jane Johnson |
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| 18 January 2003 | 2:02:28, Larry Mengelkoch | 2:07:46, Jane Johnson |
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| 15 December 2001 | 2:09:43, Tom Ratliffe | 2:22:56, Carrie Weyant |
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| 3 February 2001 | 2:00:29, Kevin Porter | 2:02:27, Jane Johnson |
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| 5 February 2000 | 1:57:47, Garth Grumme | 1:53:04, Anne Van Schuppen |
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| 6 February 1999 | 1:58:17, Doug Gorton | 2:11:20, Jane Johnson |
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| 10 January 1998 | 1:57:45, Clarence Calloway | 2:04:34, Jane Johnson |
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| 7 January 1997 | 1:54:26, Tracy Burch | 2:00:28, Jane Johnson |
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| 13 January 1996 | 1:46:14, John Viitanen | 2:12:30, Eileen Telford |
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| 14 January 1995 | 1:49:45, Herb Wills | 2:22:18, Nancy Stuparich |
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| 22 January 1994 | 1:43:50, Herb Wills | 2:07:27, Lisa Herman |
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| 16 January 1993 | 1:43:54, Herb Wills | 2:12:42, Carrie Hunnicutt |
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| 4 January 1992 | 1:46:36, Jessie Close | 2:13:46, Lynda Nilges |
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| 12 January 1991 | 1:37:31, David Keen | 2:06:03, Paula Johnson |
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| 13 January 1990 | 1:43:57, Herb Wills | 2:12:00, Paula Johnson |
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| 14 January 1989 | 1:45:31, Jessie Close | 2:22:07, Mary Jean Yon |
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| 16 January 1988 | 1:45:24, Tom Burr | 2:10:04, Mae Cleveland |
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| 10 January 1987 | 1:44:45, Larry Greene | 2:11:59, Karen Macharg |
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| 18 January 1986 | 1:38:54, Herb Wills | 2:10:48, Missy James |
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| 14 January 1985 | 1:45:10, Herb Wills | 2:17:56, Mae Cleveland |
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| 14 January 1984 | 1:43:32, Noel Shumann | 2:04:20, Barbara Balzer |
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| 15 January 1983 | 1:48:18, Andrew Wills | 2:18:18, Christy Orthman |
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| 16 January 1982 | 1:44:41, Rick Miller | 1:56:57, Laura Ledbetter |
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| 1981 |
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| 12 January 1980 | 1:51:19, Steve Ray | 2:48:31, Robyn Anderson |
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| 3 February 1979 | 1:42:13, Ken Misner | 2:12:44, Lynda Heimann |
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| 11 March 1978 | 1:46:19, Tim Simpkins | 2:22:31, Donna Glotzbach |
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Links
The metric system has been part of athletics for over a century, and distances in running are almost exclusively metric nowadays. But it wasn't that many decades ago that in the United States, metric races were the exception. It wasn't until 1976, for instance, that the NCAA cross-country distance changed from six miles to 10,000 meters. In fact, prior to 1965 the collegiate championship cross-country distance was a modest four miles. That same non-metric four-mile distance is what Valdosta State University's Baptist Campus Ministry chose for its Run 4 Missions Road Race.
23:48.0 ~ Ryan Kelly (M, 34) Lake Park, GA
5th annual Race The Tortoise 5K. 8:00 AM ET. 
YMCA Trick or Trot 5K Night Race and one-mile fun run. 6:00 PM ET one mile / 6:30 PM ET 5K. YMCA at Southwood, 3196 Merchants Row Boulevard suite 200, Tallahassee, Florida. 2012 
19th annual Draggin' Tail 18-Mile Run, Relay, and 5K. 8:00 am CT. St Theresa's Catholic Church, 2056 Sunny Hills Boulevard, Sunny Hills, Florida. 2012 
