DECATUR — Bakir Zamora of Decatur ran the fastest time in a dozen years and easily won the Spirit of America 5-Miler at Point Mallard Park last Saturday morning.
Zamora, 18, sped to the win in 28:04.8, a pace of 5:49 per mile. He won by more than 2 1/2 minutes.
Zamora’s time is fifth-fastest dating to 2005, according to records held by the River City Runners. Tyrone Harris of Athens won in 2010 with a 27:03, and Harris then won again in 2014 with a 28:00.04. The top are held by Heath White, who sped to a 26:55 finish in 2006 and 26:29 in 2005. Online records are unavilable prior to that.
Claudia Burroughs, 15, of Hartselle, won the women’s title and was seventh overall. She finished in 37:59. That’s the fastest women’s finish in five years.
The race is one of the oldest in the area, dating back more than four decades and held near July 4 each year. Race director Jon Elmore said it’s “getting close to being 50 years old.” The annual Spirit of America Festival at Point Mallard Park was created in the 1970s after the water park opened. It included the 5-mile run, golf tournament, hot air balloons, music and fireworks. River City Runners put on the run, but online records only are available to the early 2000s.
Proceeds benefit the Community Free Clinic. The clinic provides free, quality medical care, dental care and prescription medication to low income, medically uninsured adult residents of Decatur and Morgan County.
This year’s race had 87 finishers, one of the biggest fields in years. Runners had a combo of 2.4 miles of road and 2.6 of crushed gravel path, the latter along the Tennessee River backwaters.
See all of the results here.
Night Howler
HOOVER — Tia Larsen-Calcano of Madison finished second in the women’s division in the Night Howler 50-Mile ultra June 27 at Hoover Sports Park East.
The nighttime event was staged with a 2.5-mile loop at the park, crossing a bridge over the Cahaba River and descending four flights of stairs into wooded trails. It’s billed as a “fast 50-mile course perfect for first-time 50-mile runners as well as veteran ultramarathoners seeking to set a personal record.” Runners had to complete 20 laps within 16 hours.
Calcano-Larsen finished in 11 hours 13 minutes 5 seconds, notching her best 50K time and first 50-miler. She finished 26th overall in the field of 84 who finished.
Kamren McGovern, 26, of Huntsville, and Alex Allen, 29, of Owens Cross Roads, tied at15th to lead area runners. They finished in 10:38:28.
See all of the results here.
Greenway Grand Prix
Nehemiah Johnson of Meridianville won the Greenway Grand Prix 4-mile race on June 26 at Indian Creek Greenway.
Johnson, 17, zipped to the win in 22:13.
Megan Allan, 42, of Huntsville, won the women’s race and was sixth overall. She finished in 23:58.
This was the second of four greenway series races and had 46 official finishers. The final two events in July will be at Big Cove Greenway in Hampton Cove and Aldridge Creek Greenway at Ditto Landing.
See all of the results here.
