Park Ridge Charity Classic 5K to Wallor, Staton

Saturday's 36th Park Ridge Charity Classic 5K was as fast and furious as I remember from years gone by. This was my first Park Ridge race since 2010 and before I hit the finish line, I had dug down about as deep as I can go. It's a hard-core, no-frills CARA Runners' Choice Circuit race that always brings most of the best runners in the Chicago area. For starters, the top seven men broke 16 minutes and the top six women broke 18 minutes. Eric Wallor, 30, of Palatine separated himself from the field early and won on a sunny morning in 15:19.94. Second place went to Emisael Favela, 36, of Berwyn, in 15:40.21, and he was followed a stride later by third-place finisher Mark Wehrman, 27, of Chicago, in 15:41.20. Pamela Staton, 26, of Chicago, was the women's winner in 17:16.16. Runner-up was Laura Batterink, 28, of Evanston, in 17:19.84. Third went to Jacqui Giuliano, 27, of Oakwood Hills, in 17:33.52. Loads of other big-name locals were behind them in great times. I love races like this where super runners show up knowing they all can't win. As for me, I got some well-timed pick-me-up cheers from some very nice runners (Fred F., Dave S. and Grace W.) during the race. They kept me going and got me where I needed to be. Congrats to all.