Race for the Arts 5K
Over the past few years, the Race for the Arts 5K has managed to remake itself from a unique Friday evening, race in downtown to just another Saturday morning 5K in Land Park.
Still, Land Park is a great place to run a 5K and the weather was perfect, so a good crowd assembled to take on the event and support local arts organizations.
Did I mention the weather was perfect? For last year’s race, we “enjoyed” high temps and Gulf Coast-like humidity. This year, it was absurdly cool for late August–about 59 degrees at the start–and clouds filled the sky. It was a perfect fall morning, about a month early.
The overall event seemed larger this year, and the race organization made use of the park’s amphitheater for showcasing local performers. Young opera singers serenaded us as we warmed up and a rock-band was on the stage as we cooled down.
Many of the usual (fast) suspects were on hand for the start and once all the kids that went out at a sub-5:00 per mile pace faded, local speedsters Steven Schenck and Mike Styczynski battled it out for first.
In the end, Schenck secured the lead and finished with an identical time (15:54), and identical results, as he did at last month’s Alzheimer’s 5k. Styczynski finished in second place, 14-seconds back, with a time of 16:10.
The real race of the day was for the first woman’s finish. Defending champion Jaymee Marty took an early lead and Suet-Fei Li staked out a spot about 20 feet in back of her. They maintained this formation until near the end of the third mile, when Li fired her after-burners and shot past Marty as they approached the final right turn onto 13th Street. Li finished first with a solid time of 17:44. Marty came in second place, 11-seconds back, with a new, asterisk free, personal best of 17:53.
It should be mentioned that while there were significant concerns after last year’s race about the length of the course, Race Director Kim Parrino seems to have corrected that “bug” and, at least from this racer’s perspective, the entire event was run smoothly and professionally.
Top Male Finishers:
- Steven Schenck
- Mike Styczynski
- Robert Schneider
- Samuel Yohannes
- Edward Randolph (First Master)
- Jim Alves
- William Blake
- Brian Benestad
- Michael Shubert
- Brandon Willliams (15-years old!)
Top Female Finishers:
- Suet-Fei Li
- Jaymee Marty (First Master)
- Stacye Worthen
- Wendy Pratt
- Emily Mah-Nakanishi
- Donene Vakovich
- Sheri Kidwell
- Angela Ritchie
- Emily Klingensmith
- Jillian Brown (15 years old)
Full results and times are here.