Runners won't let 5K fizzle

1,700 expected for Firecracker

More than 1,400 runners crossed the finish line at last year’s Firecracker Fast 5K in Little Rock, setting an event record. That record could be broken this year as race organizers expect 1,700 runners for race day.
More than 1,400 runners crossed the finish line at last year’s Firecracker Fast 5K in Little Rock, setting an event record. That record could be broken this year as race organizers expect 1,700 runners for race day.

Runners and walkers who stand in line today to register for the Firecracker Fast 5K will notice only subtle changes from years past.

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A map showing the route of the Firecracker Fast 5K.

It will be much the same Friday morning when they start the race in Little Rock's Heights neighborhood as part of an annual Fourth of July celebration.

Firecracker Fast 5K

WHEN 7:30 a.m. Friday

WHERE Intersection of Kavanaugh Boulevard and North University.

REGISTRATION Early: $25. Race day: $30

NOTEWORTHY Race day registration runs from 6 a.m. to 7:15 a.m. in the Bank of America parking lot at the intersection of North University and Kavanaugh Boulevard.

Gary Smith will watch from the sidelines for the second time. He sponsored and directed the Firecracker race for 36 years, from its first running in 1977 through 2012, when he owned or managed a number of running stores in Little Rock, beginning with Finish Line Sports on Kavanaugh Boulevard and including Sports Stop in the Heights as well as Easy Runner.

Smith sold Easy Runner early in 2013 to Sean and Noelle Coughlan, who changed the name to Fleet Feet Sports Easy Runner. As part of the deal, they also took over the Firecracker race and, with assistance, carried it to new heights last summer when a record of more than 1,400 runners crossed the finish line.

"They're doing a great job," Smith said of the Coughlans' effort. "When I sold the store, one of the points I made was that the race would be continued. I'm sure they're going to keep doing it year after year. It's a traditional race, and I think they're real happy to have it."

Sean Coughlan said he and his wife are just trying to live up to the standard Smith set.

"We just want to keep things as good as they can be and maintain Gary's legacy in the community," he said.

Coughlan turned over the race direction to Start2Finish Events Management, a company based in Memphis. Ryne Lamm, a Little Rock native, became the Firecracker race director and brought with him several new ideas.

Among them were the introduction of technological advances easily accessible to finishers. Provided matters work as planned, finishers will have detailed results -- including their pace and their places overall and within age groups -- available to them almost immediately.

"I'm excited about it," Lamm said. "There is a lot of history here. Thirty-eight years is a long time for a race to go on, and it's especially exciting that we're having record-breaking numbers again. I expect 1,700 for race day."

Registered entrants will receive a shirt made of synthetic fiber -- known as a "tech" shirt by many runners -- that is designed to wick perspiration. Awards will be given three-deep for age groups, and the top 50 male and female finishers will receive a firecracker-shaped trophy.

Coughlan said the awards were made possible with his decision to eliminate prize money for the overall winners, as well as finishers who placed second and third overall in the open and masters divisions. Smith paid overall winners as much as $1,500.

"We decided to distribute on the back end to everybody, rather than giving the prize money to one person," Coughlan said.

Smith admitted that Coughlan's strategy worked.

"It's boosted attendance, that's for sure," he said.

Smith said he is pleased that someone is continuing the Firecracker tradition. He said he once considered giving up the race, but phone calls poured in encouraging him to continue. Smith said he received calls from parents who told him about their Fourth of July tradition of running in the Firecracker, and that sentimental recollections from participants have become common.

"I ran with a guy a couple of years ago and he had on a Firecracker race shirt," Smith said. "I asked him, 'What year is that from?' He answered, and I mean quick, 1989. He said, 'The reason I remember is that I met my wife at that race.' He said, 'We run the race every year, kind of to celebrate our anniversary.'

"There was no way I was going to stop it, and now I miss putting it on. I never thought I'd say that, but I miss it."

Sports on 07/03/2014

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