Frostbite 5K draws largest crowd ever

 

By Hugh Fisher

hfisher@kannapoliscitizen.com

Saturday’s Frostbite 5k, sponsored by the Cannon Memorial YMCA, fortunately didn’t live up to its name.

The fifth annual December race through Kannapolis took place under patchy clouds with temperatures in the low 60.

The race continues to grow and attract more participants, although it’s still one of the smaller races in the state.

“It’s bigger than we expected,” said Renee Hogan, program director at the Kannapolis branch YMCA. A total of 137 runners of all ages took part.

“It’s a great turnout,” said race volunteer David Freeze. “And it’s a good small-town race. We have a lot of fun.”

Freeze is head of the Salisbury-Rowan Runners, a local club. The group acted as timekeepers for the race. He said he looks forward to the Frostbite 5k each year.

Runners from across North Carolina come to compete in the Frostbite 5k, which is one of the few such events held in December.

Many runners looking for a chance to stay in top form said they came to Kannapolis for that reason.

“It’s pretty much the last race in the month. 

Diane Allen of Charlotte was the first-place female runner. “This is my first time running in this race,” she said. “It was tough but it was fun.”

One runner came all the way from Chicago to compete in the Frostbite 5k for the second year in a row.

Doughton Lawrence found out about the race last year while looking for a race during the holidays; he has family in Elkin.

“It’s very challenging,” Lawrence said of the Frostbite course. “Chicago’s flat.”

Almost everyone commented on the challenging hills the road course offers.

Starting at the YMCA, runners made a wide loop , almost a figure-eight, through neighborhood streets, actually passing the YMCA once before returning. 

Hogan said the course may change next year to include more of the city’s greenways.

Alongside those from out of town were plenty of local runners, including some youngsters competing in their first big race.

Kathi Landis, who teaches at Jackson Park Elementary School, ran along with several girls from that school and a couple of Jackson Park graduates now attending Kannapolis Intermediate School.

They call themselves the Jackson Park Runner Girls. Landis founded the group in 2007 with two of her colleagues, coach Amy Pittman and assistant teacher Joyce Nedoff.

The goal was to help girls find self-esteem and friendship through exercise.

“It empowers them to do their best,” Nedoff said as she and Pittman stood by the starting line, ready to cheer on the Runner Girls as they jogged by.

Pittman said that about 30 girls took part in a one-mile fun run held before the official 5k.

Five of those students stayed to take part in the actual race.

Afterward, Landis said the race had gone well.

“I was so proud of them,” Landis said of the runners. “It was such a challenging course. It was tough for me, so I can’t imagine what it would be like for an 8- or 10-year-old.”

One local man ran to help meet a personal challenge.

Matt Noto, of Concord, has advanced lung cancer. He’d been a runner before his cancer diagnosis earlier this year. After he was diagnosed, he pledged to get back into racing.

Noto ran in a dark-blue shirt with “Cancer Sucks!” emblazoned across the front.

Although he said he felt tired after the race, Noto said he was glad to have met his personal challenge.

“This is my third 5k. I’ve run three times this year,” Noto said. “I finished all in under 33 minutes.”