Nehemia Johnson of Meridianville and Dylan Glass of Gurley took top honors Saturday morning in the Freedom 5K and Firecracker 5K races in Huntsville.
Johnson, 17, captured the Freedom 5K win in 15:51, easily topping Akmed Zamora, 18, of Decatur. Zamora wasn’t far behind, crossing in 16:18.
Megan Allan, 42, of Huntsville won the women’s title in 18:11 and was 16th overall.
The race was held at UAH instead of its usual downtown location. Due to a parade and other July 4 events, the Huntsville Police Department couldn’t provide downtown security for the race. It didn’t matter to the 819 official finishers who enjoyed the UAH and zippy course at UAH. Running Lane put on the race.
Firecracker 5K
Down in south Huntsville on the Aldridge Creek Greenway, Glass, 34, was just a burst ahead of Nathaniel Pierce, 40, of Huntsville, to capture the Firecracker 5K. Glass finished in 16:59, with Pierce second in 17:21.
Tay Cavett, 28, of Huntsville, was third and nabbed the women’s title. She finished in 17:52. It’s been a solid year for Cavett, who was ninth overall and second in the women’s division at the UTMB Desert Rats 100K in April.
The annual Firecracker 5K is based at Morningside Baptist Church, in the big curve of Green Cove and Bailey Cove roads. The race had 566 official finishers. Fleet Feet put on the race.
In the 1-mile races, Erick Kigen of Huntsville won the Firecracker in 4:59, holding off Ashley Hughes of Joppa. She crossed in 5:01.
Anthony Parameswaran of Gurley won the Independence Mile in 5:13. Rachel Joffrion of Huntsville won the women’s title, finishing eighth in 6:14.
Temperatures were in the mid-70s for both events, along with sapping soupy 90-percentish humidity. The races started at 7 a.m., a nice break for the runners before the sun began broiling a couple hours later.
See the Firecracker 5K results here (and photos here), and the Freedom 5K results here.
See the Independence Mile results here and Firecracker Mile results here.
