Rotary 5K & Quarter Mile Kids Run

Winchester, VA, March 26, 2005

Race Report

Franklin; Nelson; start

Despite the fact that it was Easter weekend, eighty-three runners turned up at Jim Barnett Park in Winchester, VA for the sixth annual Rotary 5K on Saturday 26 March 2005. Race organizers were pleasantly surprised by the turnout, since the last time the race fell on the day before Easter, just fifty-nine people showed up. This year's participants were treated to temperatures around 40° and a light mist in the air as they tackled the rolling 3.1 mile loop around the park and through the nearby campus of Shenandoah University.

The men's competition clearly belonged to Alderson-Broaddus College's Andy Franklin. The 19-year-old darted out to a quick lead and never came close to giving it up, winning easily in 16:48. Raymond Bollock, 39, improved on his 2004 finish by over a minute, breaking into the race's overall awards for the first time with an impressive 17:27 second-place finish. 2003 men's winner Brad Rippey, 38, was still getting over a recent illness, but he ran well enough to take third overall for the second year in a row, finishing in 17:50. James Wood High School's Nick Fitzgerald, 16, outkicked the unrelated Mike FitzGerald, 49, for fourth in 18:20. Mike F.'s 18:21 earned him the top Masters prize. The second and third Masters awards went to Jerry Franklin and Mike Meadows, who were close for much of the race before Franklin managed to pull away in the final mile.

Woodstock, Virginia's Laura Nelson, 30, became the fourth woman to break twenty minutes in the Rotary 5K's history, easily taking the women's win with a 19:55 performance. Last year's third female finisher, 32-year-old Molly Castille, equalled her 20:47 finish from last year but took second overall this year. 23-year-old Michelle VanHorn, who recently won the Shenandoah Valley Runners' 2004-2005 Winter Series, earned third place in 21:06. Susan Dendinger, 43, came all the way up from Harrisonburg to win the first place Masters award in 24:46. Margaret Horioka, 49, nabbed second Masters for the second straight year with a 26:30, while six-time Rotary 5K finisher Nancy Specht, 52, took the third Masters prize in 26:54.

After the 5K was finished, a quarter mile fun run for children was held. Although no results were kept, fourteen children took home medals for having participated!

Thank you to race director Chris Northrup and his cohorts from the Winchester Rotary Club for putting together another fine event. Proceeds from the race will benefit Rotary Charities. Thanks as well to such volunteers as Meesh Mitchell, Jason Page, Duane Williamson, and Karsten Brown; there were many more volunteers whose names your author does not have. And special thanks to the race's sponsors: Action Mortgage, AES Limousine Service, Alpenglow Sparkling Cider, Dairy Queen, DK Industrial Services, First Bank, Phillip S. Griffin II P.C., H.N. Funkhouser Co., HandyMart, Edward Jones, KFC, National Fruit Products, Shenandoah Valley National Bank, Virginia Property Group Inc., Wilkins' Shoe Center, and the Winchester Star.

Event records and results from past editions of the Rotary 5K can be found online at http://user.shentel.net/karsten/rotary/ . Hope we'll see everyone next year at the seventh running of the Rotary 5K, presumably to be held on Saturday 25 March 2006!