All around the United States people were celebrating the 4
th
of July with hot dogs, fireworks, fun in the sun and possibly a road race if
you are the running type. Washington is no stranger to 4
th of July
races, as no less than 15 races were listed in the latest edition of the
Northwest Runner for those of us who wanted
to get out and pay tribute to the stars and stripes by dashing down Main Street.
Perhaps the largest 4
th of July race in Washington,
the
Firecracker
5000 presented by Club Northwest in Seattle got things going early with a
start time of 11:55 pm on July 3
rd. Showing an increase in
participation this year, the race saw 1657 finishers run their way into the
next day with a quick romp around Seattle Center. Starting and finishing in Memorial
Stadium under the watchful eye of the Space Needle, James Cameron was the first to finish in
15:28. David Garcia who also ran 15:28 for the 3.1 mile course was 2
nd,
while last year’s winner Brian Masterson was 3
rd in 15:37. On the women’s side, Kimber Lemon notched a convincing
win in 18:38 over Rebekah Rizer and Robyn Hefner who were 2
nd and 3
rd
in 19:16 and 19:24. The race itself showed an increase of 305 finishers compared
to 2011.
The
Yankee
Doodle Dash in Everett which featured a 5k and 10k hosted a big 4
th of
July celebration that attracted over 600 patriotic runners on Wednesday
morning. Matt Koenig and Rachel Cundy
won the 10k races in 32:52 and 41:22 respectively, while Brian Sutter and
Kelsey Kraft were victorious in the 5k with times of 15:47 and 19:47.
10K-Men
|
|
10k-Women
|
|
5k-Men
|
|
5k-Women
|
|
Matt Koenigs
|
32:52:00
|
Rachel Cundy
|
41:22:00
|
Brian Sutter
|
15:47
|
Kelsey Kreft
|
19:47
|
Arian Anderson
|
33:29:00
|
Sarah Washburn
|
43:00:00
|
Cody MacDougall
|
16:52
|
Jena Calder
|
21:35
|
Aaron Campbell
|
36:12:00
|
Bri Waldorf
|
44:01:00
|
Joey Davis
|
17:03
|
Sharon Bertolli
|
21:49
|
A little further north in Skagit County runners toed the
line at
The
Great Sedro-Woolley Footrace to celebrate the 4
th of July at the
Loggerodeo, which is the oldest continuous
4
th of July celebration in the state. Matthew McClement provided the early fireworks as he won the
5.17 mile footrace in 26:49 over Clay Wing(27:20) and Connor Whan(28:06). Amber Monday won the women’s race in 31:04,
while Lauren Breihof was 2
nd in 31:12 and Alma McMurty was 3
rd
in 33:43. Between both the 5.17 mile and the 2 mile race, close to 700 participants
came out to celebrate the 4
th, race down the main drag before the
big parade and enjoy a wonderful event that was sponsored in part by the
Skagit Runners.
In Elite racing, Mike Sayenko(Club NW) and Uli
Steidl(Seattle Runners Club) represented Washington well as they raced in one
of the nation’s biggest and most competitive races, the
Peachtree Road Race, on July 4
th
in Atlanta, Georgia. Sayenko, who lives in Bellevue, finished 20
th
with a time of 29:55 for 10k. In a race
that draws many of the best runners in the world, Sayenko was the 2
nd
American finisher just behind Bobby Mack of North Carolina who ran 29:16. Steidl
who was competing in the Masters race, was 3
rd in a time of 31:31
for the hilly and hot 6.2 mile course. Finishing just a few strides behind the
winner, the Top 3 Masters runners were separated by a mere 10 seconds. With over 60,000 participants registered for
the Peachtree Road Race, it is the largest 10k in the world.
Though Iliana Sach(35) was well off Chris Kimbrough’s
2006 course record of 1:26:32, she still posted an impressive win in the women’s
race. Sach completed the course in 1:35:24, almost 5 minutes ahead of
masters athlete Maureen Anderson (47) who finished in 1:40:00. Larissa
Kolasinski, who is just 15, ran a strong race that put her solidly in 3rd
place with a time of 1:40:33. Sarah Roberts(29) and Tracey Straight(26)
finished 4th and 5th with times of 1:42:09 and 1:43:08. 
