Race Recap - Fast Cat 5k 2014

Estero FL.,

What started off as warm / humid, quickly turned to a hot / humid morning in Estero, FL.

I’m sure it didn’t feel like foot racing weather for anyone outside of SW Florida, but to the local cross country teams (and some other local crazies) this is the hand that is dealt down here and they were itching to knock off the rust and do some racing.

For most of these athletes the summer has been full of preparation, camps and soaking up the mile after mile that will pay off when the state series rolls around. The chance to ‘test out’ the legs in a pre-season cross-country like match up, despite the weather, was too much to resist.

The course is a fast, flat, mixed surface trek that I estimated to be a tick over 5k (probably close to 3.2 miles), 40% grass, 55% hard surface and 5% asphalt surfaced track that weaves in and around the Estero High School grounds.

Last year Former FGCU runner Matt Crowe won on the men’s side at 16:06, and Fort Myers HS turned University of Alabama runner Emily Edwards was first in for the women at 19:25 in very similar conditions.

The gun went off at exactly 7:30am sending 254 participates to race under partly cloudy skies with the temperature hovering in the mid to upper 80s and humidity off the charts.

Charlotte HS Junior Marshall Dillon charged out in front from the gun and took control of the first mile but was trailed closely by Fort Myers HS senior Dean McGregor and former FGCU runners Ryan Stafford and Dillon McGee.

Evangelical Christian School senior Sarah Candiano lead from the start for the women with JU’s Katy Solis and Estero’s Daley Cline right behind.

By the second mile marker Stafford and McGregor had put a little distance on the chase pack and were pulling away. Candiano and Solis also distanced themselves from the competition and looked to be headed for a close finish. As the front two entered the track for the last 350 meters, McGregor kicked it in and pulled ahead of Stafford and won by 8 seconds, 16:01 to 16:09.

Candiano held her race long advantage all the way to the line winning in 18:25 to Solis’s 18:29. Both McGregor and Candiano look very fit and raced smart in less than ideal conditions.

An outstanding early season test for these young harriers with some interesting story lines developing that will be fun to watch how they play out over the fall.  I for one cannot wait for the season to start and we are in total, "team on team" mode barreling full steam towards Tallahassee in November.

Thanks to Coach Sommer, 3D racing, the Run Shoppe and all the other staff for a great, well run event. See you next year.