A few icy patches remained on the St. Patrick’s Day 5K course Saturday morning, but they quickly thawed as the temperatures warmed.
Chance Brown won in 18 minutes and 24 seconds. Melissa Orr was the top female in 20 minutes and 33 seconds.
Josh Readling finished second in 18:47 and Bobby Aswell came in at 19:13.
Jamie Hess was the runner-up female with a time of 21:37, and was followed by Meredith Abramson in 22:00.
Top masters men were Sonny Ali in 20:29, Richard Ellis in 20:56 and Kevin Marsh in 22:14.
Fastest masters women were Trudy Gale in 23:56, Tamara Hinson in 29:47 and Robin Faggart in 30:13.
“This was my first 5K years ago, and I have always enjoyed it,” Brown said. “I always try to run faster and was fortunate to win today. East Rowan Coach Billy Mills tells us that the faster you run, the quicker you get to the food. I got there first today.”
Race Director and Salisbury Fire Marshal Terry Smith said, “Even with the adverse weather conditions that we had during the week, I was pleased that the registrations kept coming in. Our volunteers and sponsors were great and we are pleased to have such a wonderful partnership with the J.F. Hurley YMCA, the Salisbury Rowan Runners, Salisbury Fire Department Auxiliary and the Salisbury Police Department.
Proceeds from the event go toward restoration of the 1947 Ladder Truck, now known as Aerial One.
Sponsors were the Salisbury Rowan Runners, Novant Health, Vac and Dash of Albemarle, Creative Graphics, Mary Kaye Cosmetics, J.F. Hurley YMCA and ESI Security.
Complete results are available at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org
The Salisbury Rowan Runners are offering beginning runners classes, with the first one starting March 18.
Classes will be in Salisbury and Kannapolis. They continue for eight weeks.
They include classroom instruction on running form, shoes and equipment, nutrition, stretching and strengthening, safety and injury prevention. Each participant will get an individual training schedule and coaching.
Novant Health and Salisbury Parks and Recreation sponsor the first classes, which meet in the lobby meeting room at 6 p.m. on Tuesday nights until May 6. Runners will be able to complete 3.1 miles by the end of class. All participants will become members of the Salisbury Rowan Runners, have guaranteed entry into the Bare Bones 5K on May 24 and will receive a dri-fit SRR shirt. Cost for the class is $65, payable on the first night of the class. More information is at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org or by calling 704-202-6601 and 704-310-6741.
The Cannon Memorial YMCA sponsors classes in Kannapolis that start Monday, March 31, and continue to May 19. Classes meet in the Y’s multi-purpose room at 5:45 p.m. and will follow the same format above. Participants will get a dri-fit training shirt and will receive entry into a Cannon Y 5K. More information can be found at www.cannonymca.org or by calling Renee Hogan at 704-939-9622.