Battle to the end at the 41st annual Springtime 10K

Schmidt versus Kaiser. It sounds like a pairing in the German national championships. Instead, it was the match-up on the streets of Tallahassee, Florida as Roger Schmidt and Nate Kaiser battled down to the wire for first place in the 41st annual Springtime 10K. In the end, Schmidt pulled ahead to get the win, 34:06 to 34:16. On the women's side, Adriana Piekarewicz got the win, placing fifteenth overall in 39:09.

The race started at 8:15 AM on Saturday morning, 2 April 2016, on Monroe Street in front of the Leon County Courthouse. Matt Mizereck of Capital City Runners charged to the front. A three-time state cross-country champion when he ran for Leon High School, Mizereck was seven seconds ahead of the rest of the field early in the second mile where the race turned east onto Lafayette Street. Mizereck's closest pursuers at that point were Roger Schmidt, Nate Kaiser, and three-time Springtime 10K champion Chris Lake. In Myers Park, Lake fell back, leaving the chase to Kaiser and Schmidt. Sometimes Kaiser led Schmidt, other times Schmidt led Kaiser, but they always trailed Mizereck. At the halfway point on Golf Terrace Drive, Mizereck's lead was longer than ever. During the second half of the race, though, the story changed.

"When Matt took it out, I thought he looked so at ease," said Schmidt. "But then later in the race I saw him look back. I told Nate, 'I think he's fading.'"

Schmidt and Kaiser started to close on Mizereck. Near the Old Fort, just before the four-mile mark, they caught him, then left him behind. The race was now between Kaiser and Schmidt.

Just past five miles, Schmidt pushed a few steps ahead of Kaiser. Half a mile later, Schmidt's lead was five seconds and growing. Schmidt was first over the finish line in 34:06; Kaiser followed in 34:16. Mizereck was third in 35:09. Charlie Johnson took fourth in 35:30, and Chris Lake was fifth in 35:59. Gary Droze, Maclay School's head track coach, was the top master runner in the race, placing ninth overall in 37:06.

Alyson Churchill, a distance runner on the Swift Creek Middle School track team, hadn't planned to run the Springtime 10K. Just three weeks earlier, she had raced her first 10K ever at the Thomasville Road Baptist Church Road Race, winning the women's title in 40:16. However, Churchill was scheduled to play in a Jacksonville soccer tournament on the day of Springtime. When the tournament was canceled due to bad weather, plans changed, and Churchill was on the starting line on Monroe Street. She was also fast off that starting line, leading the women's field early in the race. But Adriana Piekarewicz overtook Churchill as they turned onto Myers Park Drive, about a mile-and-a-half into the race. For the next two miles, Piekarewicz felt somewhat insecure about her lead.

"You never know who's behind you, and I kept hearing footsteps and thinking it was her," said Piekarewicz. "Then around four miles someone called out, 'You're the first woman. By a lot!'"

After that Piekarewicz raced confidently home to the women's title.

Meanwhile, two-time Springtime women's champ Sheryl Rosen had set her sights on Churchill.

"I just slowly gained on her," said Rosen. "I passed her right at the turn onto Lafayette."

That was less than half a mile from the finish line. Rosen made the most of that remaining distance, placing second in the women's standings and 25th overall in 40:30. Churchill was the third female finisher, 29th overall in 40:38.

Nicholas Loffer won the Springtime 5K in 18:42, finishing almost 180 yards ahead of runner-up Josh Cartwright. Cartwright's time was 19:21. Donald Kunish was the fastest master runner in the 5K, placing third overall in 19:26.

Megan Churchill outkicked Kristy Kalich 21:53 to 21:54 for the 5K women's title, the two runners placing twelfth and thirteenth overall. Paige Churchill was the third female finisher, coming in sixteenth overall in 23:00.

In spite of a spring storm that drenched the city the night before the race, 941 athletes showed up Saturday morning and finished the Springtime 10K. Another 425 finished the 5K race, and another 57 completed the kids' mile. All three races were chip-timed by Gulf Winds Track Club.

Herb Wills has been running and racing since 1971. If you have a good running story, let him know at hwills@gmail.com