2017 Features Archives Index

David Yon The Palace Saloon was one of the first Gulf Winds Track Club races; it was first run on November 15, 1975. A post-race summary stated: “We feel that there is a need for organized events in the Tallahassee area; because of this need, The Palace...

I have often wondered how a small city like Tallahassee manages to support so many running events nearly every weekend. We must be one of America's healthiest cities if the number of races is any indication!The annual Gulf Winds Track Club Palace Saloon 5k...

The Palace Saloon 5K Palace Saloon 5K. Date: April 12, 2019. Location: Messer Field (start) to the Palace Saloon (finish). One of GWTC's longest continuous running races, the Palace Saloon 5K was first run in 1975 near Natural Bridge. A late volunteer...

 David Yon,   It is quite a sight - almost 190 high school runners mixed in with another 120 or so of their elders, streaking across a grass field.  Cross country is a sport for tough guys and girls; you can almost imagine the streaking runners above as an...

We left our Quads in North Carolina: 2007 National Championship Trail Marathon DuPont Forest By Jay Silvanima A small contingent of Tallahassee area runners traveled to the DuPont Forest nestled in the mountains of western North Carolina between Brevard...

By David Yon, They are an unlikely pair even though they share a talent and love for the sport. One seems to have safely locked his competitive days behind him, while the other will run his own race for the grand prix points. One is a math teacher and...

Elizabeth Kelsey, A trumpet sounded the call to the post, the shotgun blasted and nearly 800 runners took off from Messer Fields Saturday morning for the 34th Annual Palace Saloon 5K.With the temperature in the upper 60s, women's champion Lisa Johnson...

Gordon Cherr, I had been away for several days and returned late last night to learn that our friend, Kurt Westfall, had succumbed to post surgical complications after a stroke, suffered earlier last week. I am deeply saddened.Kurt was an avid runner until...

A Quality Event – and Record Numbers David Yon, There are a lot of talented and caring people who step in to take really tough jobs in GWTC, but not many are brave enough to walk into something like directing Springtime Tallahassee, the club’s flagship...

It is Time to Party – with the Fleet of Foot David Yon Sometimes the stars line up and the sky parts and something really special happens. So it was that Toby Warden, the Boulder Training Group Coordinator, started searching for a warm humid place for the...

GWTC Team Races over the Bridge Tim and Lisa Unger,   The 30th running of the Gate River Run 15k held in Jacksonville on March 10th was the first event of the year for the GWTC Racing Team. The event covered 9.3 miles of a rolling street course that...

Albany Marathon and Half MarathonGWTC and Tallahassee sent a good group to represent it at Albany's first Marathon and HalfThere were 264 finishers in the half and 228 in the full marathon. Thanks to Nancy Laux for the following...

A Flash Freeze – 2007 Flash 12K David Yon, The temperature gauge said 20 degrees when the ignition switch was turned off. It was a tough morning to be a runner and even tougher to be a volunteer. You wouldn’t know it though if you watched the 70 plus...

GWTC cannot survive without the efforts of hundreds of volunteers. In a new feature the webmonster plans to shine a little light on some of those volunteers in hopes that it will convince you to be an active volunteer! Tim Brewton,  The "Brew Crew"...

When it Doesn’t Go as Planned – 2007 Tallahassee Marathon David Yon  Some days just don’t go the way you plan them. And sometimes that is a good thing. Judson Cake, for example, woke up race morning thinking, “I am going to go rabbit 25 kilometers or so...

It seems only fitting to reproduce this piece about the 2006 Race Directors of the Year after this year's Palace SaloonGWTC Race Director(s) of The Year  Mary Jean Yon, What is it that makes a race special in Tallahassee? Is it history and tradition? A...

Mary Jean Yon, What is it that makes a race special in Tallahassee? Is it history and tradition? A fast course? Or is it a never ending promise of a cold beer that waits at the finish line every year without fail? Or maybe it’s the relentless onslaught of...

2006 GWTC Annual Awards   By David Yon   GWTC brought the New Year in with a grand 30K and closed out 2006 with the Annual Awards Ceremony Saturday, Jan. 13, at the American Legion Hall. A good sized crowd watched master of ceremonies Bill...

By David Yon I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness,starving hysterical naked,(Allen Ginsberg - first line from Howl - now 50 years old)It seemed like such a pleasant run out on this out and back course. I love the half marathon because...

By David Yon Like a feisty old codger who refuses to give up, Pine Run saw its 30th birthday celebrated on the rolling forest hills with a perfect day. Runners from Tallahassee left a city with temperatures in the low 50's to arrive at the Southland's...