April 6, 2021 – Raleigh, North Carolina – On the cool Saturday morning of April 3, 2021, a large group of athletes took to the starting line for the inaugural Greenway 20k, Raleigh’s first official race since the Special Events moratorium ended on March 31. Runners started the race with masks, ran in waves, were supported by self-serve aid stations with individual bottles of water, and ran a unique point-to-point course along Raleigh’s Capital Area Greenways to limit contact. The results were record setting!
Winston-Salem’s Donnie Cowart was the Male Winner and completed the course in 1:01:40, the fastest recorded 20k in North Carolina history. The previous fastest time was run by Mark Andrews on October 3, 1998. While it should be noted that the Greenway 20k course is not USATF record eligible due to its point-to-point nature, a similar event with this predicament is the highly regarded Boston Marathon.
The Women’s Winner was Durham’s Emma Spencer, who finished the race in 1:14:03, also a state best, improving upon Patricia Stewart’s 1:16:36, which was also run on October 3, 1998. Also of note was runner-up finisher Kimberlie Meeker’s time of 1:16:50, which was the fastest Masters (40+) time in North Carolina history, improving upon Patricia Stewart’s 1:26:35, set on September 28, 2002.
The Greenway 20k was promoted and directed by Sir Walter Running as a fundraiser for the Sir Walter Miler, which hopes to return on Friday, August 6, 2021 to Meredith College. The “Miler” is a free event that brings World-Class runners to Raleigh to chase the sub 4:00 (male) and sub 4:30 (female) barriers in the mile, and is at the heart of Sir Walter’s mission of “bringing the Greater Raleigh running community together through innovation, activation, and inclusivity.”
The Greenway 20k was sponsored by Wegmans, On, EPIC Physical Therapy, OOFOS, COROS, ElliptiGO, Run4ACozz, Prevail PT and Sports Performance, East Coast Greenway Alliance, Citius Mag, Trials of Miles, The Longleaf Hotel, Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, and Runologie.
More information on the event can be found at greenway20k.com
Overall Male
- Donnie Cowart – Winston-Salem, NC – 1:01:40 (Fastest 20k in NC History)
- Chase Hampton – Dublin, OH – 1:04:40
- Nick Golebiowski – Arlington, VA – 1:05:17
Overall Female
- Emma Spencer – Durham, NC – 1:14:03 (Fastest in NC History)
- Kimberlie Meeker – Raleigh, NC – 1:16:50 Fastest Master’s (40+) in NC History)
- Michelle Ziegler – Boone, NC – 1:18:48
2x10k Relay
- Bojangles Boys AC – 1:08:05
- Scientists On The Go – 1:09:09
Full Results can be found at: https://greenway20k.com/results/
Photo Credit: Justin Hall
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