On a day made for breaking records, that’s exactly what Fikadu Deme did at the 6th annual New Hope Harvest Day Classic 5K on Saturday morning, November 4th. Gorgeous blue skies and temperatures in the upper 30’s made for near ideal conditions for running and Deme took full advantage of the opportunity.

This Fayetteville, GA race started in 2001 and has grown to attract world class athletes all the way from Africa. Fikadu broke the course record of 15:40 set by Ryan Emery in 2002 by 15 seconds with a time of 15:25. Ryan was a McIntosh High School and Auburn University standout in cross country and track and field in the late 90’s. Fikadu (23) hails from Ethiopia and came to the States earlier this year. He runs for and is sponsored by Foot Solutions, a foot care company based out of Marietta, GA. Not far behind in second place was his Foot Solutions teammate Belay Teka-Kassa. Belay (25) finished in 15:41, only one second off the course record. Rounding out third place overall was Jason Veclotch (18) of Tyrone in 17:52.

In the women’s division Connie Robertson (44) came back to defend her title and did so easily in 20:32. The Snickers Marathon Bar sponsored runner was obviously taking it easy as her time was over a minute slower from her course record time set last year in 19:10. Taking second was Jessica Thomas (23) in 22:17 and third in the women’s division was Emily Wood (20) in 22:44. In addition to a beautiful plaque, each of the overall winners in the Men’s and Women’s Open Division received a $75 gift certificate from Run Fit Sports.

In the Men’s Masters Division, Tracy Houpt (42) of Kennesaw finished in 18:52 and was also 4th overall. He was followed by Mark Hamilton (42) in second place with a time of 19:46 and Roger Keel (53) of Beulah, AL in third at 21:32. In the Women’s Masters Division, Sherri Hintz (51) cruised to victory in 22:32 and was also the third place female overall. Anita Jackson (54) came in second at 23:28 and Jan Bankieris (51) was third at 24:50.

Over 140 runners registered for the event whose course meanders past tranquil lakes resplendent in their surrounding fall foliage and along verdant pastures and farms through the countryside. Plentiful door prizes and refreshments as well as Air Tran tickets and an iPod for a grand prize make this race one of the best kept secrets around. But the word is getting out and runners are now coming from across the country and even the world. Race Director Rich Terry said, “We are always looking for ways to improve this race and we plan to continue that trend next year as well.”

login to post comments