Fun atmosphere at Bohemian Triangle Street Mile

The Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival continued last night with the inaugural running of the Bohemian Triangle Street Mile in downtown Cedar Rapids.

In front of a small crowd of spectators near the Chrome Horse Saloon, 55 area runners, many of whom were high school-aged or younger, took part in the one-mile race.

Despite the oppressive heat, the atmosphere was fun and light-hearted.

Race coordinator Colin Flynn was very satisfied with the entertaining, albeit small, turnout.

"We're extremely pleased with how things ended up. Being the first year for this, we really had no idea what to expect, especially with the heat. It looked like everyone was having a lot of fun and that's what we wanted."

Much of that fun can be attributed to the large number of kids and teens that participated in the event. Of the 55 runners, 34 were 20 or younger.

The length of the race is appealing to a younger crowd, especially families with younger kids looking for their first road race.

As far as the future of the race, Flynn is optimistic for an even better attendance next year.

"This was about the size of field we expected for an opening event, so I have no complaints. These street mile races are becoming more and more popular all over the country, especially among younger people, and I expect that to help us expand next year."

Former Prairie standout Jacob Aune was named overall winner with a time of 4:39.

"This race is more about fun than anything," he said shortly after the race. "It's a bit of a warm-up for the 8K (today). I'm hoping to post a sub-27 minute time ... tonight was a big confidence booster for that."

Aune, who graduated this past spring, will be running in track and cross country at Iowa State University. Close behind Aune was Linn-Mar runner Josh Evans, who was the winner of the male 14-18 division with a time of 4:41.

Other winners include: Jennifer Jenks in the female 13 and under, Patrick Gorman in the male 13 and under, Stephanie Jenks in the female 14-18, Stacie Merta in the female 30-34, Joe Lahart in the male 30-34, Jennifer Hollingsworth in the female 35-39, Liz Efting in the female 40-44, Leslie French in the female 45-49, Ken Sunser in the male 45-49., Vanessia Klinsky in the female 50-54, Dan Dall in the male 50-54, Willie Lahart in the male 55-59, and Tom Wolfe in the male 60 and over.

n Comments: (319) 398-8258; jordan.aune@sourcemedia.net