Karter Tow competes during the Freedom 5K during Thursday’s 30th Annual Star Spangled Spectacular at Faurot Park.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
LIMA – Former Lincolnview standout distance runner Karter Tow is beginning to favor the Star Spangled Spectacular Freedom 5K over many other road races.
Winning the event once before doesn’t hurt either.
At Thursday’s annual Star Spangled Spectacular Freedom 5K, Tow successfully defended his title from a year ago.
The 23-year-old Tow jumped out to an early lead and was never challenged as he crossed the finish line with a winning time of 16 minutes, 28.3 seconds on the 5,000-meter course that traversed through part of downtown Lima and then circled back to Faurot Park to the finish line.
Last year, Tow pulled away from Allen East product and Bowling Green State University’s Hunter Sidle to notch the victory.
“I came here last year and had a really awesome time running against Hunter (Sidle),” Tow said. “So, I thought I would come back this year because it’s such a really cool event they put on, especially the atmosphere. It’s a perfect Fourth of July race.”
Bath senior Jacob Wireman was a distant second to Tow on Thursday, finishing with a time of 17:24.6. Last year, Wireman finished third at the Freedom 5K.
The 18-year-old Wireman realized, early in Thursday’s race, that defeating Tow was going to be a huge challenge.
“My goal was (to go) 17 (minutes) or under. So, I’m happy with that,” Wireman said. “I was with him (Tow) for about a half-mile. Then, he was going a little too fast. So, I was going to go at my pace, not his. I knew how good he was. I didn’t want to ruin my energy by trying to chase him.”
Wireman has logged some higher mileage this summer in preparation for the upcoming cross-country season.
“I’m at about 40 miles a week. Today was a good workout. And I have to go run two more miles to get my mileage in,” Wireman said with a grin.
Tow, who is working on his master’s degree in nutrition and dietetics at Bluffton University, is training for possible future marathons.
“Overall, this summer, I’m just kind of working my way up to maybe doing another marathon this fall,” Tow said. “So, I did a little speedwork today and will kind of go from there. I might do Columbus (Marathon) this fall. Then, my long-term goal is to do one of the major marathons. So, I’ll probably apply for Chicago (Marathon) for next year and then go from there. We go there (Chicago) every year as a family. … It’s like a second home to me. So, I’ve always wanted to run that race.”
Tow has high aspirations for both his academics and running career.
“I ran cross country in the fall at Bluffton (University). Then, I decided to opt out of the spring (track season) to run the Boston Marathon. So, I did that (Boston Marathon) in April,” he said. “Then, I took a little time off and went on a service trip in Kentucky for school. So, now I’m just finishing up my master’s degree, just running for fun and training on my own. So, that’s the plan right now.”
Tow’s all-time personal best in the 5K is 14:54.
Andrew Woodruff, an 18-year-old from Arlington, finished third (17:42.3) on Thursday.
Ciersten Deardorf, a 32-year-old Ohio City resident, was the women’s winner with a time of 19:24.1.
Until recently, Deardorf did not plan on running the Freedom 5K.
“I just added it (to my calendar) about a month ago or so. … I just got back into running,” she said. “I was a high school runner and a college athlete in NCAA Division II (Lewis University). I have been injured every year since fifth grade. I was out from season to season. So, I took like a 10-year break from my last major injury in 2014 in cross country (college). I just needed a mental break. Last year, I started training again. I started to enter races last year. I’m being very conservative with my training, just because I am so injury-prone.”
Shawnee grad and now University of Tampa 19-year-old sophomore runner Alaina Williams, was not far behind Deardorf, as she crossed the finish line in 19:32.8.
Cassandra Bruley, a 32-year-old from Rawson, finished third (19:47.4).
There were 428 runners/walkers who participated in Thursday’s Star Spangled Spectacular Freedom 5K.
**Complete results from the Star Spangled Spectacular Freedom 5K can be found on https://runsignup.com.
