By Bill Morgan, Staff Writer
The cloudy and rainy weather Saturday morning for the Freedom Days 5k and 1k races put the event in jeopardy but the runners were troopers — especially the youngest bunch who set out on the course at 9:30 a.m. amidst a downpour.
“We almost escaped the down pour of rain Saturday for the Freedom Days run/walk events,” said BCC Organizer Tracey Otto. While we had fairly comfortable weather in the morning for the 7:30 am walkers and 8 a.m. runners, we were not so lucky for the 9:30 a.m. Kids Fun Run.”
The winds created an extra challenge for the walkers and runners as the made their way back to the finish line but the weather also helped keep the participants cooler with the temperature starting to rise.
Then the rain came.
“We unfortunately had to bring the kids inside the BCC community room/ gym,” said Otto. “As you can imagine, 70+ kids and spectators made for a bit of a tight fit in there but the kids adapted and did great!”
Otto said they ran their hearts out as they made their way around the perimeter of the gym 10 times.
5K Results
Caleb Foster, 20 of Becker, was the men’s top runner with a time of 17:57.60 while Meg Thorison, 20 of Cedarburg, WI, was the top women’s runner with a time of 22:34.50.
In first place for the women’s category of 19 and under, 10-year-old Rayna Rotz of Zimmerman had a time of 24:06.33. For ages 30-39, first place went to 38-year-old Amber Rotz of Zimmerman in 24:49.83).
In the 40-49 age group for women, Kim Winge, 44 of Big Lake, had the top time at 24:24.16. In the 50-59 age group, Maria Vetsch, 52 of Gentreville had the top time at 26:22.39.
Cindy Wampach, 60 of Becker was the top woman in the 60 and over age category with a time of 38:48.10.
For the men, Lukas Karel, 15 was the top runner in the 19 and under age group with a time of 19:49.24. Allen Gunderson of Becker, 36 was the fastest runner in the 30-39 group, finishing at 21:31.15.
James Anderson of Big Lake, 41 had the fastest time for the 40-49 age group with a time of 23:58.38. James Abfalter of Big Lake, 52 took home the top prize for men in the 50-59 category with a time of 22:19.94 and Rich Markham of Big Lake, 63 was the top runner in the 60+ category with a time of 30:19.54.
For the team results, “Gunderowski” had the top cumulative time at 1:10:39.13.
For the 5K Walk, Hawkinson Karah, 39 of Coon Rapids, captured first place with a 46:22.68 time.
No results were available for the 1k fun run/walk.
