The 24th edition of the Run for the Roses 5K Run/Walk took place on a very hot and humid Saturday morning.  As the weather forecast did not look so good for the Boston area on Monday, Pine Belt Pacers Steve Ulery, John Oliveri, Becky Ryder, Hollie Ryder, and Nestor Raul Anzola decided to forget about running the marathon and stayed in the local area during the weekend (maybe next year the Massachussett people will have the opportunity and pleasure of looking at us running there! ).  We lined up in downtown Prentiss among 149 other runners and walkers who braved the threat of heavy rain looming in the early hours.  The bad weather never materialized during the 5K (It rained hard once we were done!), and the participants and on-lookers enjoyed the course, which led the runners around the downtown area, finishing in front of Regions Bank.  Eighty-one people completed the 1-mile fun run course later under wet conditions.

The race was won by Rob Oates with a time of 17:23. The first female finisher was Yolanda Brown, who completed the race in 20:21.  David Smiley easily won the race walk by beating the second finisher by over four minutes.  Tina Branan was the winner in the women’s category with a time of 30:50.  While the top runners and walkers were awarded with fantastic cash prizes and huge trophies, there were over 15 random winners who received nice door prizes and gift certificates.