As part of their family vacation, Bob Switzer and his daughter Kaitlin made a trip to Dowagiac to compete in Steve’s Run.

It turned out to be a very rewarding experience for the Defiance, Ohio natives.

Kaitlin was the female 10K winner with a time of 44:04, while Bob was the male 55-59 age group winner with a time of 44:25.

“We come up to New Buffalo every two years for our entire family vacation,” said Kaitlin. “My dad said, ‘There’s a 10K if you want to run it with me,’ so last night I got off of work at midnight and drove up here. It took three hours. Then I got up this morning and ran it.”

Kaitlin beat Kyra Ball, who finished with a time of 45:39.

“Me and my dad do triathalons and we do a lot of cardio training so I kind of think that helped us,” Kaitlin said. “I felt OK during the race.

“I didn’t expect to win at all, then I saw a lot of people branching out for the 5K and I started to feel good about my chances. Somebody then told me during the race that I was leading and that motivated me to run faster.”

Kaitlin, who is 26 years old, was on the cross country and track teams at Defiance High School and Defiance College.

The 10K male winner was 24-year old Craig Padgett, who finished with a time of 32:47. Ben Veatch finished second with a time of 34:25. It’s the third time that Padgett has won the 10K at Steve’s Run.

Padgett is a Mishawaka High School and Indiana State University graduate.

“I’ve done this race since my sophomore year in high school, but I haven’t done it in a few years,” Padgett said. “I usually try to stay up in the front.

“This year, it was a last second decision to come. I decided (Friday) to come down and I made the four hour drive (from Terre Haute) because this is my favorite road race. I like how it goes on the trails. I love tough courses which have a lot of hills.

“I trained pretty hard this week. I was worried that I might be too tired today, but I was OK. I didn’t focus on running hard. I just wanted to enjoy being out here.”

South Bend product Joey Zielinski was the male 5K winner with a time of 15:45. Kenyan Brian finished second with a time of 16:58. The 20-year old Zielinski is a St. Joseph High School graduate and he will be a junior this fall at IUPUI.

“I ran this race a few times in high school and a couple times when I was 12 and 13 years old,” said Zielinski. “I think I got second place in the 5K when I was in high school. I really like the course and the atmosphere. It’s a family tradition to come up and run it.

“I’ve been running a lot of miles to get ready for the college cross country season. You never really know what time you’re going to run without doing speed work. But I was happy with my time.”

The 5K female winner was 15-year old Haley Schuck, who finished with a clocking of 19:44. Penny Rathburn was second with a time of 21:09.

Schuck, who will be a freshman at New Prairie High School, finished 11th in the 5K race last year.

“I’ve run a lot with the high school boys on the cross country team during the summer and that’s helped me a lot,” said Schuck. “I was kind of going for (first place) today. I like the course and the hills.”
Nancy Nelson captured the women’s 5K walk title with a time of 33:32, which was a minute and eight seconds better than runner-up Nancy Northrop.
Dowagiac’s Michael Shields with a time of 36:10 won the men’s 5K walk. Stephen VanAntwerp was second with a time of 38:15.

MALE
10K run age group winners
6-under: Jack Bell 1:02.40; 7-9: Will Hurst 1:10.57; 14-15: Dillon Quinones 40:33; 16-18: Ben Veatch 34:25; 19-24: Craig Padgett 32:47; 25-29: Alexander Quick 42:12; 30-34: Dirkus Callahan 39:07; 35-39: Chad Ganger 38:44; 40-44: Matt Jones 38:10; 45-49: Scott V. Smith 41:24; 50-54: Ed McCollum 37:49; 55-59: Bob Switzer 44:25; 60-64: Steve Runyon 45:04; 65-69: Vere Shindeldecker 58:06; 70-74: Les Collins 1:03.25

5K MALE
6-under: Andres Hernandez 35:18; 7-9: Levi Streeval 20:13; 10-11: Gabe Rathbun 22:40; 12-13: Max Rathbun 18:58; 14-15: Antonio Chapa 18:10; 16-18: Kenyan Brian 16:58; 19-24: Joey Zielinski 15:45; 25-29: Kevin Rook 17:05; 30-34: Mike McCarthy 18:19; 35-39: Jason Horne 25:30; 40-44: Chris White 17:57; 45-49: Craig Hanke 18:55; 50-54: Dave Bussard 17:06; 55-59: Marlin Howe 22:24; 60-64: Mike Skrzypek 23:06; 65-69: Richard Lauer 22:27; 70-74: Dan Whitten 30:24

FEMALE
10K run age group winners
14-15: Becca Timm 45:49; 16-18: Kyra Ball 45:39; 19-24: Valerie Burns 47:54; 25-29: Kaitlin Switzer 44:04; 30-34: Dana Varner 52:54; 35-39: Andrea Groote 46:08; 40-44: Marjorie Chacon 47:13; 45-49: Jacqueline Barnes 53:39; 50-54: Barb Welty 49:46; 55-59: Claudia Shumaker 57:58; 60-64: Adele J. Pitt 58:38; 65-69: Judy Lemon 1:25.57; 70-74: Kay Caskey 1:21.28

5K FEMALE
6-under: Alexandra Li 37:53; 7-9: Sarah Davidsmeier 36:52; 10-11: Julia Benes 24:05; 12-13: Samantha Tuel 26:08; 14-15: Haley Schuck 19:44; 16-18: Hannah Conner 22:04; 19-24: Kristen Ellis 24:02; 25-29: Jocelyn Hafer 21:44; 30-34: Sarah Saylor 21;26; 35-39: Aiyenede Akhigbe 27:45; 40-44: Penny Rathburn 21:09; 45-49: Lynda Wurzel 23:27; 50-54: Linda Rock 27:50; 55-59: Mimi Otterbein 29:09; 60-64: Annette Wodrich 27:33; 65-69: Renate De jong-meyer 28:14; 70-74: Carole Desimone 37:05