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Many men have shot at Gasparilla 15K title

Muchapiwa Mazano says forget it.

He will show up at the Gasparilla Distance Classic wearing the No.1 he earned from last year's victory, but he says he is in no shape to defend the title.

Russ Gerbers, the 1999-2000 winner, is skipping the race for the second straight year to train with the University of South Florida track team.

Just like that, Saturday's race might be wide open. The dynamics of Gasparilla changed four years ago with the dropping of prize money, which led to fewer out-of-town elite runners and more area runners. But without the past three years' champions, the 25th Gasparilla 15K title should be open to several runners from veterans to relative newcomers.

"I think feel has a lot to do with it," said Matt Whaley, last year's second-place finisher. "I know if my body's feeling good, I'm going to go for it."

Whaley, 24, a former USF runner now a volunteer assistant coach at Florida State, finished in 48 minutes, 58 seconds last year, eight seconds behind Mazano.

For the first half of the race, Mazano blew away the field with sub-five minute miles. Whaley closed the gap down the stretch only to run out of space on Bayshore Boulevard.

"The finish line caught me before I could catch him," Whaley said.

Mike Griewe also was in the hunt, finishing 10 seconds behind Whaley. The former Plant High and Notre Dame runner, 23, had never competed in a race longer than 10K but placed third, giving him even higher aspirations for this year.

"I would like to win this year," Griewe said. "I've tried to make some changes this year that might help me out, such as longer-distance runs on Sundays."

Tony Teats will find out if distance experience pays off when he runs his first Gasparilla.

The Oldsmar resident won the 2000 Hops Marathon in Tampa and has been one of the top runners in the area since arriving in April 2000 from Indiana. But the 15K will be his first.

Lee Stephens and Dror Vaknin have much more extensive Gasparilla experience. Vaknin, 34, is the oldest among the contenders but knows every inch of the course, having run Gasparilla since his days at Fort Myers High.

Stephens, a former Land O'Lakes standout now running at Florida Southern, also focuses on Gasparilla every year and is entertaining thoughts of breaking 50 minutes provided the flu he has been fighting all week disappears. "My legs feel great. I've only been able to run about a mile a day," said Stephens, who finished eighth in 52:21 last year.

"With this curveball thrown at me, I may have to go out a little more conservatively the first couple of miles. Other than that, I'll run the same way."

As for the defending champion, Mazano said his training is well short of Gasparilla-level. He did not even enter the race until Wednesday, saying he will be capable of little more than a jog.

"You have to be well-prepared for this competition, and the miles I've put in are not enough," said Mazano, 29, a Zimbabwe native living in Tampa.

"I don't expect the race to be fast, but there will be other guys ahead of me."

Prerace handicapping is not as complicated on the women's side. Three-time defending champion Laura Drake returns. The St. Petersburg native got married and went on her honeymoon during the two weeks before the 2001 Gasparilla yet won the 15K (in 54:47) and 5K.

Other contenders include Clearwater's Judy Maguire (second last year, 56:43), Pinellas Park's Laure Blume (fourth, 57:28) and St. Petersburg's Christy Phillips (10th, 58:58).

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