Ashland Anytime Fitness 5K and Half Mile Kid's Dash 2014

This was the 5th year of the Anytime Fitness 5K. Originally, the race was created for the purpose of promoting Anytime Fitness in Ashland and helping myself (Michael Sotos), gain experience as a race director. This was the 3rd year that the race was a benefit for the Friends of the Animal Shelter (FOTAS), which was been a natural fit since the race begins and ends at the Ashland Dog Park. And finally, it was the 2nd year for the addition of the half mile kid's dash. I was excited to build upon the momentum of last year's record race attendance, but unfortunately, the numbers were down. With so many races offered throughout the Summer, it's hard to grab people's attention. Over the past year, my family has adopted four animals from the shelter, 2 cats and 2 dogs. I was really hoping to raise a lot of money for FOTAS. However, despite the numbers being down, we had fantastic weather and a great race. In the race start picture above, Alan Vos jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back. He ran 18:02, taking the overall win and running the 5th fastest time ever on the course. It appeared that our women's champion, Livvy Ramos, was not going to be able to attend and defend her title, but she made it. She successfully defended her title with a 22:32, claiming 8th place on the top ten female times, where she also sits in 7th place with last year's winning time. Our first 19 and under runner was 14 year old Robby Vos, with a time of 19:37, giving him the 9th fastest time ever ran. Full results for the race can be found here. Pictures can be found here.

Alan Vos flirting with a sub 18 minute 5k!

Livvy Ramos always makes racing look easy!

Robby Vos flying up the hill for a sub 20 minute 5k finish!

David Hollensbe eyeing the finish line!

Lars Rockwell gives the thumbs up for this year's race!

Kaitlin and Scott Friend feeling strong on the uphill finish!

What a great way to start the weekend!

Determined to conquer the final hill and reach the finish!

More happy finishers!

I was really hoping to grow the half mile kid's dash this year, but just like the 5k, the numbers were down a bit. Last year, Gabriel Luksich claimed 3rd place overall and was the 6 and under champion. He returned this year with a vengeance, and not only did he win the whole thing, he set a new record with a time of 3:27, beating the previous record by 12 seconds. He was followed closely by his brother, Evan. Marley Thiering claimed the top spot for the 6 and under category with a time of 4:10, a 4 second improvement over last year's time. Kiera Thiering, Marley's sister was the girl's 6 and under champion with a time of 7:29. The most important thing was that the kids have fun, and judging by all the smiles, I believe that mission was accomplished.

They are off! David Hollensbe makes an appearance as a pacer!

Gabriel Luksich wants the win and the record!

Evan Luksich trying to catch his brother!

Marley Thiering showing good form up the final hill!

Hayden Niewald finishing the race strong!

Rune Rune with an all out effort up the hill!

Rocco White is a two time Kid's Dash finisher!

4 year old Kiera Theiring finishes the race with some encouragement from her Mom!

There are so many thank yous I need to give. Sherri Strandlien, the owner of Ashland Anytime Fitness has been a great sponsor for the race, and a crucial race day helper. I appreciate her support. Rogue Valley Race Group's very own, Chad Wikander, was in charge of the timing equipment and did a fantastic job. Fitness trainer, Blaine Hight patrolled the 5K turnaround and made sure that nobody got lost. Shahid Ali always takes great pictures that truly capture the event and I thank him for that. Another big thanks goes out to all the businesses that were willing to donate to our race raffle. We are a fun, small town race trying to raise money for a good cause in FOTAS, and we try to round up a lot of great prizes so everyone leaves with something. That has always been our goal. If you couldn't make it to the race, I hope you will consider coming out next year. If you would like to make a donation to FOTAS, I encourage you to do so here. You can look below for a few more pictures of this year's champions, the list of top ten times on the course, and a list of all the businesses who contributed to our race. Those businesses support FOTAS and our racing, let's go out and support them! Thanks to everyone who was a part of this race!

Alan Vos, Men's Champion 2014

2 Time Champion, Livvy Ramos

Kid's Dash Champion, Gabriel Luksich

6 and under Kid's Dash champions, Marley and Kiera Theiring

Ashland Anytime Fitness 5K Women's Top Ten Times:

1) Molly Reimer-2010  20:58

2) Suzanne Ray-2010  21:03

3) Elena Meyer-2010  21:43

4) Suzanne Ray-2011  21:45

5) Melanie Neilitz-2010  22:09

6) Melanie Neilitz-2011  22:15

7) Olivia Ramos-2013  22:19

8) Olivia Ramos-2014 22:32

9) Katharina Deutzmann-2013  22:54

10) April Solomon-2010  23:27

Ashland Anytime Fitness 5K Men's Top Ten Times:

1) Trevor Palmer-2013  15:44

2) Jeff Olson-2010         16:03

3) Zorg Loustalet-2010  16:44

4) Aaron Luksich-2012  17:58

5) Alan Vos-2014          18:02

6) Aaron Luksich-2013  18:09

7) Joshua Wallace-2012 19:04

8) David Moore-2013  19:31

9) Robby Vos-2014    19:37

10) Herve Pastre-2013  19:45

We always encourage fun and other shenanigans!

Race Contributions

Wileys World

El Paraiso

Subway (Martin Corder)

Ruby’s

Pita Pit

Bloomsbury Coffee House

Heartsong Nutrition

Anytime Fitness

Cycle Sport

SOU Athletics

Brian Johnson Massage

Mountain Supply

RVR 

 Bear Creek Bicycle

 Branson’s Chocolate

 Small Change

 TreeHouse Books

   Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

   Northwest Nature Shop

 Ashlands Little Makerspace

   Lost Creek Trail Runs

   Molly Romero Acupuncture