The USATF Masters 5 Km Championships will be hosted this Saturday, February 24th by the Publix Atlanta Marathon Weekend. The Women’s race starts at 7:30 AM followed by the Men’s at 7:40. The forecast is for a sunny, but crisp morning. The Masters Athletes will be christening a new course that begins and ends beside the Home Depot Backyard near Mercedes-Benz Stadium. As always, Atlanta has hills in store. The competition results in fast times nonetheless! Top competitors for Overall honors on the Women’s side include Stephanie Pezzullo, who was in the 3000M Steeplechase finals at the USATF Outdoor Championships in 2011. She comes in with the fastest 2023 times, a 17:48 5K and a 34:06 10K. But she will have to get past defending champion, Jennifer Pesce, who took top honors here last year with a 17:49. April Lund competed for Team USATF at the 2023 World Masters Athletics Cross Country Championships and is coming off a Masters Overall podium finish at the USATF Cross Country Championships last month. Jill Braley, who has finished 2nd overall the last two years will hope that third time is the charm for getting the win. An Atlanta Track Club stalwart, she knows the roads of Atlanta! Dawn Grunnnagle, who won the 40-44 gold medal in the 2019 WMA Championships with a 34:24, and has recent sub-38:00 10K’s, will also contend. The athletes who finished 2-3 in the Men’s Race here last year, Luke Mortensen and Aaron Rowe, in 16:01 and 16:10 respectively, are the favorites. Jay Stephenson ran a very speedy 15:11 at the Macon Labor Day race last September. That course is known for speed, while the Atlanta course is out and back with hills. Stephenson’s best 2023 5K time otherwise is a 16:10. He will give the other two something to think about! David Angell, who is coming off a 5th place overall Masters finish at the USATF Cross Country Championships, was the 2019 Overall Champion at the Masters 5 Km in 15:51. An intriguing entry is Fred Joslyn who was on the 2016 Team USA squad that captured the win at the World 50 Km Championships in Qatar. In 2022, Joslyn won the Capital 10 Miler in Harrisburg PA in 54:43. It will be fascinating to see what Joslyn brings as a new Masters competitor on Saturday.
50-54 Mark Andrews is favored to defend his title. 55-59 Dean Thompson, who finished 2nd last year should move up. 60-64 Lester Dragstedt was the mainstay of Atlanta’s 60-64 team in 2023. This should be his year to win the individual championship as well. 65-69 John Glidewell was the big surprise last year, pulling away from a strong field to tie the posted American 5 Km Record of 17:31. Roger Sayre and Ken Youngers, who finished 2nd and 3rd last year, are back to challenge. 70-74 Robert Qualls, who won every 70-74 championship in 2023 that he entered, will get a challenge. Qualls won 70-74 last year with a 20:09. Richard Larsen won in 2022 with a 19:37. It should be a terrific duel! 75-79 Gene Dykes broke the 75-79 American Marathon Record in Chicago last fall with a 3:17:01. Despite running 60+ Miles of an Ultra Marathon in the pouring rain last weekend, Dykes is favored for the win.
45-49 Braley and Grunnagle not only lock horns in the overall competition but take on defending champion, Sara Girotto, in the 45-49 division. 50-54 Abby Dean defends her crown, won in 19:22 after coming back from surgery. 55-59 Fiona Bayly won last year in 18:40. With a 38:33 10K on January 6th in New York and a 1:25:20 Half Marathon at Houston on the 20th, Bayly is ready to defend. 60-64 Mary Cass has the top returning time from her 2nd place finish last year. But Suzanne La Burt defeated Cass at two Cross Country races in the fall, with just a 4-second margin in one. 65-69 Stella Gibbs ran 21:06 here in 2022, a half minute faster than Patrice Combs. A year later, Combs won the championship in 22:02. Two other runners, Lesley Hinz and Kitty Musante, are out of rehab, and could also push Gibbs for the win! 70-74 Kari Chandler, out of Michigan, a newcomer to Masters Championships, appears fastest in the 70-74 division. 75-79 Barbar Sauer moved up from 70-74 and should win. 85-89 Joyce Hodges-Hite, the winner of the 2023 Masters National Grand Prix for the 85-89 division, continues to roll along. She should claim the division win this Saturday.
The Atlanta Track Club has teams in every division, eager to defend the home roads! The Athens Road Runners will try to outdo them for Georgia bragging rights. Teams from California to the Great Lakes to New England will push them for the team win. Submitted by Paul Carlin