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The Knoxville Track Club was extremely
pleased to team up with BlueCross in presenting the Dogwood Classic 5K
on April 27th. |
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Before the sun rose, Jerry Schohl was hard
at work entering data into the registration database. |
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Cheerful Liza Graves and Kristy Altman were
on hand to lend assistance. |
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Veteran finish line director Ron Fuller was
in charge of a stalwart crew of volunteers. |
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Ron's team was as good as they come. |
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As the first rays of spring sunshine broke
through, runners were already warming up on the gravel median that
snakes along Cherokee Boulevard. |
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Soon over five hundred participants were
gathered in the eastbound lane of the boulevard awaiting the starter's
instructions. |
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Hands covered hearts as the National Anthem
resounded through the morning air. |
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Then the gun sounded and everyone burst
into action. |
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Tremendous speed was evident as the
frontrunners exploded out ahead. |
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As always at Dogwood, there was outstanding
participation in the team competition. |
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EBS, Health Shoppe and Runners Market all
brought talented teams. |
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The huge throng continued to steam past for
quite some time. |
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The runners were there to test themselves
against the hills and flats of the boulevard on a perfect spring
morning. |
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Out on the course, two Olympic Marathon
Trials qualifiers covered a lot of ground fast, as Bill Kabasenche's
progress was captured on digital camera by Alan Horton on the bicycle. |
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A few minutes later, Kabasenche bulleted
across the finish line to win the race for the fifth time. |
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Nate Jansen followed Bill about fifteen
seconds later to claim second place. |
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Tim Kelly fought hard to finish third. |
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Amber Moran of North Carolina raced across
the line to outpace all the females in this year's race. |
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Tere Stouffer battled to a second place
overall finish. |
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Kathy Wolski took third. |
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Eric Vandervort was the first place masters
runner. |
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Jeff Colfer took grandmasters honors. |
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The ageless Bob Barber was the fastest
veterans division road racer. |
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Marsha Morton took the masters crown for
the females. |
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Sally Evenden ran the best time among
grandmasters women. |
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Team captain Bobby Holcombe led the Runners
Market team to the team title. |
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Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon race
director Jason Altman led Health Shoppe to an upset of EBS, as the Red
and Black finished second in the team race. |
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Proud papa Matt Lawhern was the top
finisher for Runners Market Red, who finished third. |
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Ed Wright ran a strong race, passing Elijah
Shekinah at the very end, finishing sixth overall and first finisher for
the EBS team, who claimed fourth. |
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Sarah Kenehan ran 19:14, fourth female, to
anchor the winning Runners Market Ladies team. |
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Malinda Honkus ran well for the third place
EBS women's team. |
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As usual, Tracy Rafferty lent her
assistance and support in a big way. |
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The long and winding road finally led to
the finish chute for all the competitors. |
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Back along the lakeside, a big tent full of
food and drinks awaited all participants. |
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Everyone relaxed and took advantage of the
opportunity for fellowship and a few photos. |
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As always, KTC owes a big thanks to the
First Responders from the Knoxville Fire Department. |
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A surviving azalea bloom salutes the
survivors of the annual Dogwood Classic, one of the flagship races on
the Knoxville Track Club's annual race calendar. |