Kovacs, LaFleur claim Reindeer titles

It was the Turkey Day Run all over again.

The winners of this year's Thanksgiving Day race — Tamas Kovacs of High Point, N.C., and Michelle LaFleur of Savannah — returned to the streets of downtown Charleston on Saturday to claim the top spots in the 18th annual Reindeer Run.

Kovacs, a native of Hungary, won with a time of 14 minutes and 38 seconds, seven seconds slower than his Turkey Day effort, but plenty fast enough to shatter the course record of 14:55.

Likewise, LaFleur was the female champion with a 17:23, which was 21 seconds slower than her Turkey Day time. Both won a $500 cash prize for their efforts.

LaFleur says she felt more fatigue near the end of the Reindeer Run.

Many participants did not sign up as timed runners or walkers. Of those that signed up to be timed, 1,273 crossed the finish line on Saturday. Last year, 1,432 participated in the timed run.

Results

(Complete results available at www.reindeerrun.org.)

OVERALL: Male — Tamas Kovacs 14:38, Neil McDonagh 14:50, Jon Molza 15:11, Eric Ashton 15:22, Stephen Wilson 15:57. Female — Michelle Lafleur 17:23, Sopagna Eap 17:46, Jenny McDonagh 18:15, Jenny Sims 18:18, Winny Tonui 18:27. MASTERS: Male — David Quick 17:18, Mark Bedenbaugh 18:09, Dan Rodell 18:55. Female — Kelly Hazel 19:31, Meredith Nelson 20:14, Betsy Jessup 22:09. GRANDMASTERS: Male — Vincent Avitabile 17:54. Female — Helen Hiser 21:46. AGE GROUPS (Top male and female only): 6-under — Shenard Summersett 27:54. Zoe Lant 1:05:42. 7-8 — Noah Spencer 20:16. Carly Hal 25:23. 9-10 — Timothy Werstler 23:04. Chloe Satzger 24:53. 11-12 — Jacob Spencer 19:20. Sara Stansell 21:31. 13-14 — Brent Demarest 18:47. Emma Whittemore 20:55. 15-16 — Timothy Tyler 16:33. Meagan Brandli 20:26. 17-18 — Ryan Mello 17:48. Amy Williams 20:16. 19-24 — Hunter Willis 15:58. Maggie Jamison 20:53. 25-29 — Kurt Russell 16:40. Anne Clinton 18:37. 30-34 — Dave Lee 16:26. Dana Dailey 21:25. 35-39 — Burt Hodges 19:35. Siobahn Maize 20:21. 40-44 — Tim Bertscha 20:06. Kate Borg 23:43. 45-49 — Andy McCleaf 20:10. Barbara Wagner 22:36. 50-54 — Andy Tedesco 18:59. Dell Toomer 23:00. 55-59 — Michael Drose 20:38. Mary Mauldin 22:56. 60-64 — Porter Reed 21:33. Nancy Curry 25:23. 65-69 — Marshall Wakat 23:00. Joyce Rasberry 29:53. 70-99 — Bob Walton 32:10. No female.