Eighty-two athletes lace up for annual Dave MacAulay 5-K Folly

Sackville's running community welcomed in spring with the eighth annual Dave MacAulay 5-K Folly this past Sunday.
Eighty-two athletes enjoyed the windy Sunday afternoon and the rain held off until everyone was finished. There were runners from Maine, Calgary and as far away as Westcock.
This year's race featured a stunning performance by 15-year-old Jeremie Pellerin from Cocagne, who won the race in a time of 16:43, smashing Rejean Chiasson's previous standard by a full 25 seconds. Not only was he fast but his running form was very graceful -- a real pleasure to watch. Look for him to shine for years to come.
Second place was Chuck Dixon (M30-39), a few weeks off his sub three-hour performance in Boston, in 18:05, followed by Mikhel Peters (M17/18)(18:42), and Dante Manchester (M17/18)(19:02).
Caroline Evans (F17/18) was again the top female in 21:27, still shy of the record time for the ladies of 20.26 set by Rebecca Barton of Fredericton two years ago. Becky Leaman (F20-29) was next in 22:17 followed by Michelle Roy (F30-33) of Frenchville, Maine in 22:53.
Lucas Wilton (M13-14), besting last year's time by 55 seconds in 22:43, was the top Marshview boy, while Grade 5er Annie Dysart blasted across the line in an amazing 23:57, trouncing her dad and tasting anerobia. Emma Burns (24:51) and Catherine Evans (25:22) were close behind while Martin Peters (24:18) and 11-year-old Lian Young (24:25) were next in the boys' division.
Amelia Fleming (32:35) was the top Salem girl while Aiden O'Neal (24:19), Luthar (24:57) and Dashiel Edson (39:31) represented the Salem boys.
This year's event featured a huge crowd from the Acton family whose fitness efforts were featured in an earlier Tribune article. It was great to see another family out to challenge the numbers supremacy usually claimed by the Evans or Peters clans. It was amazing that, despite the rather challenging hills of York and Charlotte Streets, their faces were rosy and smiling after the event.
Omce again this year there were many runners we haven't seen before -- Hannah Beland, Karen Stewart, Cole Hilchie, Jenelle MacIsaac and Megan Dobbin, just to name a few, who hopefully have been inspired to not only come back next year but enter other local running events.
One of the interesting things to look at is improvements from year to year. The following runners are fine examples of this (decrease in time from last year in brackets). Catherine Evans (6:01), Justin Thomas (5:22), Iain Summerby-Murray (5:04), Darlene Acton (3:35), Cam Evans (3:17), Lucy Evans (3:16), Martin Peters (2:42), Craig Evans (2:40) and Becky Leaman (1:22). Sure looks like the Evans' are eating their wheaties!
The detailed results will be available online on Run NB's website at http://anb.ca/indexRunNB.php?content=results.
The Tantramar Outdoor Club, organizers of the event, gratefully acknowledge the continued support of the town of Sackville, Mount Allison University, Jean MacAulay, and Kevin Ceretti at The Kookie Kutter.
The next running event will be the July 1st multi-distance event. Stay tuned for details.