5K, 10K are popular annual
events in Roseville
By HEATHER RULE Sun
Focus
On a crisp and overcast Saturday
morning, the 5K and 10K Run for the Roses events
found 326 runners darting across the ceremonial
finish line - complete with a colorful balloon
arch - at the John Rose Oval in Roseville.
The annual 5K and 10K
runs were among many various activities scheduled
for the city's annual Rosefest, which officially
concluded Tuesday. On Saturday morning, family
members, friends and community members gathered at
the Oval to cheer on the runners as they came
through the finish line.
While others were
still making their way around the course on the
streets of Roseville, the first 5K runner to run
through a multi-colored string of flags at the
finish line was David Rae, 24, from Portland,
Ore., with a time of 15:54 and a pace of 5:08. He
finished 26 seconds ahead of Brandon Griffin, 22,
of Minneapolis. Rae was a first-time runner in the
annual Roseville race and was just looking to "go
out there and run a 5K."
"I've just been
looking for a race to do and I thought this would
be a good one," Rae said.
Brian Davenport,
32, of Minneapolis, finished the 5K in third place
overall at 17:29. Roseville residents Jon Miller
and Mike Drinane had strong races in the 5K
finishing seventh and eighth overall, both just
seconds behind sixth-place finisher Nicholas
Robinson of Minneapolis.
Twenty-year-old
Mary Palmer of Anoka, and a runner at the
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, was the first
female to cross the line in the 5K as she clocked
in at 20:09 and in 12th place overall. Someone
told her about the run, and she thought she'd try
it, Palmer said.
"And they have cool
t-shirts," she said.
The second and third
5K female finishers were Judy Meyer, 47, of New
Brighton, and Mollie Lager, 22, of Robbinsdale.
They were not far behind Palmer as they finished
14th and 15th in the overall field of 192 runners.
Both finished just seconds apart with times of
20:29 and 20:33.
St. Paul native Tom
Tisell, 39, earned himself a first-place finish in
the 10K race by leading the field of 134 runners
as he ran at a 5:46 pace to finish with a time of
35:47. Another first-timer in the Run for the
Roses, he said he had always wanted to run this
race.
"I was surprised that there weren't
faster runners, but it's always fun to come in
first," Tisell said.
Kyle Neumann, 18, and
Spencer Siddons, 17, both runners on the cross
country and track teams at Andover High School,
rounded out the top three behind Tisell with times
of 36:27 and 37:02 respectively.
"We just
love to run," Neumann said. "It felt great, kind
of surprising, but it felt really
good."
Top Roseville finishers in the 10K
were residents Brett Chmel, Michael Vosght,
Richard Ziegler and Brent Matzke. The runners came
in 10th through 13th overall with times ranging
from 40:17 to 41:34.
Right behind the
cluster of Roseville 10K runners, and a total of
13 male competitors, was 24-year-old Sarah Hesser,
of St. Paul, with a time of 41:49. Hesser ran the
race with some friends and enjoyed the nice course
and great effort by the runners.
"It's a
great way to get a run done with early in the
morning," Hesser said.
Katie Salvatore, of
Shoreview, and Diane Hankee, of Lino Lakes,
followed Hesser as the next two female 10K
finishers, with 15th and 17th-place finishes
overall.
Some younger runners also made it
out to the race. Nine-year-old Roseville native
Michael Patrf finished with a time of 37:22 and
was the 172nd 5K runner to cross the finish
line.
Johnathan Machler, 13, of Falcon
Heights, finished the 5K in 34th place with his
22:42 run. This was his third time participating
in the Run for the Roses and he said he runs
"because it's healthy to do."
| SPORTS
Print Version
E-mail This
Story
