Critical to the success of the Pine Run is the ability of the race directors who lead and organize this race to understand and appreciate the unique nature of this event and the Tall Timbers mission.

They are stewards of the race as much as race directors. Oct. 2, 2021, marked the Pine Run directing debut of Jennifer and Carter Hay as co-race directors. They accepted the stewardship baton from Peg and Gary Griffin, who served as co-race directors since 2015 and did a great job, especially dealing with some unique challenges during their time resulting in two closures of the course – one due to hurricane Michael in 2018 and the other due to the impact of COVID-19 in 2020.

Jennifer and Carter are off to a great start. They did a superb job both for recognizing what makes the race unique and special and for organizing and presenting the race in a manner that is consistent with the goals and objectives of Tall Timbers.

Perhaps the best indication they were successful is the greeting from Neil Fleckenstein, Planning Coordinator at Tall Timbers Research Station, to the runners. ‘We haven’t had any groups out here for 20 months,’ he told at least 114 runners before the start of the 2021 race. “You are the first.”

And with that, the 2021 Pine Run was underway on a slightly warm day. Chris O’Kelley and Sheryl Rosen took the top spots with times of 1:18:02 and 1:35:20.

Race history appreciation

Gordon Cherr stepped up as the first “steward” of the first Pine Run at Tall Timbers and did a good job transitioning the race to Tall Timbers.

It is exciting to watch the enthusiasm, organization, and appreciation for history that the Hays bring to this event. They appear to work extremely well with Neil and the staff at Tall Timbers. I asked them about their experience.

Location is special

Q. How did you wind up as directors of this race?

A. We’ve been involved in the Tallahassee running community for years. We know most of the race directors well and appreciate all their hard work—it made sense that we’d one day get even more involved.

Also, the timing was good: Our son Hawthorne ran for Chiles cross country and track, and we’d poured our volunteering energy into that during his four years. When he graduated, we wanted a new way to be part of the running community.

On how we got signed up for the Pine Run in particular: We recall Peg Griffin letting us know she’d like us to take over the Pine Run when she and her husband Gary handed it off. We were excited and honored — Peg and Gary do everything so well, and we knew we’d get their guidance and help. And the appeal of being out on a cross country course again as the sun comes up made the Pine Run at Tall Timbers perfect for us.

Q. What are your major takeaways after the first year?