Collinsville, Oklahoma
June 6, 2014
Moonlight 5K Run
~1000 Runners Took To Collinsville Streets For Cherokee Challenge
Runners from At Least
47 Communities
The three fastest runners are just behind the "rabbit car" as they head back south after making the turn-around on 19th street. Apparently some (or all?) of the 5K runners got an unexpected extra 1/4 mile or so as the turn-around marker was run over or otherwise removed leaving runners to guess where to turn back towards the finish line.
Mini-Editorial: I enhanced most of the photos on this page to make them just a bit brighter, but not the one directly above (near the start/finish line) just to make a point that by the time the run was over and the winners announced it was definitely night-time-dark (with 19th Street above still full of hundreds of people which you can't see). Most of the early race finishers had plenty of light (and were in a large group) to be seen by spectators and traffic. Many more were still straggling in (and scattered a few at a time) over an hour after the race start (9pm and beyond) with only "moonlight" marking their presence for traffic. I am just the lazy photographer who has never run nor walked a 5K, but have observed several in the past few years and most offer very limited traffc control with cars/trucks on their own to be aware there is even a race happening and to decide if they will cross or enter the race path.

I get that this is supposed to be an evening race and don't fault the Cherokee Nation, City, Police, or anyone else directly for what I see as a potentially dangerous situation (especially for the slowest runners) but I would like to see the situation re-evaluated and addressed. I also get it that many other races use the same low-impact approach and don't block roads for the duration of a race. I would like to thank the Cherokee Nation for bringing about a thousand visitors (& potential customers) to our community but I would hate to see any of them injured while they are here.

My suggestion (in the mean time) is for the citizens of Collinsville to volunteer (at future events) to "staff" each intersection until the last runner has cleared, to at least let traffic know a race is happening. Maybe bring a flag / flashlight / lawn chair and enjoy the race from near your own home on Broadway, Walnut, 6th and 19th Streets. -- Ted Wright -- 6/9/2014

(Your suggestions would be appreciated
... email Ted Wright at wrightted@aol.com)
This a copy of the same photo from above with some enhancement to show just a few of the many folks still on 19th Street with no cones or officials or flashing lights seperating them from traffic.
Previous Coverage
For the second week in a row ... runners took to the streets of Collinsville for a 5K Run (Friday June 6, 2014). This one is the Cherokee Challenge Moonlight 5K run with perhaps 1000 runners. I normally get 3 or 4 photos of the runners passing throught the start gate ... but with this huge race, wave after wave of runners kept pouring through. The vast majority of the runners were not from Collinsville ... with at least 48 other communities represented. Check back for more later ... including an editorial about perhaps the largest numbers of visitors to Collinsville that most residents don't see and the need for increased safety measures (traffic control) for the trailing runners in the dark. -- Ted Wright 11:30pm Friday 6/6/2014

This web site is brought to you by the Newspaper Museum In Collinsville and the other advertisers appearing on these pages. If you would like to provide news content or advertisements ... contact Ted Wright via wrightted@aol.com.
1110 W. Main, Collinsville, OK 74021

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Ted Wright -- last update 6/9/2014 (CherokeeMoonlight5KRun.html) www.cvilleok.com

Copyright 2014 -- Collinsville, Oklahoma
Visiting Neighbors
Based on a quick scan of the partial race results ... there were about 1000 runners here ... most from out of town ... with at least 47 communities represented:
Adair
Afton
Bartlesville
Big Cabin
Blue Jacket
Broken Arrow
Catoosa
Checotah
Chouteau
Claremore
Colcord
Collinsville
Cookson
Coweta
Deleware
Disney
Eucha
Ft. Gibson
Hulbert
Inola
Jay
Langley
Locust Grove
Moodys
Muskogee
Nowata
Oktaha
Oologah
Owasso
Parkhill
Peggs
Porter
Pryor
Ramona
Salina
Sallisaw
Skiatook
Spavinaw
Stilwell
Tahlequah
Tulsa
Vinita
Wagoner
Warner
Watts
Webbers Falls
Westville
Todahyah Fish (#672 from Moodys) was the overall winner of the 5K run with a time of 21:11 and Spencer Swanson (#263 from Owasso) was right behind him at 21:12.
Female finishers from 22:34 to 34:33
Male finishers from 22:34 to 34:33
This dog and his master finished the race at 51:09 and there were still plenty of runners behind them in the dark.
Editorial Below