When Riley Harris took off Tuesday in downtown McMinnville, he wasn’t thinking about picking up another win in the Stars and Stripes 5K. He was just glad the sweltering heat hadn’t arrived early for the second straight year.
Harris was the one making everybody sweat instead on July 4 as his blistering pace was too much for the rest of the 253-person field. Harris won the event with a time of 17:23, the fastest time posted by a winner since 2012 (Jason McVey, 16:57).
The Seattle resident, who has been running since fifth grade and did track in college, won last year with a time of 17:54, but the 27-year-old was able to shave off 31 seconds on a cooler day in 2023.
“We’re not used to the heat and humidity of Tennessee, so I don’t get to train in any of this heat. It wasn’t as hot as it was last year, thank goodness,” said Harris, who comes to town with his wife Bella – a Warren County native.
Harris was also spurred on by a stacked field of competitors. Three-time champ Jacob Carrigan finished second, four-time winner Ray Bishop, who had a streak of wins snapped by Harris, came in sixth and 2016 winner Matthew Bratcher was fourth. Also finishing in the top five were lightning fast teenagers Luke Broussard (third) and Rover Pesceric (fifth).
“I try to compete, but you have to run within yourself. You can’t blow out in the first mile. I watch the field and see how fast everybody is running. One of the past champions (Carrigan) was competing with me through the second mile and I needed that. It really pushed me along,” said Harris.
While Harris was busy winning back-to-back titles, Monica Moore was making her push to be the top female for the first time. Moore, 52, was able to come in with a time of 23:29, almost two minutes faster than the next fastest female.
“I was definitely not expecting that finish,” said Moore. "The first mile went great so I just tried to keep pace. I was shocked to finish first.
"I'm very thankful for the Rotary Club for hosting such a wonderful event for our community."
Moore’s victory snapped a five-year winning streak for Anne Hunter Myers, a 10-time Stars and Stripes female winner who was limited to walking the 5K due to an injury suffered last year.
In the one-mile fun run, Warren Parker and Elizabeth Sutton turned in the top boys and girls times. Parker, 9, ran the mile in 6:34, while Sutton, 10, was the fastest girl at 8:46.
The Stars and Stripes 5K brings out runners of all ages and Tuesday was no different. Haddlie Douglas, 4, was the youngest competitor as she finished the one-mile run with her dad Kyle Douglas, while Michael Galligan, 81, was the lone 80+ runner in the field.
Tuesday was an amazing turnout for the annual Stars in Stripes event as 253 competitors took part in the 5K run/walk and 28 kids were in the one-mile run.
