By Roger Lee
A former rugby player won the 2010 Flowertown Festival 10K Run March 13. Ian Blake, a 27-year-old personal trainer for Eco Fitness, edged out Chris Hicks of Florence to win the race. A relative newcomer to 10Ks, he has found the world of distance running to his liking. “I knew I couldn’t play rugby forever because of all the wear and tear it means for your body,” Blake said. “I wanted to do something else to stay in shape and running seemed to make sense because you always meet these runners who look so much younger than they actually are.” Blake crossed the finish line in 35 minutes, 51 seconds, which was five seconds ahead of Hicks. It was the first Flowertown race for the Mount Pleasant resident, who is a member of the TrySports Running Team. “There were three runners in the lead group for about the first four miles so I just focused on keeping pace and then one of the other guys fell back,” Blake said. “With about a mile to go, I was able to find another gear and pull ahead. I’ve only been to Summerville twice and the first time I didn’t really get past the interstate. I really enjoyed the course because it showed me a totally different side to the town.” David Bourgeois was the first runner registered under a Summerville address to finish. He had a 38:01 time. Meredith Nelson, who owns PrimeTime Fitness of Sullivan’s Island, won the Female Division. The 41-year-old personal trainer from Daniel Island finished the course in 45:21 to place 22nd overall. She is a former winner of the festival 5K event, but Saturday marked her first time winning the 10K. “I’ve been running here since the 90s,” she said. “It’s just such a great event from the course to the way it is run. Today wasn’t my best performance though. I’ve been under the weather the last week so I didn’t run as well as I’d hoped to.” The next closest female runner was Deanna Walter of Mt. Pleasant, who had a 46:07 time. Janet Carter, with a 47:41 mark, was the first female runner registered under a Summerville address to cross the finish line. A total of 840 participants registered for the 10K and 5K events. Race officials estimate with the 1-Mile Fun Run included, more than 1,000 people participated. Tom Mather, a 52-year-old ophthalmologist from Charleston, won the 5K race with a 17:15 time. A frequent Flowertown runner, it was not his first time winning. “I set an age group record on this course when I was 48 and finished in 15:24 so my time today was a little slow,” he said. “I felt pretty good through about a mile and a half and then I started getting tired.” Bradley McClelland, 16, of Summerville was the 5K runner-up. He finished with a 17:35 time. Rives Poe, a 32-year-old math teacher from Charleston, finished the 5K in 18:08 to win the Female Division and place fifth overall. “I had a good run and the weather was gorgeous so it was nice to be out here,” she said. “I just wanted to run a good race today because I’ve been injured for a while.” She and Nelson sometimes train together. Pinewood Prep third-grader Mikey Robinson won the 1-Mile Fun Run. For full results from the 10K and 5K events, visit www.journalscene.com or see Friday’s issue of The Summerville Journal Scene. Contact Roger Lee @ 873-9424 ext. 213 or rlee@journalscene.com.