Tallahassee Autism 5K

Stephen ran his best time ever in a 5K today finishing the Austim 5K in Southwood in a time of 18:18. He ended up third overall and first in his age group. It was a really foggy day which gave the race a different (almost Halloweeny) feel to it. The same two guys who finished ahead of Stephen in the Shamrock Scurry two weeks ago finished ahead of him today. He was 11 seconds closer to the winner and 2 seconds closer to the runner up.

For pictures and a newspaper article on the race check out Herb Wills' blog.

Tift Area Invitational 2011 Track and Field

Stephen ran in the Tiftarea Invitational today. He ran in the 3200 meter (11:39; 5:40/5:59 split), the 1600 meter (5:23) and the 4X400 relay (1:02 split). He finished 4th in the 3200 and 1600. None of the guys who beat him are in the AA division. It is interesting to note that another 8th grader (Rob Ray) won the 1600 meter in around 5:16.

Tallahassee Doggie Dash 5K

Stephen ran in the Doggie Dash 5K this morning at Southwood in Tallahassee. He finished 1st in his age group and 3rd overall with a time of 18:52. According to Stephen, he was well out in second place when he and the first place runner were led astray by the lead bicycler. Stephen said when he realized the lead bicyler had gone the wrong way he turned around and went back down the hill towards the pack of runners following him. He thinks he lost somewhere around 20 seconds, but isn't sure. Stephen's account is supported by Herb Wills' article on the Doggie Dash.

We'll see if that's the case when Stephen runs in the Autism 5K next week. That course is substantially the same as today's course.

Tallahassee Shamrock Scurry 5K

Stephen started running on a makeshift 5K course we put together in our backyard last week. It is apparently a tough course with several hills and soft sand and leaves to run through. Stephen is not a fan of it. His first time on our makeshift course was nearly 22 minutes. His best time is 20:50.

So it came as a bit of a surprise when today he ran an 18:48 5K on a fairly hilly course in Killearn. His time tied his personal best set at the GISA AA State Championship in October, 2010. Stephen started out strong but wasn't able to hold onto the lead after the first mile. He ended up coming in 1st in his age group and 4th overall out of 600 runners.

Check out Herb Wills' blog for his account of the race.