The annual Bluegrass 10,000: a race built on sweat and tradition
The largest number of racers in six years took to East Main Street on the morning of the Fourth of July to compete in the 50th anniversary of the annual Bluegrass 10,000 race.
The event, hosted by Lexington Parks and Recreation, had about 4,170 people registered for the various races, said Paul Hooper, the Lexington Parks and Recreation Information Office Supervisor. A 1-mile fun run, 5k (a new addition this year) and 10k race took place with a $500 cash prize awarded to each men’s and women’s winner of the 10k foot-race division and 10k wheelchair race divisions.
Racers participating in the 10k and 5k set off at 7:30 a.m. on East Main Street to compete, as well as sweat and laugh in the summer heat of Kentucky. The course — plastered in red, white and blue — zigzagged through the heart of downtown Lexington before shooting off on Richmond Road.
The final stretch of the course on Richmond Road, which the 5k race does not include, is the favorite of many racers, Hooper said. Racers get to run toward the bustling architecture of downtown on a tree-lined path that is normally filled to the brim with cars.
“It’s just a beautiful experience as you’re approaching that finish line,” Hooper said.
The race has cemented itself as tradition for many, with five racers having run it annually since its inception in 1976.
Mary Witt Wilson, Christie Robinson, Tim Bailey, Ken Catron and Robert Henthorne set off this year for their 50th Bluegrass 10,000 with flair. Bailey raced in a gold suit adorned with a cape, while another member raced in a Hulk Hogan costume.
The group used to be nine; four of the members have died since 2011. Wilson said in an email to the Herald-Leader that three of those four members ran the Bluegrass 10,000 up until the year or year before they died.
“We are a dedicated bunch,” Wilson said in the email.
Jacob Thomson, a professional runner and former University of Kentucky All-American athlete, ran the 10k race in 30 minutes and 43 seconds. He was awarded first place for the second year in a row.
“I feel like the summer road races are always nice, and hot and humid,” Thomson said. “It doesn’t lead to superfast times, but it makes really good racing.”
Thomson grew up in Louisville, where he was a high school state champion before going to UK to run, but now resides in Flagstaff, Arizona. He ran stride-for-stride alongside Keaton Thornsburry, a runner at Eastern Kentucky University, who attended the same high school he did.
“It’s always fun to drop down and do shorter distance races, and had a lot of fun with it,” Thomson said.
Purity Sanga won the race in the women’s division, finishing the 10k race in 35 minutes and 18 seconds. This was her first time racing in the Bluegrass 10,000.
Chad Johnson, a professional wheelchair racer and resident of Corydon, Indiana, won the men’s division of the 10k wheelchair race with a time of 30 minutes and 22 seconds in the Push Rim division. He has been a single, full-time father of two since 2016, and said he often trains for races by pulling his kids in a carriage attached to his wheelchair.
“Sport is incredibly important for people with physical disabilities because there’s so much that’s not in your control,” Johnson said. “It allows you to have something that you can physically do where there’s so much you can’t.”
Johnson took on wheelchair racing in 1998 after an accident in 1985 left his legs paralyzed. He went on to start raqcing professionally in 2000.
Mikiahya Greene won the women’s division of the 10k wheelchair race with a time of 35 minutes and nine seconds in the Hand Cycle division.
The race kicked off the city of Lexington’s all-day Fourth of July celebration. The celebration will conclude with a fireworks show at 10 p.m. near Main Street and Oliver Lewis Way.
“This race has been a cherished part of our Fourth of July events for the past 50 years, and now I know for many of you it’s family tradition,” Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton said.