Batesville 10K Recap
May 15, 2004
26th Annual Batesville Day 10K
This year, 71 runners entered this scenic and challenging (hilly) race. Before Hamp Carruth started the race, he gave the following advice: “the race is all right turns, if you turned left, you turned wrong.” Then with an “on your mark, get set, go!” the race was underway. The weather conditions were fair but not likely to generate course records: sunny, 70’s, no wind, but humid. Three speedsters: David Miller, Lewis Martin IV, and Burkhard Spiekermann took an early lead and finished in that order. The first three women were: Elizabeth Cottone, Andrea Wright, and Leisa Gonnella. Afterwards, Miller noted that going up the hills was exhausting, but he made up for it by “hammering the downhills”. Before the race, there was discussion of past experiences with dogs along the course. I had run the course for practice the weekend before the race and was accompanied by a handsome lab for four miles to the end. I gave him a ride back to his home where his owner said “no, no, finders keepers!” Burkhard mentioned that one year he was tripped by a dog along the race and ended up on the ground. I don’t believe there were any dog incidents this day, and I want to thank the Batesville residents for hosting a great race. The race shirt, designed by Susan Payne, is quite nice: black, with a likeness of Pages store, and the name of the race and year. There were refreshing post race edibles (most of which were donated) including sports drinks, bagels, and watermelon. According to the Batesville Ruritan Club, the proceeds from the 10K race and other Batesville Day events are returned to the community, schools, fire departments, rescue squads, local organizations, and the less fortunate members of the community.
-- Rick Kwiatkowski
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