Newspaper Page Text
Page 4B
April 6, 2022
^Reporter
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Jonathan Head of Forsyth, right, and Tyler Marshall of Gray finish the Forsythia 5K in 1st and 2nd place with truly a
"photo finish". Below, other runners were just happy to cross the finish line together.
Forsythia 5K runners
triumph over the elements
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Depending on who is giving an
opinion, runners in the 2022 Forsyth
ia 5K on March 12 were either very
dedicated, tough individuals or rather
nutty folks. The truth is probably
some mixture of the two. Tempera
tures plunged that morning for the 8
a.m. race, and winds whipped up to
threatening speeds to exacerbate the
feeling of cold. But 57 runners showed
up and completed the 3.1 mile course
to triumph over the elements.
Jonathan Head, 15, of Forsyth and
Tyler Marshall, 13, of Gray battled
it out at the finish line to finish first.
Marshall edged Head by less than a
half-second, 20:08:42 over 20:08:65.
The first female finisher was also a
youth, Lilly Palmer, 13, of Gray who
finished 7th overall at 24:34. The top
Masters (over 40) runner was Dustin
Buttigieg, 41, of Juliette who crossed
the finish line 3rd overall at 21:02. The
oldest finisher in 2022 was 76-year-
old Roger Mills, who was 28th overall,
and the youngest was a 12-year-old
young lady of Gray named B. Durrett,
who was the 14th runner to finish.
Hugh Mercer, who has rim in 18
Forsythia 5K’s said the
chill (in the mid- to high
30 s) and winds weren’t
bad at the start of the race
although the wind did have
an impact when the route
turned to rim against it.
The veteran runner wisely
dressed in some extra
clothes, including a wind
suit.
“Once you get going the
weather isn’t really a factor,”
he said.
Mercer has had two hip
replacements and now
considers himself a speed
walker instead of a run
ner but finished ahead of
a substantial number of participants.
Mercer said he has always liked to
run. He recalled that Coach Dan Pitts
told him and some fellow players to
run until he was tired of watching
them, and he never told them to stop.
He is pleased with Forsyth’s plans to
put sidewalks down West Johnston
Street to the city park, which will
make his regular running route safer.
The weather was probably more un
comfortable for race volunteers than
for runners, who were able to duck
inside the warm FitCo gym when
they finished. Forsyth Main Street
director Frank Wilder, who helped
coordinate the 5K, was at the finish
line with a clipboard verifying times
and acknowledged that although he
wore two jackets and a scarf, there
were times when the wind was rough.
He said Kerri Swearingen also worked
hard to organize and promote the 5K
and was on hand to take care of the
See 5K Page 5B
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