By David Yon
Slow times, but a good crowd marked this year’s Echo 5K. A new face on the local racing scene, Wayne Johnson, was the only runner under 17:00. Johnson captured the win with a time of 16:50, while last year’s winner Scott Keatley was second in 17:07. Sarah Docter-Williams won the women’s side of the race with an 18:11 that made her sixth overall. The masters winners were Tim Unger 17:15 and Jane Johnson who ran 19:25 while battling an injury that forced her to stop several times during the last mile.
Despite a rainy morning, race directors Wes and Pat Brunner recorded the biggest crowd at the race in the last four years at least with 182 finishers in the 5K. Last year’s race saw 144 finishers, while 165 finished in 1999 and 145 in 1998. The race benefited Echo Ministeries.