Eli Britnell held his comfortable lead over the last mile and cruised to the finish line Saturday evening to win the weather-delayed UAH Twilight 5K.
Britnell, 17, of Athens, finished in 16:42, holding off Grattan O’Neill, 19, of Huntsville. He was second in 17:09. He’s the brother of defending champ Athan O’Neill, 17, who tied for third Saturday with Ethan Barnes, 17, of Athens. They crossed in 17:18.
Megan Angelucci, 17, of Madison, won the women’s division and was 15th overall. She finished in 20:34. Sasha Stark, 15, of New Market was second (21st) in 21:52, and Fanny O’Neill, 15, of Huntsville, was third (23rd) in 21:59.
Runners were delayed about 30 minutes due to a pop-up thunderstorm that moved through the county. It was close enough to cause the delay, with a smidge of wind and spinkles, but otherwise not a problem. Several folks joked about the storms being a tradition; the last couple of years’ races have had similar situations.
The race is put on by the Huntsville Track Club, with support from Running Lane. It is a fundraiser for the UAH track and cross country teams. Runners begin at Spragins Hall, toodle up the hill and around to the front of campus to the 1.5-mile turnaround and then back to the finish.
About the Race
Thanks to HTC co-founder Harold Tinsley and his race history recaps, we know the race dates to 1985 with the original name of The Women’s Distance Festival 5K Races.
Early race directors were Faye Wilson (1985), Nancy Sheppard (1986-93), Suzanne Delgado (1994), Clare and David Purinton (1995-99), Ashley and David Cain (2000-17). It underwent a few more iterations afterward, with David Cain currently the race director. He is coach of the UAH track and cross country teams, as well.
The original races were part of a series promoted by the Road Runners Club of America. They began in 1984 to raise awareness of women runners to help get long distance races for women in the Olympics. It worked, and many clubs throughout the country conducted races under that name for years.
This was the first race in Huntsville in which women had their own race; men had a separate race. It was a summer (July) evening race, which was also unique in Huntsville. In the early years it was a large participation event even though it was a relatively tough course.
However, in later years when races became less competitive, participation dwindled due to the tough course. In 2007 race directors Ashley and David Cain changed the name to the current name. A few years later, with fewer participants, the two races were combined.
We’ll have a link to the results when posted, but until then see the photos below:
