2017 Features Archives Index

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...

By Bill McGuire The 17th annual edition of the Gretchen Everhart Owl Run will be held on Thursday, Sept. 28th, 2006. It will feature developmentally challenged athletes from Everhart, as well as middle school runners from throughout Leon County. All the...

By David Yon Forgive me if I babble a little bit again (you are probably used to it by now), but in so many ways the Prefontaine 5K reflects the best of GWTC better than the much larger and well known events like Turkey Trot and Springtime. First, it has a...

Gary Griffin I retired a pair of running shoes today. Not just any old pair of running shoes, either. They were the best pair of running shoes that have ever graced my feet in over 20 years of this beloved sport. They ran me for 100 miles at Olander Park...

The Panhandle Runners & Triathlete's 27th Annual Midnight Chase 5K Run & Fitness Walk and the 1 Mile Family Fun Run was held in Panama City on September 2 at MIDNIGHT! 150 sleepless individuals participated in what was the largest and fastest crowd...

By Bonnie Wright This year was my first year to run Breakfast on the Track, and I mean run as in 4 laps around the newly re-surfaced Maclay Track, compared to being a co-race director, which is sometimes like running laps around a hamster wheel. I’m not...

No place to hide - Breakfast on the Track By David Yon I am a fan of having the mile and the Ultra on the grand prix every year or at least every so often. (Aren't you glad I never have more than one vote in that decision?) Which do you think people fear...

Fragments Vol 6 By David Yon Operation Puerta, BALCO, Blood doping, HGH, THG, EPO, the clear, steroids, genetic engineering, East Germany, Ben Johnson, and on and on…Ben Johnson rocked the "innocence" of Olympic sports fans when he was disqualified for...