FORT LAUDERDALE DOUBLE:
KINSEY, YAREMCZUK AND MULLIN RUN TO VICTORY

By David Prokop

The Double Road Race(TM) came to Florida and the deep South for the first time, Sun., May 18, and more than 400 runners turned out, making it one of the biggest Doubles  held thus far!

Jonathan Kinsey, Natasha Yaremczuk and Peter Mullin emerged as the big winners at the Fort Lauderdale Double, run on a beautiful oceanfront course made infinitely more challenging than anyone would have preferred by a driving headwind that slowed runners over the first half of the opening 10K leg.

Handling the wind best, as the winners always seem to because they're the strongest, Jonathan Kinsey, 29, from Myrtle Beach, S.C., won the men's race convincingly with an aggregate time of 51:45. He established a 1-minute, 24-second lead over Garry Cuneo, 28, of Groveland, Mass., in the opening 10K leg, then ran the concluding 5K leg in 17:13, compared to Cuneo's 18:29, to win on aggregate time by almost three minutes. Cuneo's aggregate time was 54:28.

Chris Oesch, also of Groveland, Mass., did himself proud as he finished third in the men's race, posting an aggregate time of 55:40 - at age 46!  

Natasha Yaremczuk, 34, of Paris, Ont., Canada - yes, they have a Paris in Canada! - was the women's winner at Fort Lauderdale with an aggregate time of 57:02. She built a lead of 24 seconds over Alice Henley, 25, of Fort Lauderdale in the opening 10K leg, then added to that margin by a further 37 seconds in the concluding 5K leg, running the 5K in 19:08 compared to Henley's 19:45. Henley would finish second on combined time - 58:05.

Masters runner Maite Moscoso, 42, of Longwood, Fla., was almost three minutes behind the eventual winner Yaremczuk at the end of the opening leg, which put her in third place at that point. She maintained that position in the concluding 5K leg, running 20:48 to finish third in the women's race on combined time - 1:01:59.

Peter Mullin, who was the Ujena Fit Club Male Runner of the Year in 2012, made his second appearance in the Double Road Race(TM) another memorable one as he won the prestigious Double Victory Cup for the best age-graded performance. The 63-year-old oil exploration engineer from Houston, Tex., posted an aggregate time of 57:25 for an age-graded score of 91.35. This performance also placed him first in the 60-64 age group. He holds the men's world record for the 60-69 age group in the Double, 55:55, which he posted at the second annual Pleasanton Double Road Race(TM) in Pleasanton, Calif., last Dec. 22, his first Double. However, there was no wind worth mentioning that day.

The 400 plus participants in the Fort Lauderdale Double really seemed to enjoy this unique, innovative event as runners typically do! The wind was an unfortunate, unforeseen obstacle, but, of course, runners are very familiar with obstacles and the importance of perseverance.

The next Double Road Race(TM) on the 2014 schedule is the second annual Indianapolis Double in Indianapolis, Ind., Sun., June 1.