Leprechaun Leap raises 'green' for Lincoln County soccer

For a couple hours Saturday morning, the streets of downtown Stanford were a little greener than usual, with people milling around town dressed in their St. Patrick’s Day finery.

The purpose of the green attire was not just to celebrate the holiday. No, those choosing to wear green garb did so because they were participating in the third annual Leprechaun Leap  5K Run/Walk.

The 3.1-mile Leprechaun Leap, which wound along Main Street, up Danville Avenue, into Oakwood Estates, back onto Danville Avenue, across Portman Avenue and down Lancaster Street before ending back on Main, was sponsored by the Lincoln County High School Boys and Girls Soccer Boosters as a fund-raiser for the two programs. 

A total of 47 runners and walkers forked over entry fees of $25 and $20 to participate in this year’s Leprechaun Leap.

Shane Peck, 42, of Stanford was the overall winner in the fund-raiser run/walk, finishing the race in a time of 21:37. 

The female Leprechaun Leap title went to an out-of-county runner, with Ada Benson of Danville the first female to cross the finish line. Benson, 13, posted a time of 23:14 which placed her third overall.

To add to the fun of the run/walk, a Lucky Charms Challenge table was set up mid-race for those participants willing to interrupt their running to compete in a speed-eating contest. At the conclusion of the race, only two participants, and a rider, had partaken  of the cereal. Peyton Griffin, 11, of Hustonville stopped for a quick bite and Evelyn Jane Barker, 39, of Lancaster also grabbed a few spoonfuls.  Jesse Friend, 3, who was being pushed along in a stroller by her mom, Mary Friend, also stopped to eat some cereal. Griffin received a bulk-size box of Lucky Charms for winning the cereal challenge.

With  a “pot of gold” prize up for grabs in the Leprechaun Leap costume contest, several runners did wear St. Patrick’s Day-themed clothing for the race. Barker did not win the cereal challenge but the Lancaster runner, decked out in a green-and-white felt top hat, green t-shirt, shamrock  necklaces and bracelets and shamrock-decorated fingernails, took home the prize, a small black bucket filled with chocolates wrapped in gold-colored foil.

Results from the Leprechaun Leap follow:

Overall Results

*Overall male/female winners

1. *Shane Peck, 4221:37

2. Damien Sallee, 3322:48

3. *Ada Benson, 1323:14

4. Keith Stillwell, 5123:42

5. David Grigson, 2624:31

6. John David Friend, 30 24:37

7. David Frazier, 5524:39

8. Carter Dunn, 1725:52