Keys Teen, Atlanta Woman Win Divisions at Florida Keys Bridge Run
MARATHON - A Florida teenager and an Atlanta woman won the overall men's and women's divisions at a weekend footrace across the longest of 42 highway bridges over water in the Florida Keys.
Vaclav "Vance" Bursa, 15, of Big Pine Key finished first overall in the annual Seven Mile Bridge Run Saturday, posting a time of 41 minutes, 1 second and also claiming the top spot in the men's division. Bursa, who placed third in the 2022 race, is a student at Marathon High School.
Joanna Stephens, 28, of Atlanta, completed the course in 41:12 to win the women's division title and place second overall. Last year's winner, Collin Wainwright, 27, of Springfield, Pennsylvania, and Joel Martinez, 31, of Cape Coral finished in 41:33 and 41:45, respectively, to take second and third place in the men's division.
Holly Smith, 38, from Key Largo posted a women's division second-place time of 42:10. Key West resident Shelby Nowak, 28, placed third with a time of 46:51.
Collin Wainwright, 27, of Springfield, Pennsylvania -- winner of last year's race -- and 31-year-old Joel Martinez of Cape Coral finished in 41:33 and 41:45, respectively, to take second and third place in the men's division.
The annual race, capped at 1,500 runners each year, drew competitors from 41 U.S. states, and other countries including Canada, the U.K. and Switzerland. Just getting a chance to compete is challenging. The April contest is one of the most popular running events in the southeastern United States, and the 1,500-runner field filled within minutes after online registration opened in January.
Begun in 1982, the footrace over the convergence of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico was part of festivities celebrating the completion of a project to build 37 new Keys bridges to replace converted railroad bridges constructed in the early 1900s.