Both of the 10K overall winners set Reindeer Run records on a course that runs mostly through Fort Clinch State Park. Sheryl Rosen, 25, of Tallahassee finished in 39:41 and Brian Shrout, 36, of Middleburg logged 35:56.

“I loved the beautiful tree canopy, and the flat course was nice too,” Sheryl said. “It’s rare to find such a nice course.” Brian concurred: “It was a great race, beautiful course, a good atmosphere. I’ll be back next year.”

More than 400 runners completed the 5K/10K, a record for the event. Rain had been forecast, but mostly held off until the run was over.

“We were very fortunate, because the night before it seemed certain we were going to be rained on,” said Rosa Haslip, 46, of Fernandina Beach, who won the masters division (age 40 and over) of the 5K race in 22:52. “On the radar it seemed like there was rain all around us. We couldn’t have asked for better, given what was predicted.”

Rosa won the 10K women’s division overall in 2006, the 10K masters title in 2008 and the 5K masters in 2005. But her 2009 victory was especially satisfying, because near the end of last year’s race, she sustained a hamstring injury that wound up sidelining her for months.

“It was great to be out there again,” she said.

Winning the men’s 5K masters award was Glenn Lankowski, 41, of Bluffton, S.C., in 19:35. 10K masters winners were Bruce Dunham, 44, of Fernandina Beach in 40:22, and Cynthia Lyons, 42, of St. Augustine in 44:23.

Another past 5K masters winner, Susan Harms of Neptune Beach, this year took the grandmasters title (50 and older). At age 50, Susan's time of 24:53 was 16 seconds faster than her finish of three years ago.

“Anytime I can get close to an 8-minute pace I’m really happy,” said Susan, who has done the Reindeer Run four times. “I always enjoy running through the Fort Clinch park because there’s beautiful scenery, and the trees protect you from the wind. As you’re going out you can see runners coming back, it makes it more fun.”

Jim Wauldron, 55, of St. Augustine took the men’s 5K grandmasters title in 21:47. In the 10K, grandmasters winners were Robin Hayter, 54, of Neptune Beach in 55:13 and Donald Wucker, 50, of Jacksonville in 44:32.

Race Director John McBrearty thanked the many volunteers, sponsors and agencies who made the race possible, including the Fernandina Beach Police Dept. and Police Auxiliary Corps, Recreation Dept., Fire/Rescue and Fort Clinch State Park.