Last Saturday, Dec. 27, over 140 runners gathered in Nicholson to run in the inaugural Year End Chase 5K and one mile Fun Run. The East Jackson Runners’ Club hosted the charity race at the Nicholson City Park.
All proceeds from the race go to support health and fitness in Jackson County.
Serving as one of the kickoff races for the 2009 Run and See Georgia Grand Prix Series, Saturday’s race welcomed runners from around the area, including a number of local high school student runners, former students runners and out of state participants.
Overall winner finishing in 16:30.20 was Jackson County High School cross country coach Joseph Brubaker.
Coming in second was John Van Steenbergh of Flowery Branch, who also took the Masters Male title.
Third place overall was East Jackson High School cross country runner Kevin Kesler followed by Jeff Lukich of Washington, Ga. Gareth Stride of Duluth rounded out the top five finishers.
Former JCCHS athlete Jeremiah Boozer finished in sixth place overall, followed by EJCHS runner Terry Miller. Jackson County High School runner Brittany Aikens finished eighth overall and was the overall fastest female. Chris
Ruth of Morgantown, W.V. finished ninth followed by Mitch Sosrow of Anderson, S.C. rounding out the top 10.
Taking the title of Masters Female was Rosie Laughlin of Springfield, Mo., who was just shy of the top 10 in the 11 place overall finish.
Several current and former student athletes were involved in the race. A complete list of finishers can be found at http://results.active.com.
One of the leading supporters of the club and the race is Arcade police chief Randy Williams. Club race coordinator Sue Kozlosky said that Williams was a leading factor in pushing the club past the Year End Chase and into a bigger community project. The proceeds from the 5K went to the East Jackson High School cross county program. Future race proceeds will be donated to other community health and fitness programs that benefit Jackson County.
The Dec. 27 race was the first event of the East Jackson Runners’ Club, which is planning another event on Saturday, Jan. 10, at the Jackson County Courthouse. Those interested in participating can contact race club coordinator Sue Kozlosky by phone at 706-757-5263 or email at bluesheepinc@windstream.net.
The club is open to all members of the community and meet on the second and fourth Saturday of each month. Those interested in joining or volunteering can contact Kozlosky.
