Saturday, July 7, 2012

The 4th of July: Footraces, Fireworks and Fun


All around the United States people were celebrating the 4th 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 4th 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 4th 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 3rd. 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 2nd, while last year’s winner Brian Masterson was 3rd 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 2nd and 3rd 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 4th 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 4th of July at the Loggerodeo, which is the oldest continuous 4th 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 2nd in 31:12 and Alma McMurty was 3rd in 33:43. Between both the 5.17 mile and the 2 mile race, close to 700 participants came out to celebrate the 4th, 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 4th in Atlanta, Georgia. Sayenko, who lives in Bellevue, finished 20th with a time of 29:55 for 10k.  In a race that draws many of the best runners in the world, Sayenko was the 2nd American finisher just behind Bobby Mack of North Carolina who ran 29:16. Steidl who was competing in the Masters race, was 3rd 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. 

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