Helen Keller Festival 5 Mile Run

The Helen Keller Festival is an annual week-long festival in downtown Tuscumbia, the birthplace of Helen Keller. The festival's calendar of events is full, including opening night of "The Miracle Worker" (a must see play for anyone, but especially anyone who lives in the Tennessee Valley), a 27 mile bike ride, a car show, and, of course, a 5 mile run.

The 5 mile run was Saturday morning, June 26, 2010 at 8:00 AM in downtown Tuscumbia. This run is a HOT, hilly, 5 mile run. The overall winner was Hirbo Hirbo of Florence in 28:27. The female winner was Sandy Lynch of Florence in 33:40. The masters winner was Stacey Lemay of Florence in 32:02. The female masters winner was Cheryl Self in 42:01. View the overall results and the age group results at the Shoals TRAC website.

There were a couple of Limestone County finishers.

1. Glen King, Athens, 37:38
2. Scott Hofacker, Athens, 43:44

Spirit of America 5 Miler

The Spirit of America 5 Miler is an interesting race with an age and gender adjusted start. The first runners start at 7:00 AM and the last runners cross the starting line at 7:30 AM. So, the young men end up chasing the old ladies who got up to a 30 minute head start! The first 15 male and the first 15 female finishers receive an award. The top 3 male and female finishers based on actual running time also receive an award. Sounds like fun!

The event was Saturday, June 26, 2010 at Point Mallard Park in Decatur. The first female finisher was Alaina Norman of New Market, AL. The first male finisher was Barry Ege of Hanceville, AL. The fastest female was Alaina Norman. The fastest male was Athens' own Tyrone Harris. The finish order and time based results are at the River City Runners website. O

Limestone County finishers are listed below.

Female

1. Kandye Smith, Athens
2. Nikki Magnusson, Elkmont
3. Amanda Rivera, Athens
4. Ariel Rivera, Athens

Male

1. Tyrone Harris, Athens
2. David DeZwaan, Athens
3. Denny Thronton, Athens
4. Lance Breedlove, Athens
5. Phillip Stewart, Athens
6. Johnny Maplesden, Athens
7. David Fanning, Athens
8. John Smith, Athens
9. Shawn LaGrone, Athens