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GASPARILLA DISTANCE CLASSIC

Conditions Perfect For Saturday's 15k, 5k

By BILL WARD The Tampa Tribune

Published: Feb 19, 2007

TAMPA - Dror Vaknin should know. He's done 19 of these things and says Saturday's conditions for the Gasparilla Distance Classic 15-kilometer and 5k races were "the best ever - hands down."

"It was so perfect," said Vaknin, a former University of South Florida star who now coaches hundreds of runners in his Progressive Training team. "The years the elite guys were running 42 minutes out here, if they had today's conditions, they would have set a world record - easily."

Of course, in those days, there was a prize purse in excess of $50,000 and a travel budget, which lured some of the world's best distance runners. Since 1999, the race has featured no elite purse because race officials wanted to focus more of their efforts on the money raised for local charities, as well as perks for the Tampa Bay area's best runners. Among those are prize money for the top local finishers, including $2,000 for first place.

Between that money and the great weather (low 40s and light winds), the 15k was fast and deep. Overall male winner Todd Snyder covered the course in a lifetime best 45:58, the race's fastest time since elite money was dropped. Problem was, Snyder was from Michigan and not eligible for the local purse. He knew that before he stepped up to the starting line and was here just to test his engine as he prepares for the 2008 U.S. men's Olympic marathon trials.

Oh, and Snyder also wanted to get his family, which includes a newborn son, out of the snow for a few days.

"I really wasn't planning to come down here but I asked my coach if I could take a vacation to Florida," said Snyder, who trains with the Hansons Distance Project. "The next day, he said, 'Hey, we'll pay for your flight if you go run a race.' It's beautiful here. I left [Detroit] Wednesday morning in subzero weather and they were having to clear the roads [of snow] and everyone was driving 30 miles per hour on the highway."

With Snyder unable to win the money as an out-of-towner and runner-up Austin Richmond (46:52) of Webber International ineligible because he's still competing in college, the $2,000 first-place check went to third-pace Tyrone Bell (47:01) of Lakeland, who is an assistant coach at his alma mater, Florida Southern College. He says he's trying to save up money to buy a new car.

Taking the women's top prize was Keswick Christian and University of South Florida product Christa Benton, who was the first overall female in 54:27. Benton was a five-time state champion at Keswick and earned all-America honors while a distance runner at USF. Today, she's an elementary school teacher in Clearwater.

Like the 15k, the 5k benefited from the good weather conditions and a stronger-than-usual field. Amy Paine, a voluntary assistant coach at Florida State under Tampa native Bob Braman, ran a personal best of 17:30 to beat two-time winner Brigithe Moreno of Plant High by 50 seconds. Men's winner Scott Mackley (14:57), a sophomore at FSC, also turned in a personal best.

"Everybody's talking about how running around here is getting slower and slower," Mackley said. "I was reading on the [flrunners.com] forum yesterday that some kid said, '15:30 will win Gasparilla's 5k, no doubt.' I said, 'We'll see about that. We'll see.'"

Reporter Bill Ward can be reached at (813) 259-7456 or wward@tampatrib.com.