If you think running and doughnuts don’t mix, there were
about 2,800 Top Pot 5k runners this morning at Green Lake in Seattle that would disagree
with you. It was a magical morning with a slight sprinkle of sunshine, tons of
kids running about and even some tasty souls dressed as, you guessed it, doughnuts.
Let's not forget about the two crowd favorites: the Maple Bar guy and the speedster with
doughnuts stuffed in her bikini(over running attire of course).
Though the morning seemed laid back and fun, Bennett Grimes,
a former WWU multiple All American, wasted no time in going to the front of a
large contingent of fast runners looking to pickup free airlines tickets from
sponsor Alaska Airlines. Grimes, who was literally flying over the last 400
meters, ran 15:03 to beat out Eric Garner(15:19) and Mark Mandi(15:30) for the
top spot. Equally impressive was the fact that 7 runners, in places 5 thru 12,
led by Evan Blanshan in 15:53, finished within 10 seconds of each other.
In what was one of the closest road racing finishes that you will ever see, Rose Wetzel held off a hard
charging, never-say-die Megan Heuer(more recently known as Megan Johnson) by the
smallest of margins. Both runners completed the course in 17:19, with chip timing separating
them a scant by tenth of a second. The two Club NW runners were followed by Amber Farthing in
18:11 who rounded out the Top 3. Wetzel who has a been a busy runner as of
late, also won the 3000 Meter Steeplechase at the Saint Martin’s Invitational on Saturday afternoon.
As Top Pot handed out over 5,000 doughnuts to participants,
co-owner Mark Klebeck was on hand to take part in the festivities, congratulate
the winners and hand out some over-sized airline vouchers. Perhaps the slogan “come
for the run, stay for the donuts” should be the tag line for the race next year
as no one wanted to leave and it was great to see people sticking around to
watch an awards ceremony for a change.
No comments:
Post a Comment