Sunday's masters division victory by Kim Donaldson in the Jacksonville Marathon capped a successful season at 26.2-mile events.
Although the St. Petersburg resident's time was only a few seconds slower than her winning performance (3 hours, 2 minutes, 6 seconds) at Jacksonville two years ago, she finished fourth in the women's division. Donaldson was first in 40-and-over.
The victory, worth $100, completed a grand-slam marathon year for the University of South Florida research scientist in the Department of Biology and the Center for Biological Defense.
Donaldson won the Hops Marathon in January, then followed that with a repeat victory at the Ocala Marathon. In April, she was a key member of the Forerunners Club women's masters team at the 107th Boston Marathon.
"It's been a good year for me," said Donaldson, "but I'd gladly give up that $100 prize or even a marathon win for a sub-3-hour marathon."
In 2001 at Jacksonville, she set a personal record in 3:01:19. She improved that by a second in the 2003 Hops Marathon.
"I've got to find someone to run with at the Disney Marathon (Jan. 11) who can pace me through to a sub-3 effort ... and I know who that is," Donaldson said. "I've talked with Mary Ann Protz, Sunday's half-marathon winner, and she's the one."
Donaldson hedged after realizing Protz ran a 2:56 marathon in Chicago this fall. But Donaldson said that if she trains with her before Disney, Protz will be able to handle the quicker pace.
"By running with Mike Ferriera for 20 miles at Hops, I was able to run well and win," Donaldson said. "At Jacksonville, I just couldn't find anyone to stay with me."
Kim Pawelek, 29, of Jacksonville, a nationally-ranked runner, took the women's title and $2,500 at Jacksonville in 2:43:08. Gainesville's Alexander Belavin, 30, won (2:22:19) the men's division, about 8 minutes ahead of Oldsmar's Tony Teats. Teats finished seventh among 784 runners in 2:30:05 after completing 13.1 miles in 1:11:12.
Linda Mason of Clearwater won the 50-54 age group over 15 women in 3:42:49. RACE RECAP: Two Pinellas masters division runners took top honors in the highly-competitive Hidden River Classic 10K in Tampa two weeks ago.
Keith Sawayda of Clearwater won the men's title in 33:07, and Christy Phillips took the women's crown in 37:50. She also placed second in the 5K in 18:12, just 3 seconds behind USF's Kristy Fuller.
At last weekend's Lakefront Classic 5K in East Lake, River Ridge High runners dominated the winner's circle.
Recent graduate Danny Ayres won in 16:49. He was followed by Brett Litak, a junior at the Pasco County school. Dunedin's Victor Yeager held on for third. River Ridge grad Jacki Waller reeled in Danielle Coyle, a junior there, at the half-mile point and went on to win in 19:10. Later, St. Petersburg's Amy McClenathan came on strong to capture second. "My 5K times are finally beginning to get down there," said Waller, who clocked in at 19:35 in the Turkey Trot Wingding on Thanksgiving Day after a summer and fall of marathon training.
"You won't see me running under the name Waller anymore," she said. "I'm getting married on Saturday."
TRAVELING TEAM: Pamela and Chuck McCann of Treasure Island flew to Negril, Jamaica, for the Dec. 6 Reggae Half Marathon.
She finished second (1:53:02) in the 35-39 division, and he managed to break two hours (1:57:54) despite a hamstring injury.
PROTECTION: One way to deal with persistent cold rain, which about 500 runners in Sunday's Halfathon had to deal with, is to carry an umbrella.
However, since that option has too many downsides, Millie Hamilton of Redington Beach came up with a better idea. She wore a shower cap and ran to a second-place award in the 55-59 division.
MORE MARATHONS: Halfathon race director Chris Lauber promptly put away the records of the second running of the Pinellas event and started focusing again on the Feb. 22 Florida Gulf Beaches Marathon in Clearwater.
Lisa Valentine, the 2003 women's winner, said she's leaning toward defending her title there rather than travel to Las Vegas in late January for the Olympic Trials marathon qualifier.
Clearwater's Judy Maguire owns the women's Gulf Beaches course record, 2:52:38, set in 2000.
THIS WEEKEND: Saturday's Say No To Drugs Holiday Classic, a 10K/5K event at 8 a.m., will have 700-plus runners on the Coachman Park starting line in Clearwater.
There's $1,000 in prize money and a post-race pancake breakfast for all at Harborview Center. Awards go three-deep in both races in standard five-year age divisions.
Runners will be able to race over the Clearwater Memorial Causeway Bridge for the last time. It's being replaced.
To register online, go to www.saynotodrugs.com For information, call Chris Alexander, 727 434-3409.
DOWN THE ROAD: A new Tampa Bay area race has strong support from the St. Petersburg running community.
It's the Feb. 8 St. Pete Beach Classic. There will be a competitive 10K followed by a 5K run/fitness walk and separate children's races. The previous day, a health and fitness expo is scheduled for 10 a.m.-8 p.m. The event has won the approval of the St. Pete City Commission as a way to promote the city. Veteran race official Steve Meckfessel, St. Anthony's Triathlon and the Race For The Cure, will serve as the director.
Event officials hope the inaugural race will attract 2,000-3,000 participants and grow from there. Manager Wendy Johnson said the plan is to make the classic a centerpiece on runners' calendars, similar to Clearwater's Times Turkey Trot and Tampa's Gasparilla Distance Classic.
MORE JACKSONVILLE FINISHERS: Hamil Marzban, Indian Rocks Beach, 3:33:14; John Voorhis, St. Petersburg, 3:48:17; David Boyd, Largo, 4:19:45; James Schoeneberg, St. Petersburg, 3:55:41; Mike Barber, Clearwater, 4:19:51; Nancy Page, Clearwater, 4:09:05; Dawn Clark, St. Petersburg, 4:14:52; Brigitte Borsh-Zimmer, Palm Harbor, 4:26:07; Laura Sherman, Palm Harbor, 4:32:33; Carolyn Kiper, St. Petersburg, 3:58:35; Jocelyn Zimmet, Palm Harbor, 4:00:25.
