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The 7the Annual High Five 1 Mile and 5 Kilometer road race
was held last Sunday on a breezy, sunny and cool morning in Derby's beautiful
High Park. Nearly 300 men, women, boys, and girls ranging in age from 5 to 73 enjoyed a spectacular morning of a good 'ol fashioned foot race surrounded by music
from Ron Brown's "Another Dimension" DJ service. 11 area schools from Derby, Mulvane, Rose
Hill & Douglass were represented with Derby's Cooper elementary making
their High Five debut sporting the 3rd largest participating
club! Tanglewood elementary had the
second greatest attendance and in their 25th consecutive year of
running under the leadership of coach Don Shirley, the Derby Hills Dragons
brought home the participation trophy.
The High Five provides an opportunity for area young runners
to experience "real" road racing side by side (at least for a moment) with
participants like our male winner, Thomas O'Connell former Andover running
legend who currently represents K-State track and cross-country. They also had the privilege of sharing the
course with our new women's High Five course record-holder, retired New Balance
professional runner 28 year-old Amber McGown (Photo Below) who cut through the
wind and posted a 5:11 mile and a 17:54 5K beating Rebecca Jons' records by
0:40 and 1:25 respectively. Amber has
recently moved to Wichita and has expressed an interest in helping our kids
become better athletes.
After the race, participants
re-hydrated and re-fueled with some very "healthy" home-baked goodies provided
by the excellent bakers in the Derby Running Club.
Please take a moment to thank the running club coaches of
our communities for their efforts in providing the necessary leadership to move
the mindset of our youth towards healthy lifestyle choices.
Photos
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