HAMPTON COVE — Erick Kigen and Alexandra Parameswaran dashed to easy wins Saturday morning in the annual Running of the Bulls 5K.
Kigen, 37, of Huntsville, ran a comfortable 5:36 pace to finish in 17:26 on the shady Big Cove Greenway. Runners start on it, sort of behind Tortora’s, and churn along to the turnaround at Hays Nature Preserve. Then they beebop back to finish at Hampton Cove Middle School. Proceeds benefit the school PTA and programs.
Alexandra Parameswaran, 31, of Gurley, ran off with the women’s title, finishing 15th in 20:21. She was one of three women in the top 30. Rachel Sneed, 40, of Huntsville was second (25th) in 22:03 and Laura Benson, 28, of Huntsville, was third (29th) in 22:16.
Anthony Parameswaran, 30, of Gurley, was second in 18:04. David Guzik, 55, of Fairfield, Conn., was third in 18:38. Guzik also was third in 2025, when Josh Cornett of Huntsville smoked a sub-17 finish for the win.
Sneed won the Women’s Masters title. Erich Kring, 49, of Huntsville, won the Men’s Masters by 10 seconds, in 20:10.
The race had 479 official finishers. It was put on by Fleet Feet, with sponsor help from Return 2 Sport, Dunkin’ Donuts, Swift Recovery, Food City, Chillz on Wheelz and Spitz.
State Records
Drew Bell of Madison broke a 22-year-old state age record Saturday morning with a speedy time in the 1-mile event.
Roberta Hauck, 59, of Huntsville, also smashed the state age record in the 1-mile, and was second behind Bell in the race.
The 5K and 1-mile courses were certified under USATF guidelines, which provided a path to state age records. Runners have 21 distances, with multiple age categories for men and women, to consider and shoot for. Endurance events also are included with 6-, 12-, 24-, 48- and 72-hour divisions.
Bell won the 1-mile race in 5:40, putting his name in the record book for age 60. The record was held by Jim Upton of Albertville was 5:44:27, set on June 26, 2004, in Tuscumbia.
Hauck smoked the 15-year-old age record with her time of 6:36. That tops the mark set March 5, 2011, by Melanie Moore of Mobile during a race in Daphne.
See all of the 5K results here, the 1-mile results here, and photos from the race and finish from We Run Race Photos.
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