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Midnight Run makes some race changes

Sunday's Kiwanis Mease Midnight Run in Dunedin will have a new format.

By DAVE THEALL
Published June 30, 2005

A 5K race and mile have been added to the 26th event on the Dunedin Causeway. The non-standard 3K has been dropped from the program.

The format will resemble November's Times Turkey Trot, with a Midnight Run schedule consisting of the 10K main event at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, 5K at 11:15 on Sunday and mile at 11:20.

The mile is expected to attract walkers.

The changes are expected to generate more participants this year, said veteran race director Henry Hardin of the Dunedin Kiwanis Club and co-director Joe Garrison .

The event is a fund-raiser put on jointly with the Countryside Kiwanis Club for community projects and to help the needy.

"We wanted to give people more choices and follow the successful pattern of other big area races, such as the Turkey Trot," Garrison said. "Some runners told us they'd prefer a standard 5K race to the less popular 3K.

"Among the 400 who have preregistered are about 40 who have signed up for two events," he said. "We are hoping to surpass the 1,319 total we had in 2001."

One of Hardin's concerns during the changeover is that some former 3K runners will arrive late, planning to compete at 12:08 on July 4.

He hopes everyone gets the word about the revisions.

"I believe the 5K and mile will be winners," Hardin said.

MIDNIGHT NOTES: Runners can preregister online at Active.com.

That deadline is today.

The fees for the 5K and 10K are $15 for runners 14-and-over and $13 for those 13-and-under. The on-site cost is $20 for each event and $10 for the mile.

Oldsmar's Tony Teats and St.Petersburg's Christa Benton were the 2004 10K winners.

Last year's 3K champions, Jeff Masterson and Danielle Coyle of New Port Richey, will run college cross-country this fall.

Masterson, a state track champ in the 3,200 meters for Mitchell High School, will run for South Florida. Coyle will be a sophomore at Jacksonville University.

The 10K marks are owned by Irv Batten , formerly of Clearwater, 31:05 set in 1985; and Clearwater's Judy Maguire , whose 36:23 performance in 1990 led to one of her record 10 titles.

Age-group awards go five deep in the 5 and 10K. Results will be posted on coolrunning.com.

NATIONAL CHAMPION: In the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Jesse Owens of Ohio State set a record by claiming four gold medals in track and field.

Earlier this month, Ethel Lehmann , 76, of Largo and the West Florida Y Runners Club won six gold in track and field at the National Senior Games in Pittsburgh.

She added a seventh as a Freedom Spirit of Florida softball team member in the 65-and-over class.

Competing among women's track athletes 75-79, Lehmann prevailed in the 100, 200 and 400 meters, high jump, long jump and javelin. She established or tied Games age-division records in all of them except the javelin.

"I surprised myself," said Lehmann, who had to run preliminary heats in the 100 and 200 before moving on to the finals.

"I won the 100 in 17.77 (seconds), which is faster than I ran the distance in my 60s," she said. "My 200 time was 37.56 and 400 in 1:32.05."

Lehmann attributes her improvement to the loss of 20 pounds since 2003. The 5-foot-4 runner, who trains three times per week, weighs 120.

The culmination of the Games was the softball tournament.

With Lehmann in the lineup, the squad she and St.Petersburg's Shirley Smith founded swept through six games and clipped Canada in the final.

Lehmann, a shortstop and outfielder, is the first woman to play for the Kids and Kubs senior team of St.Petersburg.

RACE ROUNDUP: Jeanne Lesniak of the St.Pete Mad Dogs slogged through the brush and waterways of the June 17 Picnic Island 5K Run, rallying for a 23:38 victory in the women's field.

That's far off her normal time, but the course wasn't a typical flat-road surface.

"I really enjoyed running past the mangroves and over the hills," Lesniak said. "It reminded me of college cross country."

Martha Vidal (24:16) of the Progressive Training Team and Loretta Simeon (24:36) followed Lesniak.

Valrico's Jeremy Loutzenhelser (20:25) took the men's title. David Meri of St.Petersburg finished second (21:31), and Jacksonville's Bob Villacres was third (21:35).

In the Sunsets at Pier 60 event on Clearwater Beach, Kevin Lyons and Christa Benton repeated as winners. It was the second of the five races in the series.

Among the men, Keith Sawayda and Matt Mott , again, placed second and third, respectively.

Howard Fiengold moved up one spot, finishing fourth and ahead of Mott's brother, Jon.

The twins excel in the sport for Northeast High. They were part of a winning PCAC championship 3,200-meter relay team in April.

In Pier 60 age-group highlights, Duncan Cameron won the men's 60-64 division in 21:34, a second ahead of 65-69 champion Colman Mooney .

Benton, sixth overall among 127 runners, won by nearly 2 minutes over Kit Van Allan . Sarah Wilkerson took third and was followed by Kim Miles and Elona Olmstead .

A Pinellas athlete on the improvement ladder captured first in the Run Thru Hell 5K on Sunday at Tampa's Al Lopez Park.

Seminole's Melissa Kotchman , a rising Indian Rocks Christian senior, clocked in at 20:10 to win by 26 seconds over Kristy Peterson . Loretta Simeon (20:54) took third.

Kotchman, twice a Times cross-country runner of the year, was slowed last season by hip bursitis.

This year could be her best, as she pursues the Class A state title. As a freshman, Kotchman finished second in the mile at state.

Consistent winner Lee Stephens of Land O'Lakes set the pace at Al Lopez Park, capturing the men's crown in 17:32.

Tampa's Jesse Peterson took second (17:59), and trailing was Paul Hough , 47, of Tampa (18:43).

COMING UP: The third Pier 60 race is scheduled for 7 p.m. on July 8 at Clearwater Beach.

For information, call (727) 939-8038.

[Last modified June 30, 2005, 00:59:15]