One of the nice things about holiday road races is the chance to catch up with some of the great runners from the past. This year, readers of this running column know plenty about Roger, Adam, Emily, Bethany and Isabella. But the last time we heard about 2022 Jamestown High grad Caroline Bauer, the greatest high school distance runner in Peninsula history, was last Thanksgiving at the Blue Talon Bistro Turkey Trot 5K.
But after completing her freshman year at the University of Florida, Bauer showed up this past Tuesday at another holiday race, the Yorktown Independence Day 8K run and 5K fun run, which benefited the York County Historical Museum. Chip timing was by Colonial Sports, with race-day organizational coordination by Jim and Geri Elder.
York High was the parking and packet pickup location, with the adjacent Yorktown Battlefield tour roads the location for the actual races. The 8K started at the Route 17 underpass, with the finish at Surrender Field, after completing a large clockwise loop of the scenic tour roads, then returning via Surrender Road after a half-mile stretch through a wooded dirt path and grassy meadow. The 5K fun run was a simple out-and-back of the first 1.55 miles of the 8K course.
The York County Historical Museum gave awards in the 8K to the top three men and women overall, but did not give any age group awards, but everyone did receive a race T-shirt and a diecast finisher medal. Results for all 8K finishers were provided by Colonial Sports, and were broken down by age groups. The 5K fun run was unusual, as there were no bib numbers, awards or timing, just a finisher coin and a digital clock at the finish line. All in both races did get refreshments (bananas, bagels, granola bars and water) and the historic-themed race T-shirt.
Caroline Bauer, 19, of Williamsburg easily won the women’s race in 29:38 for the 4.97-mile distance (5:58 pace per mile), and was the third finisher overall. About a minute behind for the women was Sabrina Little, 36, of Newport News in 30:32 (fourth overall), then a large gap to the next five women, all within 1 minute, 20 seconds—Deelyn Robinson, 57, of Williamsburg (36:12), Aimee Gianoukos, 47, of Williamsburg (36:50), Laura Turner, 32, of Newport News (37:15), Chloe Etzinger, 16, of Carey, Ohio (37:29) and Svitlana Honcharova, 25, of Williamsburg (37:32).
For the men, the top three award winners were Caleb Doan, 33, of Grand Rapids, Mich. (27:12), Eli McWard, 17, of Prosper, Texas (29:26) and Tim Suhr, 52, of Williamsburg (32:32). Following were Xander Holmes, 16, of Raleigh, N.C. (32:48), Kelvin Anderson, 62, of Newport News (33:07), James Gunson, 56, of Richmond (33:09), James Roberts, 14, of Yorktown (33:26), Joe Calkins, 52, of Lanexa (33:42) and Nicholas Felsman, 17, of Williamsburg (33:53).
Despite her fast sub-30-minute time, Bauer was just taking it easy, and hardly broke a sweat. She emailed, “My coach and I decided that I was going to run this race like a tempo run. I went out nice and relaxed and then was able to descend my pace each mile from there. It was a beautiful course and so much fun to run on the historic battlefield of the Battle of Yorktown. It was great to see all the locals out running on the 4th of July. My friend, Eli, placed 2nd and we ran a lot of the race together. I’m so glad that he decided to do the race with me. We both decided that we were going to run it for fun and see how we did. I did not get back to Williamsburg from Florida until about mid-June. Living in Florida for a whole year, though, I am very used to this hot and humid weather. I thrive in this environment so I am thankful that we have weather like this!”
About her collegiate year, Bauer emailed, “I had a great first year at the University of Florida. I love Florida and everything about it. A highlight of my first cross country season as a Gator was the opportunity to compete at SECs and NCAA regionals. Indoor track was a fun experience but I unfortunately got a minor injury in the middle of the season, but have been able to bounce back quickly. Indoor track season also brought a new transition when Coach [Chris] Solinsky [the former distance coach at William and Mary, before going to Florida] left. But we were able to bring in the Palmers from the University of Alabama. They have been great coaches. I love their coaching style and training program. I am really thankful for the opportunity to run for them and for the Gators. I can’t wait to get back to racing this fall!”
The men’s winner, although now from Michigan, was also a Hampton Roads area runner. Caleb Doan ran for Mike Nestor at Ocean Lakes High in Virginia Beach, and is the son of long-time elite road racer Lanny Doan. All three ran the 8K on Tuesday. Lanny loves the tour road races, and still holds the men’s 40-44 age group record for the Yorktown Battlefield 10-mile run with a blazing 52:31, set in 1996 at age 40 (5:15 per mile pace). He was inducted into the Tidewater Striders Hall of Fame. Now with two total knee replacements, and age 66, the former Bayside High coach still was able to win the 65-69 age group in 39:24 (7:55 mile pace). Caleb’s former coach Nestor, 53, of Virginia Beach, ran a 36:45 time.
In Caleb’s senior year, he was all-state in the 3,200 meters and the 4×800-meter relay for Ocean Lakes High. At the University of Virginia, he ran on the club cross country team, which placed third as a team in the NIRCA National Cross Country meet, and he had an 8K PR of 25:52. After college, he worked for a year at the Running Etc. running shoe store, then went to LSU for graduate school in English, earning his PhD in 2020. He is now an English professor at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. He had also won the July 4 Yorktown 8K in 2012 with a time of 25:38, placed second in the Grand Rapids Marathon in 2021 (2:35:49) and won the Jazz Half Marathon in New Orleans in 2018 (a PR 1:10:19). Caleb emailed, “All my Louisiana heat and humidity training has faded away in Michigan. I went out too hard, but still enjoyed the course, especially those great downhills.”
The two Williamsburg runners who placed third overall, also were not enamored with the heat and humidity, and sunny conditions. Deelyn Robinson emailed, “This race was particularly challenging for everyone because of the heat and high humidity. I have not raced in several weeks so that made for an extra challenge as well. Caroline Bauer and Sabrina Little are exceptional runners and set a great pace. I am thrilled to have placed third behind them. Aimee Gianoukos and Svitlana Honcharova ran great races as well. Overall a great and challenging race.”
Tim Suhr emailed, “The race was the hottest race that I’ve run in quite some time and I felt like I was going to die most of the race. So I have definitely not acclimated to the humidity and heat, but of course it was beautiful and I had a lot of fun. During the race I wasn’t really sure what place I was in. At the awards ceremony, I had no clue when they announced me as third place. They gave me a nice glass with laser engraving on it.”
After a relatively cool May and June, summer has finally hit with a vengeance. The previous race on the same course, the Peninsula Track Club’s Yorktown Freedom Run 8K on Memorial Day, had much better conditions. Adam Otstot won for the men in 26:51, and Bethany Spector set a women’s course record of 30:15. Sabrina Little was second in that race in 30:58, so improved by 26 seconds this past Tuesday, despite much tougher racing conditions. That Spector has the Memorial Day 8K course record of 30:15, compared to Bauer’s 29:38 this past Tuesday, shows how talented Bauer is, considering it was just a “tempo run workout” for her.
Rick Platt is president of Colonial Road Runners.
