By David Yon
A brisk morning and the opportunity to color your own shirt made the 15th annual Flash 12K unique. Those who have followed this race know that race directors Joe and Nadine Dexter supply runners with a t-shirt that features a different version of the Flash logos each year. Of course the lightning bolt is usually featured with the color changing from year to year. This year runners were given paint and a colorless shirt and the chance to be creative in deciding just what their shirts would look like.
Shawn Patterson selected the first pie award after winning the race in convincing fashion with a time of 42:52. He ran most of the race by himself. Paul Orfield took second place with a time of 44:00 as youth prevailed in the top two spots. Shawn is 21 and Paul 18. 2002 GWTC Grand Prix champion Lisa Whitworth got off to a good start by winning the women’s race in a time of 52:18, while second place went to Sue Hensley in a time of 55:04. Sue was also the first women’s master, while Doug Gorton ran a 44:59 to claim the title for the men.
All the top ten times for this race remained intact as no one ran faster than the tenth best time for overall (40:40 men and 46:27 women) or masters (43:33 men and 53:29 women). The course records are held by Robin Rogers (38:02) and Jane Johnson (44:27). The masters record holders are Gary Droze (40:35) and Jane Johnson (47:17).