2007 Carrabba's Summer Beach Run
Photos by Marietta Ott and Ed Hardee

There’s been a summer drought of races in Northeast Florida – just the Tour de Pain and our own AIR Turtle Trot since early August. But the drought was broken Saturday, Sept. 15 with the 43rd edition of JTC Running’s Summer Beach Run, sponsored again this year by Carrabba’s. And maybe it’s no coincidence that the field of well over 1,000 racers was the largest since 1982. Even a big Saturday-afternoon Gator game couldn’t keep the crowds away!

The Summer Beach Run is usually held in August, but this year tides and scheduling forced a delay till September. The payoff: a somewhat cooler race than usual, punctuated by cloud cover part of the way, though the humidity was as challenging as ever.

That great turnout included lots of Amelia Island Runners. A great job by all of our finishers, including our age-group winners! Frank Frazier and Everett Crum took home first-place age group awards, while Al Saffer took second in his age group and Kathy Murray grabbed a third.

Start of Race
What an awesome sight! Over 1,000 runners heading south down the beach.
At least they didn't have to worry about making a wrong turn :-)
JTC Running Test
JTC Running Booth
Volunteers trying to get the right race number and chip to each runner.		 Navy Runners Stretch Out
The Navy had a large contingent of runners.
They had to stretch out after living in confined ship's quarters for so long.		 Heading for the beach
It's time to decide.
Go out on the beach and run
or stay back and drink beer.
Al Saffer and Everett Crum
We like to see our members wearing their AIR shirts.. At the upper left are Al Saffer and Everett Crum who took top honors in the "Geezer" Division.
In the center, Rose Barnes was wearing her stylish new "high-tech" Amelia Island Runners shirt.
At the right are Kevin and Marietta Ott with Michelle Dickensheets, 19, and Marietta's daughter Paulette Stack, 18. The Summer Beach Run was Paulette's and Michelle's first race. Paulette heeded the advice not to start out too fast, so you can finish strong, and she was able to finish with a sprint!
Everett Crum and Frank Frazier Pin the number on the midshipmanMadam Butterfly
Upper left - Speaking of wearing one's AIR shirt, Age-Group winner Frank Frazier sported his Florida Striders shirt for the big run, but Everett Crum figured a cup of beer would hide the evidence. In the center - Sheri Hutfles, Steve Cash, and Melissa Marker. The Summer Beach Run marked Steve's return to races after long layoff, and we're glad to have him back! On the right Kevin Ott took a photo of a lady in a butterfly costume but he didn't tell her about the legend of Icarus. Icarus, of course, was the young chap who was given a set of wings, but who flew too close to the sun. The sun melted the wax that was holding his wings on, and Icarus fell back to earth, where he was trampled to death by a group of runners.
Congratulations to all of our finishers, and as usual, if we’ve missed you, please let us know!

Rose Barnes, 45, 1:07:53
Steve Cash, 51, 47:36
Del Conner, 54, 39:37
Everett Crum, 72, 44:17, 1st place age group
Lori Demeter, 32, 45:32
Marc Demeter, 35, 40:03
Kristi Garber, 36, 47:36
Quinn Garber, 28, 39:33
Frank Frazier, 65, 37:55, 1st place age group
Ed Hardee, 56, 1:02:23
Sheri Hutfles, 42, 44:44
Melissa Marker, 30, 49:55
Kathy Murray, 45, 38:57, 3rd place age group
Gayla Poythress, 40, 52:13
Keith Poythress, 44, 38:13
Kevin Ott, 49, 1:02:22
Al Saffer, 72, 58:11, 2nd place age group
Pam Shull, 45, 47:32
Jim Strozinsky, 47, 45:04

For complete race results, click here.