{"id":210777,"date":"2026-03-29T17:15:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T17:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/210777\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T17:15:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T17:15:09","slug":"okelley-sherron-lead-the-way-in-springtime-tallahassees-10k-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/210777\/","title":{"rendered":"O’Kelley, Sherron lead the way in Springtime Tallahassee’s 10K run"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not as if the winners of Springtime Tallahassee\u2019s 10K <\/a>came out of nowhere. Both are familiar names in the local running community.<\/p>\n

Still, neither expected to win.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think this was going to happen when I woke up this morning,\u201d Chris O\u2019Kelley said with a laugh. \u201cI just happened to run a good race when there wasn\u2019t a ringer there. It just worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

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O\u2019Kelley, 32, finished first overall <\/a>in 35 minutes, 25 seconds, outkicking Hawthorne Hay (35:39) down the final stretch of the 6.2-mile race.<\/p>\n

The women\u2019s race delivered its own dramatic finish. Katie Sherron, 44, surged past 24-year-old Hannah Hosay on the course\u2019s final downhill to win in 39:32, capturing her first Springtime title since 2018 and finishing ninth overall. Hosay clocked a 40:17.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought in a million years I would outkick anyone,\u201d Sherron said, laughing. \u201cI tried to pass Hannah earlier. When we got to the final downhill, it was now or never.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 2,000 runners \u2014 including team competitors \u2014 took part in the mile, 5K and 10K races, which started and finished near Cascades Park under sunny, warm conditions Saturday March 28.<\/p>\n

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Considered Tallahassee\u2019s hometown race, Springtime Tallahassee is held each year on the morning of the Springtime festivities and is followed by the parade, arts and crafts in the park, and live music. The courses are known for their difficulty, winding through the hills of the Myers Park neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Springtime Tallahassee winners share race’s strategy\"Chris<\/p>\n

Chris O’Kelley leading the Springtime 10K through Myers Park, about 800 meters from the finish of the race.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Kelley and the 24-year-old Hay stayed close early, running just behind a lead pack through the first two miles or so. Around the halfway point, O\u2019Kelley decided it was time to push the pace \u2014 a move that proved decisive.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Kelley built enough of a cushion to stay in front, even though Hay ran a faster final mile.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI knew I\u2019d have no shot if I didn\u2019t make a move,\u201d said O\u2019Kelley, an FSU graduate who earned his master\u2019s degree before working seven years for the Department of Commerce. He recently re-enrolled at Florida State with the goal of becoming a professor. \u201cMy only chance was to go for it, and it just happened to work out.\u201d<\/p>\n

It worked out for Sherron as well, turning the morning into a family affair.<\/p>\n

Her husband, Zach DeVeau, finished in 47:24 while pushing their young daughter in a stroller. Their son, Barrett DeVeau, won his age division (9 and under) in the 5K with a time of 26:32.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe ate his share of pizza,\u201d Sherron said with a laugh. \u201cThere were so many runners, and the volunteers were great. We had a great time.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Springtime Tallahassee 10K winners share strategy<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s not as if the winners of Springtime Tallahassee\u2019s 10K came out of nowhere. Both are familiar names…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":210778,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[96513,96516,96515,96514,96517,76708,232,234,233],"class_list":{"0":"post-210777","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tallahassee","8":"tag-chris-okelley","9":"tag-hannah-hosay","10":"tag-hawthorne-hay","11":"tag-katie-sherron","12":"tag-sherron","13":"tag-springtime-tallahassee","14":"tag-tallahassee","15":"tag-tallahassee-headlines","16":"tag-tallahassee-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}