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By DAVE THEALL
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 3, 2001
ST. PETERSBURG -- The men's and women's winners of the annual Harvey's Festival Run, which started and finished on The Pier, used the race to tune up for the Boston Marathon on April 16.
Steve Wilcox, 30, eased into the lead on the first mile along Bayshore Drive and was never challenged, winning in a time of 16 minutes, 4 seconds.
Wilcox, who ran track and cross country at Boca Ciega and Florida State, covered the first mile in 4:59 and the second in 10:10 en route to a final time of 16:04.
His closest challenger was Ian Ray, a new professional triathlete from Colorado Springs, Colo.
"I never looked back," said Wilcox, who finished second last year in 16:15. "I knew nobody was right behind me so I just tried to run an even pace. I think I slowed a little in the final mile.
"This was a good final race for me before Boston, only my second marathon."
Brian Scott of Seminole finished third in 16:47, followed by Mike Ferreira (16:57) and John Woodruff (17:05), both of St. Petersburg.
The Forerunners Club swept the first five women's places headed by Laure Blume of Pinellas Park.
Blume, 36, who will try to beat her best time of 2:59 at Boston this year, finished 14th overall in a field of 263 runners in a time of 18:07.
Following in rapid succession were Lisa Valentine of Tierra Verde in 18:38, Jeanne Lesniak (18:52), Amy McClenathan (18:55) and Sandy Shelton (19:13), all of St. Petersburg.
Blume and Wilcox not only took home the first-place trophies, but got to ride in a convertible in the annual Festival of States Parade.