It's not likely any future Olympians participated in Friday's Firecracker Fast 5K, but that doesn't mean the race, save for the course, is headed downhill.
Of 1,767 entrants, 1,666 finished the 38th annual race, 274 more than last year, when an attendance record was set.
Sean Coughlan, owner of race sponsor Fleet Feet Sports Easy Runner, said that was the idea.
"We're ecstatic with it," Coughlan said, "and we thought we had pretty good numbers last year."
Two current college runners led from the start and battled to the finish, and while they didn't break any national records -- as has been done in the past -- there was no lack of competition.
Wil Norris, an Arkansas State junior, pulled away late from Shaun Koehn to win in 14:55.72. Koehn, a senior at UALR, finished second in 14:56.02.
Leah Thorvilson, 35, of Little Rock, won the women's division in 17:16.37. Erika Setzler, 22, of Conway finished second in 17:48.33, and Tia Stone, 35, of Searcy, was third in 18:24.75.
Coughlan said he decided last year to quit offering cash awards for winners and instead invest in age-group awards, more prizes and modern tech T-shirts.
Former race sponsor and director Gary Smith had given as much as $1,500 to overall winners in past races, and the prize money attracted fields that routinely produced winning times under 14 minutes in the men's race. Former Arkansas Razorbacks runner Reuben Reina set the course record of 13:26.4 in 1989, which was then a national record for road 5Ks.
Norris and Koehn, friendly acquaintances in the typically tight-knit college running community, said they had no idea who their competition would be until they spotted each other five minutes before the start.
Norris, 20, of Mountain Home, took a short lead as they passed the 1-mile mark in 4:48 and led by about 10 yards when he ran through 2 miles, which comes at the end of a long, downhill stretch of the course, in 9:28.
The course descends from the Heights neighborhood through Hillcrest on Kavanaugh Boulevard and Van Buren Street. It crosses Markham Street at approximately 2.1 miles, enters War Memorial Park and then turns onto Zoo Drive, where racers meet a steep, quarter-mile upgrade that has often decided the race.
Koehn, 22, pulled even just before before the two turned onto Zoo Drive.
"I wasn't really sure what to do," Norris said.
"He was hurting, I could tell," Koehn said.
"I was just trying to top that hill, Norris said.
They reached the summit abreast, near the northeastern edge of the Little Rock Zoo, about 500 yards from the finish, and Koehn said he thought Norris was about to pull away.
"As soon as we got to the top, he started leaving me a little bit," Koehn said. "My feet started burning, and I thought, 'I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to pull this one out.' "
Koehn said his training recently had been limited by an injured Achilles tendon.
"I didn't know where I'd be in the race," Koehn said. "To finish under 15 minutes is definitely a huge accomplishment for both of us."
Thorvilson took early command of the women's race and raced along more curious of her final time than her placement. She had knee surgery in April and said she entered with limited expectations, although she thought she might be able to break 17 minutes.
"I didn't feel great getting out and it never really came together," Thorvilson said. "I just kind of hung on the whole way."
Thorvilson said the presence of prize money might have motivated her to attempt to run faster.
"I would've fought a little harder for money, that's for sure," Thorvilson said. "I wish they still had it. Part of what makes this race so great is that people come out of the woodwork who don't ordinarily run, but another big piece of it were the elite runners who you don't usually get to see. They're not going to make the trip when there isn't money involved."
Prize money might be reintroduced at some point.
"You never know," Coughlan said. "We're always going to be open to change. Every year we want to make the race better, so we're not going to rule anything out."
Sports on 07/05/2014