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Teats, Maguire win Shells Jazz Bridge racesBy DAVE THEALL © St. Petersburg Times, published October 29, 2000 Last Saturday's Shells Jazz Bridge Run in Clearwater had a lot to offer. After being bused to the starting area from Coachman Park, runners had a flying downhill start to Clearwater Beach, then turned east into a cool breeze along Memorial Causeway before crossing the finishing line on the bayfront at Coachman Park. Water was provided along the course, with accurate split times at the mile marks and ample intersection protection from the Clearwater Police Department and West Florida Y Runners Club volun teers. The culmination of their efforts was a departure from the usual post-race refreshments. Shells Seafood Restaurants, the event's major sponsor, provided an on-site kitchen and staff. Race director Stu Johnson of the WFYRC said it was a lot of work coordinating the project with the many contributors, but it was well worth it. "Everything went smoothly," Johnson said. "We hope to do it again next year." The race was anti-climactic. The die was cast early as Olds mar's Tony Teats bolted out of the starting blocks and covered the first mile in 4 minutes, 45 seconds. He never looked back, winning in 15 minutes, 25 seconds. Runner-up Andy Meyers from Palm Harbor, a freshman at Florida State, was far back in 16:58, followed by David Joyce (17:07) of St. Petersburg and Mike Nichols, 41, of Pinellas Park, in 17:21. "I'm glad I didn't have to push it since I had a heavy week of train ing," said Teats, 23, an accountant for Sykes Enterprises of Tampa. "My legs were tired. Spectators kept telling me I had a big lead so I never had to look over my shoulder." Teats put in 115 on the road last week in training for the Dec. 10 Hops Tampa Bay Marathon. His goal is to break 2:25 in his marathon debut. The women's Shells race was closer. But in the end, it was Judy Maguire again asserting herself along Memorial Causeway, where she often trains. Maguire, 41, lost a sprinting duel with Mike Nichols for fourth place but, more significant, held off Christy Phillips by 8 seconds for the women's title. Maguire prevailed in a swift 17:28, which compares favorably to her second-place time of 17:50 in last month's Race for the Cure in downtown St. Petersburg. She finished 3 seconds behind Cathy Vasto of Jacksonville. Laure Blume of Pinellas Park took third Saturday in 18:02, followed by Amelia Griffith (18:17) of Tampa, Amy McClenathan, 40, of St. Petersburg, in 18:28, and Lisa Valentine (18:45) of Tierra Verde. NOTES: In addition to Phillips and Valentine, three other 35-39 year-old women made the top 10. They are: 7. Donna Nesslar of Largo in 19:51, 8. Kit Van Allan of Palm Harbor in 20:24 and 10. Beth Lusnia of Clearwater in 21:23. Lusnia, formerly Beth Farmer of Clearwater High School and Florida Gator fame, was an all-American in cross country and track in Gainesville. She owns the women's 10,000-meter track record there, 32:49. The men's top 10 was heavy in the 40-and-over category, taking six places. They include eighth-place (18:08) by Lakewood High School cross country coach Royston Dillon, who is 50, as is ninth-place finisher (18:19) Dennis Holman of Indian Shores. ELSEWHERE: At the Rattlesnake Run in San Antonio, a 5-miler over hill and dale, former Clearwater High School and Auburn runner Shannon Robbins had to settle for second place (32:20) to Sheila Dodds, 42, of Northern Island, who won in 31:19. Lauri Reynolds of St. Petersburg was third (35:01), winning the masters division. Eric Hall (28:59) of Dade City won overall, followed by Tampa's Jon Docs in 29:40. INTERNATIONAL SCENE: Clearwater's Jim Larson, 64, traveled earlier this month to Oakville, Ontario, where he competed in the Sharkey's 5K. Amid snow flurries, Larson -- wearing tights and gloves -- won the 60-and-over division in 20:24. Maybe the cold weather was an incentive to run fast and finish quickly. Larson won his 60-64 age division in the Bridge Run slightly slower in 20:51. CHICAGO MARATHON: A supplementary list of Pinellas finishers appears below in For the Record. The top area performance was turned in by coach Joe Burgasser of the Forerunners. The 62-year-old clocked in at 2:54:28. That's a quantum leap from his 3:03:26 in Boston in April, which earned him second place among men 60-and-over. ST. GEORGE/TWIN CITIES: Terry Repp of Clearwater ran the St. George (Utah) Marathon in 4:04. Jack O'Brien, 71, of Clearwater Beach, ran the Twin Cities Marathon in 5:43, slightly off his 4:50-best in the 1996 Boston Marathon. O'Brien, a combat veteran patrol leader in the Korean War, logged 505 miles and went through three pairs of shoes in six months of training for the Twin Cities event. FINISH LINES: Gasparilla race director Susan Harmeling, a resident of St. Petersburg, has been named to the Executive Board of the Road Runners Club of America. Norway's Grete Waitz, a former world record-holder in the marathon and nine-time winner of the New York City Marathon, is coming to Tampa this weekend to help kick off the Avon Running 10K/5K. The event is scheduled for Nov. 18 on the main campus of the University of South Florida. Waitz, an Olympic silver medalist and former Gasparilla winner, will speak at the St. Joseph's Hospital Medical Arts Building on Friday at 7 p.m. The hospital is located at 3001 W Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The lecture on motivation, fitness and running is free and open to the public. For further information, call (727) 577-3636. SATURDAY: St. Petersburg's Keswick Christian School was scheduled to have a 5K run at 8 a.m., followed by a Harvest Day Festival. The Spooky Sprint 5K cross country run was scheduled for 8 a.m. at Largo's Taylor Park.
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