Legacy of Hope 5K a success

WINTER GARDEN — The Legacy of Hope 5K was run for the first time in Winter Garden, with the proceeds to benefit Hope Charter and Legacy High School.

The debut for the event was encouraging, with 223 participants registering and 197 runners completing the 5K May 9. 

“I thought the event went very well for a first year,” said Dawn Burns, school office manager and one of the lead coordinators for the race. “Everyone seemed excited to be there for being that early in the morning, and it was a beautiful day.”

The overall race winner was Legacy student Cole Prium, 16, of Winter Garden, who ran a time of 18 minutes — an average of 5:48 per mile.

The second- and third-place finishers, overall, were both from Ocoee. Kenyon Congdon finished at 18:77, and Hunter Filipello clocked in at 19:35.

Among the 130 women who ran the race, Shara Bryant, of Montverde, finished first with a time of 23:44. Fellow Montverde resident Kinley Bryant clocked in at 25:25, and Kathy Pruitt, of Orlando, finished close behind with a time of 25:38 to secure third place.

Kinley Bryant, 12, was also the top finisher for children ages 12 and under. Ocoee’s Anderson Cooper, 11, clocked in at 26:49, and William Walker, 12, finished at 29:22.

Four competitors ages 65 and older finished the race on Saturday morning, with Winter Garden’s Jorge Amezquita, 69, running a scorching 25:51. Montverde’s Glen Brecheen, 69, ran a 29:49, Maria Vasquez, 66, of Winter Garden, ran a 35:50, and Apopka’s Mauren Mannion, 67, clocked in at 1:02:44.

The race began and finished at Tanner Hall in Winter Garden, and the average time from the 197 finishers was 40:18. The average pace was 13 minutes per mile.

Full results are available at the website for Tri & Run in Winter Garden, TrinRun.com, which helped organize the event for the charter school.

The funds raised, which were not tallied as of press time, will help fund new athletic facilities for the school’s fledgling athletic programs. Items on the wish list for the school’s athletic programs include a fitness area and weight room, as well as athletic playing fields on land the school has acquired adjacent to its campus.

“We loved working with Tri & Run, and they helped to really facilitate the run and guide us through the whole process,” Burns said. “After seeing the numbers, I hope that we can continue doing the event in future years. … Even if we didn’t raise a ton of money, I definitely feel that everybody had fun.”