Sunny Skies and Runners' Highs
Runners from near and far flocked to Ocracoke Island on Saturday, April 28th for the 7th Annual Scallywag 10K, 5K, and Family Fun Run and on Sunday, April 29th for the Blackbeard’s Half-Marathon. The race weekend, a fundraiser for the Ocracoke School Athletic Boosters Club, Ocracoke Community Park, and community radio WOVV 90.1 FM, drew hundreds of registered participants, some from as far away as Massachusetts and Texas. A new event for this year was the Virtual Run allowing participants who could not make it to the actual race to register and run or walk a course in their own communities.
The race got underway from Gaffer's Sports Pub a little before 8:30am, under mostly sunny conditions and temperatures in the 60’s. The course for the 5K and 10K was the same; the 10K runners ran the course twice. The race proceeded down Highway 12, throughout the village, and finished at Gaffers.
First across the finish line with a time of 18:33 was Alfonso (Chito) Guerrero of Washington NC, who also won first in the 5K last year. Following close behind to place second and third in the 5K were Andy Painter of Cary, NC and 15 year old Ocracoke School student Reese Gaskins.
Taking first place in the women’s overall 5K with a time of 21:03 was Karen Perez, a graduate of Ocracoke School who is now running for Meredith College in Raleigh. Only seconds behind her was Erin Bennink of Oak Hill, NC and Grace Ridley of Conover, NC for second and third places.
Thanks to the strong running program at Ocracoke School headed by Kitty Mitchell (she placed 3rd for the 5K in her age group) there were many young people running this year. Entering the race for the first time, seven year old Malli Harrell took top spot in the female 10-and-under age group. Nadia Rodriguez and Angela Flores won second and third place. Though she didn’t win an award, Payce Howarth was only one second behind Angela.
Following in his father Chito Guerrero’s footsteps, Imanol Guerrero took first place in the male 10-and-under age group. Jack Revere from Frisco came in second and Ocracoke’s Danny Palacios was third.
In the age group 11-13, females, the winners were: 1st-Lillian Perez, Ocracoke; 2nd-Dibahni Santiago, Ocracoke; 3rd-Valerie Rodriguez, Ocracoke
In the age group 11-13, males, the winners were: 1st-Daymon Esham, Ocracoke; 2nd-Randy Lugo, 3rd-Carter O’Neal, Ocracoke
In the age group, 14-19, females, the winners were: 1st-Hana Smith, New Bern, NC; 2nd-Savannah Hodson, Ocracoke; 3rd-Mila Ortiz, Ocracoke
In the age group 14-19, males, the winners were: 1st-Edwin Perez, Ocracoke; 2nd-Liam Caswell, Ocracoke; 3rd-Dylan Esham, Ocracoke
In the 10K race, the overall winners, female, were: 1st-Victoria Brinson, Edenton, NC; 2nd-Claire Ross, Ocracoke; 3rd-Brooke Lambert, Wilmington, NC
The 10K overall winners, male, are: 1st-Samuel Arey, Raleigh, NC; 2nd-Ryan Miranda, Greenville, NC; 3rd-Nacho Villanueva
Ocracoke Village made a strong showing for both races. Out of the more than 360 runners on Saturday, Ocracoke residents took approximately one third of the possible 93 place winners. A detailed listing of all of the race winners can be found at the Race the East website, here: https://runsignup.com/Race/Results/5977/?embedId2=9l0IeCI0#resultSetId-114109
Bruce Elliott from Richmond, VA and Dave Myers from Raleigh, NC have been friends since their high school days in New York state and both have participated in the race before. Bruce said that he first came to Ocracoke about 1969 and fell in love with the island. They had a great day with Bruce finishing 3rd in his age group for the 10K and Dave finishing 1st in his age group for the 5K.
Race founder Greg Honeycutt has directed the race for seven years and for the last two years has co-directed it with Angie Todd, who will be the new race director beginning in 2019.
“I’m looking forward to volunteering on race day but it’s time to pass the torch to someone else,” stated Greg. He says that since the inception of the race, they have raised more than $200,000 for the benefiting non-profit groups. In addition to being a fundraiser for local non-profits, a primary goal was to bring business and people to Ocracoke during the spring shoulder season. With the hundreds of runners participating in the races this weekend, it’s clear that the goal of bringing more visitors to Ocracoke has been achieved.
Like any large event, the race depends not only on good organizers and generous sponsors, but willing volunteers. Greg said that over the two days there were approximately 90 volunteers. The volunteers do things such as man the water stations and direct traffic and guide the runners along the race route. Volunteer Barbara Adams was relaxing in the warm sunshine during the after party on Saturday. She helps each year and likes to support the race. “I think it’s a fun thing for the island and I like to help make it successful,” she said.
In addition to the 5K and 10K races on Saturday, there was also a 1 Mile Family Fun Run which began at the Ocracoke Child Care building and ended at the Ocracoke Coffee Company. Organized by Jim Borland, there were approximately 50 participants. Jacob Daniels was first through the finish line with second place winner Jayden Sauzo-Dominguez close behind. In third place was Auggie Giagu followed by Imanol Guerrero and Danny Badillo. Ocracoke kids love to run!
Siblings and part time Ocracoke residents Ford and Arrington Sumner have participated in the Fun Run for three years. Dad Thurston said that he and mom Susan are very proud of four year old Arrington because this is the first year that she has completed the course herself. Arrington was looking stylish with blue sunglasses as she and her brother showed off their medals while enjoying the delicious snacks provided by Justin and Joelle LeBlanc, owners of Ocracoke Coffee Company.
Sunday brought sunny skies, but blustery winds for one hundred plus runners of the Half Marathon. Fortunately for the runners, the section of the course to the campground and back was at the beginning of the race before winding through the village, the reverse of last year’s course.
Again, the first one across the finish line was Chito Guerrero who, at 1:25:50, shaved more than 13 minutes off of his time from last year. When asked how he felt to win the half marathon, he was at a loss for words: “Man, mucho, mucho, mucho feliz!” (Very happy). He said that while he was running, he wasn’t thinking of his time or anything, just running.
Ocracoke resident Junior Perez, who won first place in his age group, said that the first three miles (to the campground and back) were “brutal” but it was good to have the wind at his back heading back to the village. His wife Gloria, who won third place in the overall female group, said that she likes the new course. She also commented on how great it was to have people along the route cheering and clapping for the runners.
“Even if you’re tired, it encourages you,” she said. The Perezes are a family of runners. Junior’s sister Lulu, a member of the race committee, also entered the half marathon and won first place in her age group, in addition to first in her age group for yesterday’s 5K. The overall winner of yesterday’s 5K, Karen Perez, is Lulu’s daughter, and Gloria and Junior’s son Edwin placed first in his age group for the 5K.
This year’s race was especially meaningful for Junior and Gloria. During last year’s race, neither of them were able to finish. At mile 11, between the village and campground, Junior was overcome because of dehydration and had to stop. When Gloria reached him, she stopped but he motioned for her to continue running. On the way back from the campground, the EMT’s had Junior in an ambulance and said they were taking him to the hospital so Gloria left the race to accompany him. She said that this year they turned a page and put last year behind them. "And, there’s beer!” she said.
Marissa Gross enters the race every year but had a different opinion of the wind. “I love it!” she said. She is used to running in the wind so it doesn’t bother her the way it may affect some visitors who come expecting a flat, easy course. “I felt good until mile 10 or 11,” said Marissa, “And then it got hard. When it comes to running, I love it and hate it!” She says the race is “very well done” and credits Angie Todd for many of the new improvements to the race. She mentioned the new course, t-shirts, beer, and many sponsorships as positives and expects it to continue to get better each year.
A late entry to the race was Somerville, Massachusetts resident Micah McCauley. He and his family arrived on Saturday to visit his wife’s sister Laura McClain. Micah is a runner and when he heard about the half marathon, he decided to enter. He won first in his age group as well. He said, “The wind was a little tough but the course was fantastic.” This is Micah’s second trip to Ocracoke and he loves the island and people here.
As in the races on Saturday, Sunday’s race also had walkers. Beth Layton, the high school math teacher at Ocracoke School, was preparing to walk and commented that she hoped she’d be back in time for the after-party at Gaffer'ss, one of the race sponsors. She was!. She also walked in last year’s race and she said that she hoped there would be walkers this year also. There were!
Co-organizer Angie Todd said, “I am so proud of all of the runners. The race was even more successful than I had hoped it would be!”
She did confess to some stress when more than 200 people registered after she had ordered the t-shirts. She plans to reorder and send shirts out to the late entrants this year. However, next year entrants will have to register ahead of time to be assured of receiving a shirt. She said that people loved the t-shirts this year, commemorating the 300th year of the pirate Blackbeard’s death, and that many people do wait to see how the weather forecast is looking before committing to registering for the race.
The overall winners for the Half Marathon are:
Female division: 1st-Marissa Gross, Ocracoke; 2nd-Grace Ridley, Conover, NC; 3rd-Gloria Perez, Ocracoke
Male division: 1st-Chito Guerrero, Washington, NC; 2nd-Jesse Austin, Portsmouth, VA; 3rd-Gustavo Trejo, Ocracoke
Sponsors for this year’s race were: 1718 Brewing, Gaffers Sports Pub, Wells Fargo, Jolly Roger Pub and Marina, Ocracoke Island Realty, Ocean Atlantic Event Rentals, Outer Banks This Week.Com, Soundfeet Shoes, Ocracoke Coffee Company (Family Fun Run sponsor), Ocracoe Civic and Business Association, Pirates Chest, Mike Toler Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Towne Bank, Kistich & O’Neal CPAs Pony Island Motel & Cottages, Blue Heron Realty, Tideland EMC, Zillie’s Island Pantry, Sunny Day Guide, Angie’s Gym, Coastal Beverage, Sugar Creek Soundfront Restaurant, Food Lion, RD Sawyer Motor Company, Eduardo’s Taco Stand, Ocracoke Variety Store, Ride the Wind, Pony Island Restaurant, Ocracoke Bar & Grill, Ed & Sue Norvell, Ocracoke Community Store, Roanoke Island Running Co., Ocracoke Island Golf Carts, Howard’s Pub, Jimmy’s Garage, Ocracoke Harbor Inn, Anchorage Inn & Marina, Ocracoke Physical Therapy, Stillwater Spa & Wellness, Sunglass Shop, The Cove B&B, Edwards of Ocracoke Rooms & Cottages, Jason’s Restaurant, Aries Networks LLC, Flying Fish Screen Printing, The Castle B&B, Ocracoke Current, Island Ragpicker, Tradewinds Tackle Shop, Carl O’Neal Construction, Ocracoke Observer, Wheelie Fun Cart Rentals, Captain’s Landing, Thai Moon, Mermaid’s Folly, Cape Dredging, Ihle Construction, First National Bank, Chucks ACR, Gaskins & Gaskins PA, Captain’s Cargo, Ocracoke Oyster Company, Native Seafood, Sorellas Pasta & Pizza, The Fudge & Ice Cream Shop, Dajio, and Old Orchard Creek Farm. Next year’s race will be on the same weekend, April 27 and 28, 2019.
