October 26, 2008 Red Ribbon 5K a hit, as always Last Saturday, the Red Ribbon 5K Run and 1K Family Run & Walk was held out at the River Ridge certified course. This is always a fun event and for a worthy cause, to prevent drug abuse and help get youngsters on the road to health and exercise. The family run was held first; and more than 100 runners, baby strollers, families and groups were all ready to go. Sheriff Bridges and several of his deputies were at the finish line to put medals on each of the finishers’ necks. Usually you see runners under the age of 12 as the ones receiving medals. But after the race, the Moms and Dads - who either paced their children or tried to catch them during the run - all had the medals around their necks as well for finishing the distance. It was a fun event to watch, and everyone had big smiles on their faces after the race. The 5K race had more than 80 runners, with local runners from San Marcos, Kyle, Staples, Seguin and Mountain City. The overall champion for the men was 13-year-old Frankie Torres, who finished in 18 minutes, 15 seconds. The women’s overall champion was Kristina Viniar in a time of 23:06. The wheelchair champion was Kristen Messer from Austin, who set a personal record in 22:42. Once she learns to run the tangents of the course, her time will be closer to 21 minutes. The male under-14 age group had 9-year-old Esai Torres in first in 22:07; 8-year-old Travis Rounds in second in 27:19 and 9-year-old Richard Welch in third in 27:29. Austin Rounds ran in at 32:00 and Kasey Lash crossed the line in 40:18. The female under-14 category had 9-year-old Brianna Kaminski in first place with a time of 28:03; 11-year-old Kaylee O’Leary in second in 35:40 and 12-year-old Laura Thomson in third with a 36:16 time. Claire O’Brien ran a 36:25; Vivian Garcia ran in at 40:14 and Abby O’Leary ran in with a 51:14 time. In the male 15-19 age category, Cody Colley took first in 21:27; Bud Mayo had second in 24:16 and Brian Zita had third in 24:27. Kenso Goto ran a 28:56 and Ben Marvin came in at 31:49. Asiya Iskakova took first for the females in 24:44. In the male 20-29 age group, Charles Fry finished first with a time of 29:53; Daniel Fahlenkamp finished second in 31:48 and third place was Dmitri Kabakov in 34:09. The women had a great turnout in this age group, with Katie Evans in first with a 24:42; Danette Wright in third in 27:23, and Christeen Milmo ran a 29:29, just in front of Alicia Marcha in 30:26. Ashley Harris had a 30:26; Danielle Chapman ran a 31:36; Valerie Hancock ran a 32:18; Andrea Montana was 33:42; Shabd Khalsa ran in at 34:03 with Nozomi Arai close behind in 34:04. Stephanie Peters ran a 35:29 and Melissa Redden ran a 51:15. The male 30-39 age group had Joe Merchant first with a 21:02 and Steven DeLeon in third with a 29:37. Ramon Marcha ran a 30:24 and David Kessler ran a 32:26. The women again dominated the entrants over the men in this age group, with Anna Jaso in first in 24:41 and Bessie Hamilton in second in 26:18. Liesela Austin crossed the finish line in 28:54; Lisa Islas ran a 29:54; Janette Harris ran a 29:58 and Cristina Pinkard ran in at 34:02. Julie Thomson ran a 36:15; JaLynn O’Brien ran a 36:27; Alyssa Lash crossed in 40:19, with Mary Kincaid in 40:20 and Stephanie Hooton in 45:49. The male 40-49 age group featured David Hamilton taking first - and second overall in the race - with an 18:39, followed by Randall Wood in second place and third overall in 18:43. Tom Windmiller grabbed third in 23:44. The females continued to have the largest number of runners entered, with Kathryn Welch in first place with a 24:34 and Angie Burke in second in 24:46. Liz Kaminski ran a 28:13; Janet Gooding ran a 29:06; Diana Esparza ran a 30:18 with Ro Merchant in 30:23. Laura Mason ran a 33:14; Roxanne Castillo ran a 34:50, and Polly Haynes ran a 36:38 to close out the good turnout of local runners. The male 50-59 age category had Chris Gunter from Austin taking first in 20:19, with Robert Kantz in second in 27:45 and Rod Walls in third in 30:55. Len Hickey finished in 43:36. The women had Julia Symon in first with a 28:25; Cindy Shannon-Lee in second in 34:10 and Elma Minor in third with a 35:17. Susan Reeves ran a 37:35 and Candace Cox crossed the finish line in 52:51. The male over-60 age group was won by Joel Davis in 25:22, with Ronnie Murphey in second in 31:08. All in all, the runners from the area made a very good showing; and we will see how they did this Saturday at the “From Here to Eternity” 5K in San Marcos. It will be a little more of a challenge with the hills, but it should still have a good turnout. Dr. Maurice Johnson - better known around San Marcos as “Moe” - is a professor in the Department of Health, P.E., Recreation and Dance at Texas State University - San Marcos. Moe has been a fixture in the San Marcos running community - both as a runner and race organizer - since way back when Moby Dick was a minnow. His column on running and fitness appears each Sunday in the Sports section of the San Marcos Daily Record. • Recent “Running With Moe” Columns • Home • About the Club • Current News • Club Runs • Places To Run • TX Running Clubs • Running Links • Useful Stuff Upcoming Races • Race Results • Country Roads 10K & Kids Run • ARA-Moe’s Better Half Marathon • “Running With Moe” Contact Us!