LUMBERTON — Setting a new personal record is always a goal for every runner.
Lumberton resident Windy Christy had that on her mind and winning first place in the women’s division as an afterthought when she took on the 5K race at the Rumba on the Lumber on Saturday.
Like the rest of the 141 competitors that lined up beside her, Christy didn’t let the near freezing temperatures at start time slow her down en route to her setting a personal best on the 3.1-mile trek. Christy finished first with a time of 21:23, finishing six seconds ahead of Lisa Lee from Fayetteville, who took home second place.
“I was hoping for a seven-minute mile and mine was a 6:47-minute mile today,”Christy said. “So I’m really excited about that. That’s what it’s all about for me, just being better than I was yesterday.”
An avid runner who spends most of her weekends at running events or triathlons, Christy said this is one of her first race wins in over a year, but that’s not a main concern for her.
“Every week I get in probably three or four run workouts,” she said. “It’s my favorite in all of the fun sports stuff I do. It’s a stress-reliever, it’s something you can do anywhere and all you have to do is put your sneakers on and run.”
Finishing third in the women’s 5K was Carol Plummer of Fayetteville with a time of 23:03.
Rockingham’s Jimmy Arnold won the men’s division of the 5k with a time of 19:53. He edged out Ryan Beck from Lumberton who clocked a 20:16 race and 17-year-old Quantavious Smith from Lumberton who took third with a time of 20:38.
In total, 141 racers took part in the 5K race and 66 raced in the 10K.
In the 10K race, William Rothstein won the men’s division with a time of 39:15. Josh Whitley finished second with 41:31 and 65-year-old Danny West ran a time of 41:46 to take home third.
Lumberton’s Shannon McIver won the women’s division by finishing in 44:59. In second was Ashlee Abner of Lumberton came in at 48:28 and Fayetteville’s Angela Topolewski came in third at 49:28.
