David Yon
I knew there was going to be some suffering when I broke out in a sweat while going to get my newspaper at 6:00 a.m. The weather channel said it was already over 80 degrees. Combine that with near 100% humidity and this 5K would be a chance to swim and run at the same time. It was also a chance to support a good cause in Echo and two top-notch race directors in Pat and Wes Brunner. They always do it right; including making sure the course got recertified after the road construction crews repaved the roads. It was nice run on a smooth surface without the potholes. Wes and Pat have stuck with this race for many years and it has become one of the premier 5K events in town.
Bill McGuire almost proved that Space Cowboys could have been real when he nearly chased down Scott Keatley for the win. Scott fought him off though, as youth (18) was a couple steps quicker (17:51) than experience (53) (17:57). Kim Winn took a break from training for FSU’s cross country team to lead the women’s field and finish 7th overall. 144 runners completed the 5K course. Nathan Kenney broke 7:00 with a finish time of 6:56 to win the mile race by a large margin. Staci France was the top young lady with a time of 9:13.