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Running

Ironman contender gets in Midnight Run

By DAVE THEALL
Published July 13, 2006

About seven minutes after Luis Rufo of Lutz broke the finish-line tape at last week's Kiwanis Mease Midnight Run 5K in Dunedin, Steve Weiss of Palm Harbor crossed equally elated.

Weiss, a veteran runner who has been competing in the Midnight Run the past 20 years, won the 55-59 age division and was presented with a commemorative plaque. His time of 23 minutes, 23 seconds enabled him to finish ahead of strong area runners Frank Spicer (24:02) of Tampa and Dunedin's Z. Zajac (24:05) in the same age division.

Weiss, a Palm Harbor allergist and immunologist via the University of Indiana, said he was surprised to have run as well as he did considering his training has not been focused on running lately since his goal is to return to the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii in October. That event has a 2.4-mile swim and 112 miles cycling as well as a concluding full (26.2 miles) marathon.

"I've been doing a lot of cycling and swimming lately hoping I'll get picked in the lottery for Ironman," Weiss said."

Weiss attended the 27th annual Midnight Run with his daughter, Julia, a May graduate of the University of Florida and a member of the 1996 Little League Softball World Championship team. The Midnight Run is a calendar fixture for the Weiss family, including his wife, Irene, and their four children, as is the Times Turkey Trot.

"Running has many healthful benefits, physical and mental," Weiss added. "It's not complicated. You just put on your sneakers and go. Physical activity is essential to everyone's well being. I recommend it."

To advance his beliefs, Weiss is a long-time major sponsor of the Midnight Run.

"It's important to give back to the community where you live," Weiss said. "It's important to support community programs and not wait for someone else to do it. It's my turn."

ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT: Twenty-seven years ago, brothers Henry and George Hardin of the Dunedin Kiwanis Club came to the same conclusion - they could and should contribute to community health and welfare needs.

Though non-runners themselves, they persuaded the club members to support an offbeat midnight road race to Honeymoon Island State Park.

"That first night we were expecting about 200 or 300, and 600 showed up," Henry Hardin said. "The next year it was close to a 1,000. Later, we drew in the Countryside Kiwanis Club because it just got too big for us with only about 20 members."

The enthusiasm for the event has grown over the years among sponsors and participants. Last year's record turnout of 1,550 is third in popularity locally behind only Gasparilla's four events in February and the Times Turkey Trot in November.

The title sponsor is Mease Hospital, which underwrites close to 2,000 T-shirts among other contributions. The City of Dunedin plays a major role in the event's success, as well as Honeymoon Island State Park staff, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Department and more than 50 area businesses and individuals who mostly write checks up to $1,000.

One major sponsor, co-director Joe Garrison, a Dunedin CPA and member of the Dunedin Kiwanis Club, handles pre-race registrations Online. He helped boost participation last year and this by ushering in a 5K and mile event in lieu of the non-standard 3K (1.86 miles), which did not draw well.

Not counting this year's net receipts, the annual event has raised more than $418,000 to support the youth, handicapped, elderly and needy of the community through grant programs.

"Our main emphasis now is kids programs, including the new Boundless Playground at the Dunedin Community Center, youth baseball programs, scholarships plus free clinics and Head Start programs," Henry Hardin said.

"What we've been able to do is staggering."

Individual race results are posted on the Internet at www.cool running.com.

INDEPENDENCE DAY RUN 5K: A second holiday race has evolved in the area in recent years and is growing.

Jacki Wachtel of Tarpon Springs traveled to Lutz last Tuesday morning to test her fitness in the women's field and was pleased with the outcome. The Mitchell High math teacher and USF grad student won comfortably in 18:12.

Asked why she opted for the Lutz race instead of Dunedin's 5K, she said: "Because it's not at midnight."

Wachtel was pleased with the win but disappointed with her time since she was hoping to break 18 minutes. At last fall's Turkey Trot 5K, she won in 17:55.

"I question the accuracy of the course," said Wachtel, who turned 27 Monday. "It could have been long. My third mile was 20 seconds slower than my first or second. And someone there told me they measured it to be 3.21 miles, not 3.1."

Last week was a particularly active one for Wachtel.

On July 2, she competed in the Crystal River Triathlon, winning her age division. Then on Saturday she returned to Citrus County for the Summer Showdown 5K, which she ran alone at the front as the event had separate starting times for women and men.

"This is all part of a long-term plan," Wachtel said. "These races are part of my intense training for my return trip to Chicago in October where I'm looking for a sub-three-hour time." Last year she finished in 3:03.

Jessica Mundie of Largo, who also has the Windy City marathon on her calendar, won the women's masters division at Lutz in 22:08.

Other Pinellas age-group winners include St. Petersburg's Jill Voorhis, 45-49 in 23:46, and Millie Hamilton of Redington Beach, 60-64, in 26:27.

The big winners among men were Tampa's David Forry (16:49) and Brooksville's Dan French (18:15) in the 40-and-over division.

NATIONAL SCENE: American marathon record holder Deena Kastor will run the New York City Marathon on Nov. 5. She lowered her own AR at London in April, clocking 2:19:36.

The track record book was updated last month in New York when Ethiopia's Meseret Defar clocked 14:24 for the women's 5K. That time is not a misprint. Earlier this year she ran 14:46 on the road.

JULY 21: The third Pier 60 beach 5K will be held at 7 p.m. on Clearwater Beach. The West Florida Y Runners Club hosts the family event.

[Last modified July 12, 2006, 09:21:27]