GALVESTON — UTMB student Ron Blancett led a field of more than 500 runners and walkers at Saturday’s Mardi Gras Beach Run 5K, cruising to an uncontested finish in 17 minutes and 51 seconds. Dave Wolbert of Flint, Mich., finished second in the 5K in 18:33.
Friendswood resident Keri Sherer won the women’s 5K in 22:07, with Galvestonians Elizabet Borsheim and Lindie Nanninga close behind in 22:42 and 23:12, respectively.
Blancett, a graduate student in physical therapy and former track runner at Stephen F. Austin University, fought an east wind in the first half of the race, which began on the seawall and dropped down to Apffel Park Road before returning to the finish line north of Stewart Beach Pavilion.
Wolbert, whose second-place finish placed him first in the 45-49 age group, was undeterred by the chilly weather.
“I run outside some of the time in Michigan. It gets down to about 60 below with the wind chill, so this feels pretty good,” he said.
Wolbert was visiting friends in Houston who convinced him to add the race and other Mardi Gras events to his schedule.
“The weather today didn’t affect me, but going out last night probably slowed me down a little,” he laughed.
Sherer ran the first miles with her 14-year-old daughter, Brionna.
“We were running together, and then I saw some ladies ahead of me and said, ‘Gotta go,’ and I was able to pass them,” Sherer said.
Brionna, a student at Friendswood High School, finished first in the 14-and-under age group in 23:49.
Borsheim, a native of Norway, was unfazed by the weather as well. “I haven’t been running much since my son was born two years ago, but I had to come out and support this race,” she said.
In the 10K, Houstonian Luis Armenteros made it a three-peat by shaving nearly a minute off his winning time from 2007. He finished the race in 31:50, a consistent improvement from his 32:54 last year and 33:36 in 2006, both of which also won the overall title.
Armenteros jumped out to an early lead, maintaining close to a 5-minute mile pace, and at times disappeared from the pack’s view as the course wound down both Apffel Park Road and Condo Road.
Patrick Flores finished second in 36:01. It was Flores’ second time to run the Mardi Gras 10K, and his second time to win the 40-44 age group. His 2008 finish was more than a minute faster than his 2006 run, which he attributed to the weather.
“To me, it was nice and cool today,” he said.
Texas City resident Dale Lee won the 50-54 age group with a surge past Duane Limbaugh late in the race that propelled him to a 39:21 finish. “He caught me around mile 5, and I couldn’t keep up, though I kept trying” Limbaugh said.
Limbaugh’s 39:45 still earned him first place in the 30-34 age division.
Garland triathlete Sydney Pitt won the women’s 10K in her first trip to the Mardi Gras race. Her 42:47 winning time placed her well ahead of 12-year-old Faith Banker, who finished second in 44:06.
“I really enjoyed the race. The volunteers were great,” Pitt said.
Pitt, 21, will be returning to Galveston for the Lone Star Triathlon in March.
It was Banker’s first-ever 10K. “I tried to keep up with the leader at first, but it was too fast,” she said. “I was checking the time on my watch, and knew I wanted to run an even pace.”
Banker primarily runs in the Cypress/North Houston area.
Banker was not the youngest person on the course. One-year-old Addie Clore accompanied her parents, Melanie Ma’Mory and Rob Clore, on the 5K, but completed the race in a jogging stroller.
“We take her out every day,” Ma’Mory explained. “The stroller’s made by Jeep, so it’s equipped for rough terrain and sand.”
The race was organized by the Galveston YMCA and the UTMB Physical Therapy Class of 2008 to benefit their projects.
