December 1st, 2009
Run with Moe: Thankful for races

Run with Moe; A column
By MOE JOHNSON
San Marcos Runners Club

It is getting to be later in the year, but San Marcos has a few runs yet in town for local runners to enjoy.

The latest was the Thankful Turkey 5K last week that had almost perfect weather for running. A slight drizzle was in the air, but the temperature and wind were great for runners. The lead bike had a tough time as his glasses were covered with raindrops and visibility was limited. Local and area runners did well and a number of them carried home a Thanksgiving meal for their efforts.

The overall male winner was San Marcos runner Sean O’Neil with a time of 16:10. Ken Hausmann, a former Texas State cross country runner, came down from Austin to win the Masters category in a time of 20:38. Mountain City resident Liz Kaminski took the Female Masters award with a 26:22.

In the men’s 19-and-under, Michael Hernandez took third in 18:41 and Guillermo Hernandez ran a 24:25. For the women in 19 and under, Brianna Kaminski, age 10, ran a nice 25:20 time and Kyllie Torres, age nine, from San Marcos ran a 42:18. In the 20-29 age group Tim Bayless, a former San Marcos resident took first place with a 17:20 and Justin McCreight ran in third with a 23:50. For the women’s 20-29, San Marcos did very well with Stephanie Ritter taking first in 22:49, Krista Betzing in second with a 23:38 and Megan Rouch had third with a 24:14 time. Annie Lozano had a 25:43 time, Elizabeth Deming ran a 30:07 and Angela Minor ran a 31:41.

For the 30-39 men, Doug Framke took second place with a 17:43 and Daniel Garza ran in at 42:19. For the women in that age group, Liesela Austin had fourth place with a 27:57, Alyssa Lash followed her in 30:24, Tiffany Saenz ran a 32:12 and Karen Lawhead ran in at 38:35. Martindale’s Deanna DeLeon ran a 40:57.

In the 40-49 men, San Marcos had Eric Rindahl take first with a 20:53 and Sam Fullman took third in 21:39, with Michael Small crossing in 24:07 and Dave Carlsberg running in at 30:39. For the women, Sly Quintero took second in 28:22 and Laura Mason ran a 30:14, Anita Long had a 31:09, Denise Kardosz ran a 35:27 and Lori Krackau had a 46:04.

In the 50 – 59 men, Dan Gibson displayed a strong finishing kick to take second place in 25:44, Robert Kantz had fourth in 27:27, Ron Seal ran a 28:33 and Len Hickey ran a 41:52 and Wimberley’s Al Kieley ran a 42:04. The women from San Marcos in that age category were well represented, with Julie Kantz taking second in 27:51, Cindy Shannon-Lee taking fourth in 29:52, Charlene Martinez running a 32:52, Becky Patterson a 39:38 and Brigitte Payne a 41:28.

In the 60-69 men, Frank Payne took home first place with a 25:04, Martindales’s Daniel Garza ran 32:39 and Ronnie Murphy had a 33:59. For the 70-and-over group, local runner Carl Scheiber had first in 30:56 and Russel White was second in 31:27. Vonda Lee Adorno from Austin, at the young age of 75, took first for the women with a fast 31:08.

Next up for local runners is the return of the Sights and Sounds 5K on Saturday at 4 p.m. down at the Sights and Sounds event. A different starting time from the usual race time, but this run will go along the River Walk and let the runners get back in time to enjoy the festivities of Sights and Sounds.

The runners can register early for $20 until Dec. 2 and on the day of the race for $25. Entry fee will include entrance into the Sights and Sounds event for that evening and the awards will be on the sound stage right after the race. For more information, call (512) 393-8280.

For those runners who are familiar with the Annual Christmas Lights Fun Run and Walk held each year, save Dec. 15 at the Hays County Courthouse for that run starting at 6:30 p.m. This is a very fun event with costumes recommended and food and fun after the run for anyone at the San Marcos Activity Center. After dark attire is encouraged with lights and reflective clothes the standard dress for the run.

On Dec. 13, the Holiday Half Marathon is at Tanger Outlet Center for women only, with a 5K, a 10K and a Half Marathon race starting at 7 a.m.