Grattan O’Neill repeated as top cookie Saturday in the Cookie Dash 5K in Hampton Cove, and several state age records were set in the race and 1-Mile event.
O’Neill, 18, jumped off the line at the horn and pounded a 5:10 pace to win in 16:01. That was half a minute faster than his winning time last year. Carson Miller, 36, of Madison, was second in 16:58, and Athan O’Neill, 16, was third in 17:10.
Alana Scarano, 31, of Huntsville, claimed the women’s title in 17:21. Sarah Crouch, 35, of Madison, was second (6th) in 17:39. They were the only women among the Top 20. Ashlyn Drown, 17, of Huntsville was third (24th) in 19:58.
With 627 official finishers this was the largest Cookie Dash since 2019, which had 581. Another 166 runners competed in the 1-mile run, which is certified. Saturday’s total official finishers was 793. More than 950 registered, with proceeds benefitting the Hampton Cove PTO.
State Records!
John Glidewell set an Alabama 5K age group record in the 68-year-old division with his time of 18:03. He was ninth overall.
Three age records from the 1-mile race:
— Kathy Harper, 74, Athens – 8:40
— Jean McCrady, 91, Brownsboro – 17:34
— Ray Fanning, 85, Huntsville – 9:50
Huntsville Track Club facilitated the race. Volunteers baked or donated cookies for runners to enjoy after the events. The Huntsville Community Drumline was on hand, and safety was provided by Huntsville Police Department.
Cookie Dash History
Thanks to Harold Tinsley’s meticulous curation of Huntsville Track Club history, we have some great background about the Cookie Dash 5K.
Winners should lift their heads a bit higher. This is one of the city’s oldest events, dating to the 1980s.
Tinsley’s account, from an old HTC News member newsletter:
The prime mover in the race was Alton Dickerson, “the running mailman”. Following the death of Alton in the early 1990s, Ben Stevens approached the HTC Board about taking over the race and renaming it the Alton E. Dickerson Re-Creation 5K Run and he would provide the sponsorship. Few people in the club were more popular than “Gabby. It was a fitting tribute to an outstanding runner and club member dating back to the early 1970s.
Those who trained with Alton were kept entertained throughout the run. He was the life at local races. Whitesburg Baptist Church eventually decided to drop its involvement in the race and it moved to Southwood Presbyterian Church where HTC President David Purinton was a member.
Although not originally listed as the race directors, Clare and David Purinton were extensively involved with the race and its move to Southwood. In 2001 the race went back to the original name, Re-Creation 5K Run, for what reason I’m not sure. When Clare Purinton did formally take over as race director in 2009 the name was changed to Cookie Dash 5K Race. It was a tribute to the church members who baked wonderful cookies as the postrace snack.
The race moved to Rivertree Church in 2013 and to its present location at Hampton Cove Middle School in 2014.
Jean McCrady (left), Ray Fanning and Kathy Harper set state age records in the Cookie Dash 1-Mile race Saturday in Hampton Cove. (Photo by Alan Clemons/TVO)
