The early spring sunshine highlighted the bright green costumes worn by many of the runners as the annual “Chase a Leprechaun 5K” kicked off the St. Patrick’s Day celebration season at the Becker Community Center last Saturday morning.  Race organizer Tracey Otto said the contest drew 96 registered runners this year, with 85 officially starting and finishing the event.

 

Even though the sun shone brightly, there was a chill wind blowing as the runners took to the starting line at 10:30 a.m., with many contestants jogging in place and bouncing up and down to try to generate some warmth inside their thin Spandex® running gear before the start.

 

Once underway, however, the leaders wasted no time in setting a brisk pace all the way back to the finish line in the BCC parking lot.  Fastest overall was Becker’s Jesse Babler, who finished with a time of 17:15.01 and topped the men’s 30-39 age group.  Second-place went to 15-year-old Sidney Boros with a time of 19:06.30 and St. Cloud resident Chris Orvis placed third with a time of 19:09.45.

 

The fastest woman was Becker’s Bonnie Kolbinger with a time of 22:08.08, followed by Kristy Gosch at 22:12.76 and 14-year-old Victoria Kolbinger in third with a time of 22:30.90.

 

After the lat runners crossed the finish line, an awards ceremony was held in the BCC, and hot chocolate was served to the chilly runners and spectators.

Official timing of the race was provided by Gopher State Events.