KEY LARGO, Florida Keys — A field of 560 runners and walkers took to the region above the Upper Keys and the eastern edges of the Florida Everglades Saturday during the Key Largo Bridge Run/Walk in the Florida Keys.
Racers crossed the 65-foot-high Jewfish Creek Bridge, considered the entryway to the Florida Keys, which is the southern portion of the 18-Mile Stretch, a section of the Overseas Highway that connects mainland South Florida with Key Largo.
Runners represented Germany and 17 states around the U.S., including Florida, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, the Carolinas, Georgia, West Virginia and Virginia, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Kentucky, Minnesota and Oregon.
Brian Edwards, 32, of Fort Myers, Florida, won the overall men’s 10k title with a time of 43:58. Summerland Key, Florida, resident Rosanna Mullen, 33, won the women’s division in 47:43.
Runner-up in the men’s 10k division, Jose Martinez, 28, of Homestead, Florida, finished in 44:47. Key Largo’s Melissa O’Keeffe, 43, placed second in the women’s division with a time of 50:30.
Colin Chivers, 14, of Davenport, Florida, posted a time of 21:01 for first place in the overall men’s 5k division. Miami’s Carolina Jaramillo, 33, won the women’s division with a time of 22:34.
Runners-up in the 5k men’s and women’s divisions were Key Largo’s Michael Dorchak, 33, with a time of 22:46 and 15-year-old Sarah Paskiewicz of Marathon, Florida, who finished in 23:54.
The 2019 event is set for Saturday, Nov. 9, according to organizers, who also expect a half-marathon division to be added.
