The Dairy Festival begins bright and early each year with a race kicking off the day’s events. Formerly a 10K race called the Torture Trail hosted by Farmers and Merchants Bank, this year’s race was hosted by the Eatonton Pilot Club. It is now known as the Dairy Festival 5K Road Race.
Jerry Herrin, of Milledgeville said he has competed in the race since the early 2000s and he liked the new layout of the race. Herrin, who was the top finisher in the “Masters” category, said he liked the new, shorter course.
“It’s a good run, still a little hilly, but good,” he noted. When asked about 5K versus the former 10K course, he laughed. “I’m getting older, so that’s just fine with me,” he said.
The number of runners in the Dairy Festival 5K Road Race totaled 138, coming from all over Georgia and one from Baltimore, Maryland.
John Green was the top overall winner, with a time of 16:16.0, more than two minutes faster than the second-place winner. It was Green’s first time to run in the annual race. He said he just moved to Milledgeville a few months ago as the Cross Country coach at Georgia College. A nine-year veteran competitive runner, Green echoed Herrin’s opinion of the course, saying it was a good one, but a little hilly at the end.
Julian Council took second place overall with a time of 18:45.2, and Katherine Lacksen Mahlberg came in third at 19:36.9.
Mahlberg, of Milledgeville, was in the race with her entire family including her siblings, parents and husband. Most of them also finished in the top of their category and her brother, William, crossed the finish line only half a second behind her.
“We used to run the Torture Trail when we were kids,” Mahlberg said. “We went to school here, so this is home. The weather was perfect for the race today!”
Two different people who were racing for the very first time were probably the most excited runners to finish the race.
Tracy Summerlin, the bookkeeper at Putnam County Primary School, raised her arms triumphantly as she crossed the finish line and immediately high-fived a friend.
“It’s my very first run and they’re still coming in behind me, so I feel good!” Summerlin said. “My goal was to run a 5K. I’ve been practicing for one year and I beat my time from practice. All the support from everybody while running around – it’s amazing.”
Summerlin was even more excited at the awards ceremony when her name was called as the recipient of the medal for second-place female finisher in the 50 to 54 age category. That was all it took for the 52-year-old to make up her mind that she will continue racing.
On the other end of the spectrum, 8-year-old Charlie Cheeley, of Eatonton, said he has competed in other races alongside a family member, but Saturday’s Dairy Festival One-Mile Fun Run was the first race he’d ever run by himself. Runners in the Fun Run totaled 28; Charlie finished the race 4th over all with a time of 9:11.7, and was first in the Male 8 to 9 category.
“I did it! I can’t believe I did it all by myself,” he said, a big smile lighting up his sweat-stained face.
Others standing nearby started smiling, too. And one can imagine that little Charlie is still smiling.
5K Results:
• 1st – John Green, of Milledgeville, time 16:16.0
• 2nd – Julian Council, of Milledgeville, time 18:45.2
• 3rd – Katherine Lacksen Mahlberg, of Milledgeville, time 19:36.9
• 4th – William Lacksen, of Milledgeville, time 19:37.4
• 5th – Dylan Lindsey, of Eatonton, time 19:40.7
• Top Male Finisher Overall – John Green (Milledgeville, age 24, time 16:16.0)
• Top Female Finisher Overall – Katherine Lacksen Mahlberg (Milledgeville, age 31, time 19:36.9)
• Top Male Finisher Masters – Jerry Herrin (Milledgeville, age 60, time 20:52.6)
• Top Female Finisher Masters – Cindy Cowart (Milledgeville, age 37, time 27:55:6)
• Top Male 14 and under – L. Anderson (Atlanta, age 8, time 24:40.0)
• Top Male 15 to 19 – Julian Council (Milledgeville, age 15, time 18:45.2)
• Top Male 20 to 24 – John Green (Milledgeville, age 24, time 16:16.0)
• Top Male 25 to 29 – William Lacksen (Milledgeville, age 26, time 19:37.4)
• Top Male 30 to 34 – Kasey Coile (Greensboro, age 33, time 27:59.0)
• Top Male 35 to 39 – Nick Mahlberg (Milledgeville, age 38, time 21:51.5)
• Top Male 40 to 44 – Joseph Vargas (Eatonton, age 42, time 22:31.6)
• Top Male 45 to 49 – Shannon Johnston (Eatonton, age 47, time 24:14.6)
• Top Male 50 to 54 – Marty Phillips (Eatonton, age 50, time 27:28.9)
• Top Male 55 to 59 – Todd Lekarczyk (Eatonton, age 59, time 34:31.3)
• Top Male 60 to 64 – Jerry Herrin (Milledgeville, age 60, time 20:52.6)
• Top Male 65 to 69 – Randy Ballew (Watkinsville, age 68, time 22:31.5)
• Top Male 70 and over -- Vaughn Calvert (Eatonton, age 70, time 27:14.5)
• Top Female 14 and under – Alyssa Pennington (Eatonton, age 14, time 25:57.9)
• Top Female 15 to 19 – Maria Knapp (Milledgeville, age 16, time 24:08.2)
• Top Female 20 to 24 – Sara Beck (Eatonton, age 22, time 31:56.7)
• Top Female 25 to 29 – Elizabeth Lacksen (Atlanta, age 29, time 21:25.9)
• Tope Female 30 to 34 – Katherine Lacksen Mahlberg (Milledgeville, age 31, time 19:36.9)
• Top Female 35 to 39 – Helen Davenport (Milledgeville, age 38, time 22:08.6)
• Top Female 40 to 44 – Marie Johnson (Arnoldsville, age 41, time 28:46.6)
• Top Female 45 to 49 – Beth Wilson (Eatonton, age 49, time 28:41.4)
• Top Female 50 to 54 – Danielle Hill (Macon, age 50, time 34:19.1)
• Top Female 55 to 59 -- Beth Bridges (Eatonton, age 58, time 30:34.8)
• Top Female 60 to 64 – Cindy Cowart (Milledgeville, age 63, time 27:55.6)
• Top Female 65 to 69 – Sherri Hintz (Villa Rica, age 67, time 29:03.6)
• Top Female 70 and over – Carol Williams (Eatonton, age 70, time 36:28.4)
1-Mile FUN RUN RESULTS:
28 Runners total, Top 5:
• 1st – Brad Fusion (Eatonton, age 35, time 7:34.2)
• 2nd – Dakota Davis (Eatonton, age 17, time 7:34.6)
• 3rd – Kaylee Bell (Eatonton, age 15, time 8:27.4)
• 4th – Charlie Cheeley (Eatonton, age 8, time 9:11.7)
• 5th – L. Bell (Eatonton, age 11, time 10:00.2)