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BUTLER SLAYS DRAGON 10K<br />
Eye of the Dragon 10K and Tail of the Lizard 2-Miler<br />
February 27, <strong>2010</strong><br />
Melbourne, FL<br />
Although the Eye of the Dragon returned for its 22nd birthday with record crowds, electronic timing and a new course,<br />
there was a sense of déjà-vu reading the race results. Kevin Butler and Steve Hedgespeth went one/two in the Eye of<br />
the Dragon 10K and that Bruce Bayless won the Tail-of-the-Lizard 2-Miler during the Feb. 27 Melbourne race that takes<br />
all participants out-and-back over the Eau Gallie Causeway. The three men were some of <strong>Space</strong> <strong>Coast</strong> Runner’s heaviest<br />
hitters during the first half of this decade as evidenced by taking a glance at past Runner of the Year series winners<br />
(see box below):<br />
While the trio never gave up running, their names were inked less often in race results after Bayless moved to TN, Butler<br />
took up golf and Hedgespeth - after building a house, finishing his Masters degree and becoming a two-time father - took<br />
a break from racing.<br />
“Racings not going to be an every week thing now,” laughed the now 47-year-old Butler, who in past years was often<br />
mistaken as the brother of preeminent local speedster and coach, Doug Butler. “It will be once a month at the most. I<br />
was pretty sore after the race.”<br />
After running with Hedgespeth and Thaddeus Austin through the first half of the 10K, Butler said the other two faded<br />
back while he kept the pace steady relying on his Garmin GPS - a technology unavailable during his heyday.<br />
“One of my biggest problems now is pacing,” he said. “I used to know exactly what I was running but now I think I’m at a<br />
certain pace but I’m not. The GPS is really helping me run even splits.”<br />
Butler’s five minute and 56 second-per-mile splits gave him the win in 36:49. Hedgespeth took second in 37:33 and Austin<br />
pulled in for third in 37:58.<br />
“The award was kick-ass,” said Butler of the unique dragon and dagger designs. “My wife and everyone at work loved it.<br />
It’s not one that is going to the recycle pile.”<br />
In the women’s race, 23-year-old Beth Whalen made it six for<br />
six wins in this season’s <strong>Space</strong> <strong>Coast</strong> <strong>Runners</strong> Runner of the<br />
Year series as she pulled in at 39:50. Last year’s Eye of the<br />
Dragon champ, Tracy Smith, was second in 40:41 and Julia<br />
Thomas took third in 41:43.<br />
Butler’s 36:49 will now stand as the time to beat for a new<br />
course record. This year, Dave Hernandez and Bill Dillard,<br />
mapped out a new route that provided athletes a straight outand-back<br />
along Pineapple Avenue as opposed to the old<br />
romp full of up-and-down turns through the adjacent neighborhood.<br />
Only two races remain in this season’s ROY series. The<br />
Downtown Melbourne<br />
5K kicks off<br />
PAST ROY SERIES CHAMPS<br />
on April 3 in Melbourne<br />
followed by<br />
the <strong>Space</strong> Walk of<br />
Fame 8K and 2-<br />
Miler in Titusville on<br />
April 10. Visit http://<br />
mattmahoney.net/<br />
2000-01 2 nd Bruce Bayless<br />
2001-02 1 st Steve Hedgespeth<br />
2 nd Bruce Bayless<br />
2002-03 1 st Kevin Butler<br />
3 rd Steve Hedgespeth<br />
2003-04 2 nd Steve Hedgespeth<br />
3 rd Kevin Butler<br />
2005-06 1 st Steve Hedgespeth<br />
scr/cal.html for complete<br />
information<br />
Page 8<br />
Kevin Butler’s first place Eye of the Dragon 10K award.
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