Running: Colorful headgear helping Lancaster runner stand out from the crowd

STANFORD — With so many races and so many runners rushing by, they can all start to look alike after a while. That’s what makes Evelyn Jane Barker stand out.
Barker might have been just another face in the crowd Saturday at the Run for Independence 5K had it not been for what was just above her face.
For while she sported most of the trappings of the typical runner — tank top, running shorts, iPod strapped to her arm — she also brought a touch of her own personal style to the race in downtown Stanford.
The Lancaster woman wore a colorful sun visor adorned with a large foam butterfly, part of a growing collection of hats she likes to wear in races.
“I always like to find little cute hats, and I think it’s just festive and fun to actually wear at the races,” Barker said. “It’s kind of a theme, I guess. It’s kind of me, my personality.”
That sort of flair is rare at local races. While runners may show up in flashy or even homemade headgear or costumes for races elsewhere, the hats seen around here are typically standard fare.
But Barker is drawn to hats. She said she has more than 100 in all, many of which aren’t suitable for distance running.
She has several open-top hats that she can pick from on race days, including hats sporting a parrot — which she wore last year to fit the theme of the Tiki Trot 5K in Versailles — a horse, a shark and a turtle. She was decked out in stars on Independence Day for the Bluegrass 10,000 in Lexington, and it was after that race that she found the hat she wore Saturday in a Cracker Barrel gift shop.
“I’m always looking for little fun ideas,” she said. “I had the idea of wearing this one today. It was kind of a rash decision, too, because I’ve only had like an hour and 25 minutes of sleep. I’m a second-shift worker, so I’m doing good to be here.”
Barker works at the main post office in Lexington, and her late-night hours leave her little time for sleep before early-morning races.
“It’s fun, but the only part that’s a minus for me is the hours. If I had normal-people hours, I could feel a lot better,” she said. “Right now I’m just trying to work my new schedule at work and fit running in in the morning. I’m not real good with the heat, and today was a struggle with the hills, and I’ve not been practicing. This is a tough course.”
Barker ran the hilly 3.1-mile course in 37 minutes, 2 seconds.
“That’s pretty good on low sleep and considering I haven’t practiced. I knew I wasn’t going to be a front-runner,” she said.
She also knew she’d be far behind her friend, Kim Hamilton. The two have run together since Barker started running about two years ago at the encouragement of her brother.
Hamilton, also of Lancaster, finished almost 9 minutes ahead of Barker on Saturday. And while she wore a colorful tie-dyed T-shirt, she said she does not share her friend’s penchant for hats and visors.
“I’m more competitive and she’s more stylish, I guess,” Hamilton said.
“She comes to win; I just come to participate,” Barker added.
Barker clearly enjoys participating. She said this was only her third run of the year, but she has five more scheduled over the next four Saturdays.
“I just like coming to see how I’m going to do,” she said.
And she’s finding out she isn’t the only one who enjoys her hats, as fellow runners have started to comment on them.
“They like the hats,” Barker said.

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Chase Gander and Jenna Ellsworth were the male and female winners in Saturday’s race. Gander’s winning time was 21:31, while Ellsworth finished in 24:22.
The race attracted 45 runners, down from a field of 75 a year ago.

Run for Independence 5K
Saturday
At Stanford
(3.1 miles)

No. Runner, Age, Time
  1. Chase Gander, 29, 21:31
  2. Justin Poynter, 30, 21:39
  3. David Grigson, 26, 22:29
  4. Jason Todd, 41, 22:46
  5. Brian Sallee, 32, 24:20
  6. f-Jenna Ellsworth, 25, 24:22
  7. David Brock, 31, 24:23
  8. Lori Catron, 46, 24:29
  9. Matt Vonlinger, 24, 24:59
10. James Fultz, 40, 25:02
11. Russell Woods, 35, 25:10
12. Kelly Grigson, 25, 25:31
13. Bobbie Perkins, 35, 26:03
14. Larry Vaught, 60, 26:16
15. Bob Rankin, 53, 26:19
16. David Anderson, 48, 26:29
17. David Gash, 31, 27:28
18. Kelly Coffey, 45, 27:48
19. Jennifer Gover, 48, 28:05
20. Kimberly Hulett, 47, 28:06
21. Kimberly Hamilton, 40, 28:09
22. Lindsey Rankin, 22, 28:20
23. Christie Gourley, 39, 28:53
24. Hope Edlin, 46, 29:05
25. Sabrina Spears, 23, 29:39
26. Angela Todd, 41, 30:44
27. Kristen Grant, 22, 30:49
28. Johna Henderlight, 21, 31:00
29. Tommy Hayes, 50, 31:14
30. Rebecca Garcia, 28, 31:25
31. Shane Morgan, 38, 32:30
32. Jesslyn Long, 21, 32:32
33. Kaytlyn Bryant, 15, 33:11
34. Steve McKnight, 54, 33:52
35. Dee Pendygraft, 58, 35:18
36. Nitzi Stinnett, 51, 36:22
37. Evelyn Barker, 38, 37:02
38. Mary Lou Henderlight, 57, 37:35
39. Rhonda Anderson, 50, 37:36
40. Steve Edlin, 49, 38:11
41. Kelly Vaught, 26, 38:21
42. Lois Oliver, 74, 41:22
43. Leo McMillen, 77, 43:22
44. Brooke Gander, 28, 45:49
45. Shirley Howard, 59, 45:49
f-female leader