Fog, drizzling rain and temperatures in the 50’s did not dampen the spirits of 66 runners and walkers as they started the 2003 Red Pepper 5K Run at St. George Island on Saturday, March 1, and David Yon held off Mike Sims to win the overall race in a time of 18:59. Sims finished second overall in 19:04, followed by the Island’s favorite son Hobson Fulmer who finished third overall in 20:01.
Jessica Stewart, 23, of St. George Island, was the overall female winner in a time of 23:20, followed by Lisa Echeverri and Kristen Snyder, both of Tallahassee, in times of 24:05 and 25:17, respectively.
Other top ten finishers were Dan Fortunas, Dwayne Maddron, Jim Kinman (Macon, GA), Ace Haddock (Carrabelle), Will Jones (Atlanta, GA), Frank Flynn and Roger Pouyador (New Orleans, LA).
Equally impressive were the finishing times of certain senior runners, including Apalachicola’s Joe Whitesell, age 66, with a time of 29:16, Palm Bay’s Lenny Romanik, age 77, with a time of 33:02, and St. George Island’s Mary Noel, age 69, with a time of 39:39.