Tucked in on the north side of Highway 60, just a wee bit south of Plant City, is a tidy rectangle of trees, trails, hills and lakes called Sydney-Dover Trail Park. Rarely noticed by the tens of thousands of drivers hurrying to and from Tampa (or to the stores that have besieged it), this runners Eden has been adopted by the University of Tampa cross country team for their annual early season event. It has subsequently been claimed by UT's Jessica Forrester as her own little corner of the universe.
"I trained here all summer," said the Wharton High School graduate, after her stunning half-minute victory. "I like it."
So much so that she reeled off three sub-six minute miles (5:52, 5:47 and 5:40) en route to an 18:01 personal best. That comes as no easy feat, considering the tight start, sharp turns and shifting terrain.
"I'm used to it. I just kind of went with it. I didnt have a game plan," explained the junior chemistry major.
Behind Forrester, small platoons of women Trojans ganged up on the field of 84. They took first through third, then fifth and sixth, ninth through 11th, 14th and 15th, and 25th through 27th place.
"We have so much depth. We have two freshmen who are phenomenal (Jessica Butler and Katie O'Brien). In practice we work off each other, which was apparent by the groupings in the results."
What would have been Tampa's shutout--1, 2, 3, 5, 6 & 7th places for 17 points--was sidetracked by Florida Southerns Carolyne Kwamisgai, who slipped in at fourth. Carolyne is originally from Eldoret, Kenya.
"I just wanted to go with them, to see how the pace was going and stay with them. But they spread out," explained the future nurse. " This past week we did a lot of (difficult) workouts and I think I was tired. Still, I ran pretty good. I just needed to maintain the pace better."
Alysha Duffy, a junior majoring in international banking, exchanged places with Kwamisagai before finishing second for Tampa.
"I felt good being next to her (for most of the race). A little after the last hill, I finally lost her. When I was in sight of the finish line, I looked back and didnt see her; then I kicked it in (18:29)."
Ten seconds further back, freshman teammate Jessica Butler (recent St. Thomas Aquinas graduate) managed to slip by Kwamisgai to take third overall by a step (18:39).
Unlike the womens 5K, the outcome of the Mens' 4 miler was about as close as you can get, with Nova Southeastern University edging Florida Southern by the scantest of margins, 56-57. Any discussion as to who was most responsible could result in quite a debate. NSU's Jeff Palmer held off three FSC runners in hot pursuit, finishing eight seconds ahead and taking second overall. Then there was Eskender Abdalla, who outlegged the Moc's last scorer by 35 seconds. And finally, NSU's sixth runner, Jonathan Thiele, whose spot two places ahead of Southern's fifth scorer further figured in the final results.
No doubt, when in the thick of it--the metaphor of a swamp and a lot of alligators comes to mind--Palmer's full attention was no doubt on Lee Stephens.
"It wasn't a simple race," laughed Stephens. "I tried to run conservatively, but the pace went out too slow; way, way too slow. When we popped out a half mile into the course, I took the lead. From then on (Jeff Palmer) and I kept exchanging the lead. We were both trying to get away from the big pack (half the Florida Southern team) behind us."
"I actually got caught by the chase pack. When I finally got away from them, I caught (Palmer)."
Stephens--a Florida Southern alum, who has PRs of 15:38 (5K), 26:05 (8K) and 32:59 (10K)--is the Assistant Manager of The Running Center in Tampa, and tries to run a race each week. On August 17th the 28 year old scored a big win over 1500 runners in Orlando's Track Shack Celebration of Running 5K (15:52). Last week it was the Red Mule 5K.
"(At Red Mule) I tried to lead from the middle, but I got caught at the end by three guys." All three were within nine seconds, and Stephens had the same time as the last, 15:47.
Thus his change in strategy. It was the only fly in Nova's ointment.
Considering that Palmer is just a sophomore--he started running while in his senior year at Ridgeview High School in Orange Park two years ago--it wont be long before runners like Stephens will find it increasingly more difficult to put him behind them. He already has a 15:30 5K PR, and is building experience, race by race.
"I just wanted to stick with the top five and make a move with the finish in sight," he said.
Ironically, with splits of 5:09, 10:19 and 15:40, he led the top five. In the end, it was a mistake by the more experienced Stephens that almost handed the win to Palmer.
"He passed me with 500 or 600 to go," explained Palmer.
"I thought we were finishing, but we weren't," added Stephens. "I had to pass him again at 400". In the end, though, your races will be determined by how you face adversity, not its absence.
Footnotes: Congratulations to a certain freshman runner, who, in her first college race, was the first finisher on her team.