A St. Petersburg family had a successful Saturday, winning three awards in the Run Thru The Jungle 5K at War Veterans Memorial Park.
Lauri Reynolds, 45, captured the women's title. Her husband, Bryan, won the men's 40-44 division, and their son, Wes, was first in the 14-and-under competition.
Wes, who runs among the top three on the cross-country team at Shorecrest, had the best time in the family with a 19-minute, 8-second effort. Bryan wasn't far behind (19:43), followed by Lauri (20:38). She finished 23rd in a field of 111.
Lauri said she started conservatively as younger women set the early pace.
"I haven't raced much lately, so I just worked into it gradually while picking people off," she said. "It was fun for us as a family."
Reynolds was a premier area competitor in the mid-1980s, running the 5K consistently in the low 18-minute range while facing the top women - namely Mary Level, Barbara Jarnagin and Mary Dougherty.
Reynolds was a cross-country athlete at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania where she played lacrosse in the spring.
"I got away from running competitively in the '90s," Reynolds said. "But now that our son is running, it has motivated me to get into it again. Also, my mother spent the month of April in a Baltimore hospital undergoing cancer treatment, and that served to be an eye-opener for me in terms of how precious good health is.
"Running is definitely a part of my life," Reynolds said. "I'll do it forever - as long as I can. You don't have to race; you just have to do it."
The Reynolds family will return to the Picnic Island Adventure Series in Tampa on June 18.
Tampa's Stephanie Corbo, 29, took second in the women's Jungle race in St. Petersburg with a 21:12 performance. She was trailed by Debra Donald (21:25) of St. Petersburg, Beth Ranson (21:26) and Seminole High senior Jen Sappington (21:35).
Lee Stephens, 23, of Land O'Lakes won the men's championship in 16:21, 7 seconds ahead of Largo's Phil Brookins. Brian Scott, Largo, placed third in 17:03 and was followed by Jeremy Downs (17:18) of St. Petersburg and Largo's Karim Abdelbary (17:23). RUN FOR FREEDOM: Saturday's U.S. Secret Service 5K in Tampa drew a large field of 328.
Mary Ann Protz, 48, continued her string of road-race success by taking the women's crown in a swift 17:59. That mark improved on the 18:19 she posted two weeks ago at Eastlake Woodlands where she finished second overall in the Masonic Charity 5K.
In the Freedom event, Protz was sixth and well ahead of runner-up Meghan Sherman, 24, of New York, who ran 19:32. St. Petersburg's Kristine Cox, 38, took third (19:37).
Protz had run the race on the same course last year in 18:48. Her breakthrough time is a personal record, though the course was not certified.
Boston Marathon finisher Draceana Kwiatkowski, 26, who recently joined the Forerunners Club, turned in 20:04 to win her age division among 28 competitors.
Steve Bell, 16, of Land O'Lakes claimed the men's title in 16:34, in front of Steve Mandel, 38, of Tampa and Winter Haven's David Yoder, 16. MASONIC 5K REVISITED: Air Force Colonel Paul Hough, 46, took top honors in 17:37. He is scheduled for a second tour of duty in Iraq starting in July.
Age-group winners included Dave Peterson, Palm Harbor, 40-44; Joe Costas, Seminole, 50-54; Albert Wieringa, St. Petersburg, 55-59; Libby Burke, Palm Harbor, 60-64; and Mickie Flinner, Crystal Beach, 65-69.
Wieringa's 20:04 would have placed him second in the 50-54 division behind Costas (19:23).
RESULTS NOTE: For in depth local results, go to www.coolrunning.com where Ric Dorrie of Florida Road Race Management covers most events.
HOUND DOG DASH: In Tampa, Jim Burgasser of St. Petersburg won the 5K on May 22 in 17:40. Forerunners teammate Lisa Valentine took the women's title in 19:03.
OCTOGENARIAN: Jack Houghteling of Dunedin turns 80 on Saturday. Houghteling founded and served as coach and president of the Clearwater-based Sunshine Running Team for two decades. During those years, he organized many area races, including national championship events.
ALERT: Tonight's Waterside 5K from Tampa's Channelside has been postponed to June 25 because of the Lightning playing in the NHL finals.
For race information, call (813) 232-5200.
COMING UP: The West Florida Y Runners Club Pier 60 Beach Series starts Friday on Clearwater Beach at 7 p.m.
The series of five 5Ks is preceded by a free kids mile event at 6:45. The other dates are June 18, July 16, July 30 and Aug. 13.
For registration information, go online to www.wfyrc.com
June 19 is the date of the 28th Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minn., where St. Petersburg's Jim Duncan will attempt to run in the low 2:50s. His best is 2:47:13 in the 2002 Jacksonville Marathon.
Duncan's training has been affected by an inflamed Achilles tendon.
July 4 is the silver anniversary of the Kiwanis Mease Midnight Run in Dunedin.
The 10K main event starts at 12:01 a.m. A 3K (1.86 miles) is scheduled for 12:08. Both courses run west along the Dunedin Causeway. For information, call (727) 535-2257.
The world record for the men's 5,000 in track was broken in the Netherlands on Monday by Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia.
His 12:37.35 improved on countryman Haile Gebrselassie's 12:39:.36 set in 1998.
The track and field finals in the Olympic Trials are scheduled for July 9-18 in Sacramento, Calif.
The women's Olympic marathon is set for Aug. 22. The men's is Aug. 29.
