Alexander Bermudez won with a time of 16:35 while Angela Tecco won the female division with a time of 17:56.
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I have treated various running injuries for years now. I take a practical and thorough approach to determining the cause of the overuse injury, apply the appropriate treatment and adjust the person?s training routine accordingly. I have had success with this approach and r
2 cents
Another 26.2 with Donna marathon is in the books, and organizers once again have plenty to be excited about it.
Officials reported about a 30 percent increase in the total registered participants for all of the events from this weekend?s National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer ? to more than 8,000 registrants.
Southside resident Matthew Mann ran 26.2 miles for his mother? and his father, two grandparents and an aunt.
Mann?s mother and grandmother are cancer survivors; his mother had cervical cancer, and his grandmother had lung cancer.
But his father, grandfather and aunt died because of their cancers, all within one year of one another. His aunt also had cervical cancer.
Julie Schafer and Josh Myers, her boyfriend, ran the half-marathon and the marathon respectively in support of women in their families who have had to deal with breast cancer.
Myers, who works at Jacksonville Running Company, said he lost his grandmother after the cancer had spread from her breast to her brain.
Schafer said she also lost a grandmother and has two co-workers fighting the disease right now.
Even though it is technically still winter here in Florida, runners still came to run in the heat. I guess compared to Ohio, runner Michael Fowler's home state, Florida winters are still somewhat tropical. Fowler is a 28 year old UNF Alumni that decided to revisit Jacksonville's Donna Marathon as the half way point in his training for the Boston Marathon.
An Orange Park woman learned Aug. 27 that she had breast cancer.
This same woman said Jan. 21 that she wants to train for 2011's marathon.
Janet Gullett said she knows the training would be difficult, but the runners as well as the fans have inspired her.
"I know I have hope," the 49-year-old said. "I know I'm going to be a survivor."
Janet said she and her family came to see what the event was like.
One man braved the half-marathon -- after getting talked into coming with a friend Monday from Panama City, Fla.
Xavier Coley said he agreed last week because the event was for a good cause.
"There aren't too many events like this where I'm from," the 25-year-old said.
This would not be the first time he has had to run at the last minute.
Most friends would offer help with the housework and errands or a shoulder to cry on when there's a crisis.
Suzanne Masoner ran 13.1 miles.
The 41-year-old participated in the half-marathon to show her support for her friend, Sandra Munsey.
Munsey has breast cancer and just started chemotherapy treatments.
Masoner said she also has an aunt whose breast cancer has been in remission for 12 years.
John Womack may not know anyone who has suffered breast cancer, but the committed runner still wanted to run the half-marathon to show his support in the fight against breast cancer.
The Intracoastal resident has run other marathons, such as the Marine Corps Marathon, but he said the support at the event was amazing.
"To be out here and to be a part of this was just awesome," the 38-year-old said. "You're rinning out there for others."
The Donna Marathon is attracting pro talent this year. Cesar Lizano, a professional marathon runner, took first place in the men's half marathon today with a time right around 1:08. Lizano is 27 and hails from San Jose, Costa Rica. He traveled to Jacksonville to compete and stay in shape. Lizano's competition was slim though. When he crossed the finish line there were no other runners in sight.
Genentech, Inc., employees don't stop when their shift ends. Kelly Frankenreider, 31, works for the company, a corporate sponsor, but she was willing to come in Saturday morning from Tyler, Texas to participate in the relay race with Team C from Team Genentech.
She said she usually runs two miles more than the five miles she ran today, but she described the event as a fun way to support a worthy cause.
Though most of the women from Team Intensity do not have stories about surviving breast cancer or relatives who had to deal with this disease, they all agree that they're running 26.2 with Donna for the challenge.
Alana Winter, another teammate for their relay participation, said the group used personal fundraising to donate to the cause.
see pics from Step Up 5km at www.jacksonville.com/photos/sports
At 7 a.m., when Monster Truck "Out of Control" strolled (can a Viper-engined, 12-foot Dodge pickup truck stroll?) into downtown Green Cove Springs, the wind and cloudy morning was not looking like a fun day for what was to be a gathering of nearly 2500 kids and their friends and parents for the fourth annual Step Up 5km!
After 44 years of thinking people that ran without being chased were a little bit on the crazy side, I stepped out of the door 8 months ago and took that first step and haven't quit yet. After all, I have bad knees, a bad back and I am old. How could I possibly start running at my age? I always had some excuse to not go for a run. And yes when I first started I did feel some pain and agony after even a short run. Those pains started going away after I started getting used to doing something new.
Over the years, Atlantic Beach resident and professional surfer Karina Petroni has been asked to speak at schools on a number of occasions. Her healthy lifestyle, positive attitute, and successful career certainly make her an excellent candidate. But it wasn't until another area youngster contacted Karina that she was finally ready to share her message.
After complaining about my first sunburn of the summer last weekend, my friend and coworker Amanda Winkle (AKA A2 since I was in the department first) reminded me that we just recently entered the spring season. I simply forgot the rest of the country has four seasons, while we experience summer and "OMG it's freakin' cold outside!"
