Husband-wife duo go 1-2 in Run for the Ribbons 5K

 

By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com

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ROCKINGHAM — A husband and wife team from Canada took the top two spots in this morning’s Run for the Ribbons 5K charity race in downtown Rockingham.

Chris Milburn, 46, and Julie Curwin, 50, outpaced the field of 114 runners to earn the men’s and women’s victories, respectively. The two are from Sydney, Nova Scotia, and for years have enjoyed traveling to Pinehurst for Spring triathlon training.

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com Chris Milburn smiles as he heads off Love Lane onto Hawthorne Street near L.J. Bell Elementary school, just past the halfway mark of the Run for the Ribbons 5K.

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
Chris Milburn smiles as he heads off Love Lane onto Hawthorne Street near L.J. Bell Elementary school, just past the halfway mark of the Run for the Ribbons 5K.

The weather is perfect here for training, Milburn said, “while there are still big snow piles at home.”

It was Curwin’s first 5K race as a 50-year-old, automatically establishing a personal best in her new grand masters age division in 21 minutes and 22 seconds. Curwin won outright in 19:07.

Curwin started in the top four as the leaders navigated the steep descent of Randolph Street towards the Hitchcock Creek Greenway. Milburn and Brennan Shapiro, 17, of Rockingham, already had separated themseves from the field, so Curwin was in the hunt with Brent Strickland, 18.

By the time Curwin, a former Canadian National Triathlon team member, had managed to pull herself up most of the climb up Love Lane by L.J. Bell Elementary School, she was in third overall. But when she entered East Washington Street near Food King, second place was all hers.

Shapiro finished third in 22:15 while Strickland was fourth in 22:56. Walton Maxwell, 53, of Southern Pines, rounded out the top five in 23:26.

Helen West, 12, placed second in the women’s division in 23:40 while Anne Regan, 24, of Southern Pines, took third in 25:32.

Curwin was about to explain the method behind her pacing, but Milburn chimed in on the issue:

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com Julie Curwin completed the Run for the Ribbons 5K with only one runner ahead of her - her husband, Chris Milburn.

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
Julie Curwin completed the Run for the Ribbons 5K with only one runner ahead of her – her husband, Chris Milburn.

“At her advanced age, you can’t start too fast,” he quipped.

Milburn and Curwin said the two had run in prior Run for the Ribbons events at Carolina Horse Park in Raeford. This year, Discovery Place KIDS joined with The Foundation of FirstHealth to bring the race to Rockingham to promote healthy lifestyles and to help raise awareness for cancer.

Traffic control on Saturday was managed by members of the Rockingham Police Department.

The Run for the Ribbons 5K is the second 5K of the Richmond County running season and the first of three consecutive weekends which feature local 3.1-mile running and walking events. On April 25 the Cordova School will host its 5K and on May 2 the Rockingham Middle School Running Club will stage its second annual Run for Technology 5K at Hinson Lake.

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com Wesly and Sarah Minks, of Rockingham, are in it for a family fun run.

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
Wesly and Sarah Minks, of Rockingham, are in it for a family fun run.

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com Kimberley Lingler, a local family physician, pushes her sons ages 3 and 2, up Love Lane in Mile 2 on Saturday of the Run for the Ribbons 5K in Rockingham.

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
Kimberley Lingler, a local family physician, pushes her sons ages 3 and 2, up Love Lane in Mile 2 on Saturday of the Run for the Ribbons 5K in Rockingham.

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com It's likely this young lady didn't complete quite the entire Big Fun Run 1K distance, but she doesn't seem to mind.

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
It’s likely this young lady didn’t complete quite the entire Big Fun Run 1K distance, but she doesn’t seem to mind.

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com Someone here seems to be taking advantage of the other ...

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
Someone here seems to be taking advantage of the other …

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com The start of the Run for the Ribbons 5K, directly in front of The Pee Dee Post digital newspaper.

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
The start of the Run for the Ribbons 5K, directly in front of The Pee Dee Post digital newspaper.

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com Down Randolph Street in the first three-quarters of a mile of the 5K distance.

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
Down Randolph Street in the first three-quarters of a mile of the 5K distance.

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com The unidentified winner of the Big Fun Run 1K finished in just under 9 minutes (unofficially). The course might have been a tad long.

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
The unidentified winner of the Big Fun Run 1K finished in just under 9 minutes (unofficially). The course might have been a tad long.

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