What a difference a day makes. For the 27th annual Taco Trot 10-Miler on Wednesday at high noon, temperatures soared to a record high of 89. But on Thanksgiving morning for the 17th annual Thundercloud Turkey Trot, the thermometer had plunged more than 45 degrees over night. Toss in the biting north wind and there were plenty of frozen turkeys shivering in the bitter cold. Simply put though, it was Thanksgiving weather.
The chilly weather didn’t deter the nearly 10,000 who ran and walked the five-mile course through the UT campus before the big finish on the welcome downhill along Trinity.
Alex Moore asserted himself on the opening hilly mile (slowed by a head wind) along Guadalupe. The 24-year-old former A&M stud, who went to McCallum HS, opened with a 5:20 mile with Keith Matiskella from Laplan, Louisiana and Chann McRae in tow.
Moore motored up and over the early hills and flew down Red River to cross the finish line in 26:32 with Matiskella, a captain in the Air Force, second in 26:59 and McRae coming in third in 27:14.
"It was cold out there," said Moore, "but I enjoyed myself this morning."
So did Asia Myrland. The 19-year-old UT frosh hates cold weather despite being from the icy climes of Verona, Wisconsin. "I usually just don’t run well in the cold," said Myrland who ran most of the year as the No. 3 cross-country runner for Steve Sisson’s UT women. "One of the reasons I came to UT was to get out of the cold."
No such luck on this morning. Despite the chilly temps, Myrland was an easy winner in 29:36 (30th overall). Jill O’Neal from Georgetown ran a fine race to place second in 30:42 with Sabine Bildstein third in 31:14.
Sebastian Villalva, 41, led the masters with a 27:45 (10th overall) to hand 52-year-old Keith Dowland a rare masters defeat. Dowland, who likes the cold just about as much as warm beer, still ran a credible 28:07 to lead the really old guys. Sergio Hernandez was second to Dowland in the 50-54. Mark Fraser of Houston was third. In the 40s behind Villalva, Reagan Michaels was second and triguy Stephen Schwarze was third.
In the always competitive 55-59, John La Claire, 56, led the way with a 33:25, followed by 59-year-old Jeff Dailey, who ran 33:37, in a rare road-race appearance. Brad Price, 60, ran a superb 32:33 to win the 60s over Dick Wilkowski.
The first woman master was 51-year-old Dana Madison, a nurse from Lubbock, who ran an outstanding 32:41 to easily win her division.
The 40-45 women were paced by 40-year-old Cindy Schlandt in 33:39 with Paige Alam just seven seconds back and Glenda Adams finished third in 34:31.
