It was a beautiful morning for the Clermont Clay 15k race with 840 finishers running in this one-of-a-kind race on a 10 mile stretch of clay road in South Lake County. A new race format provided social distancing at the start, personal cups for water stations and boxed meals post-race in accordance with COVID-19 regulations. The run was also dedicated to Nina Kraft of Clermont, a nine-time Ironman triathlete who passed away in August of this year.
Produced by FloDash Events, the race raised over $20,000 to raise awareness and add funds to the not for profit that hopes to have future projects that include running trails in South Lake County. Race Director Kimberly Grogan stated “Participation in this live event exceeded last years’ race by 40%. Runners from across the state of Florida, seven other states and Great Britain competed in this iconic trail race. We appreciate our sponsors and volunteers who helped make this an incredible experience for everyone.” Post-race comments were overwhelmingly positive. Clermont resident Jill Van Mechelen stated “FloDash Events does a phenomenal production with each event they host. Kimberly, Amalie, Kevin, and Brian did an amazing job from start to finish… the comfort level brought about in these uncertain times…. Packet pickup was quick and fun at Dash Sports. Thank you 1000x over for giving all of us a sense of normalcy for the day…. making us feel safe at the start with the ‘dots’ of social distancing, the great food after we finished running and the amazing Stretch Lab group to help the runners recover.”
The event also included a Virtual Race so runners from across the world could participate. Victor Carreno who moved from Clermont to Wilton, Connecticut, recently participated and said “The Clermont Clay 15K is about to start. Missing all my FL friends but I’ll imagine myself doing my best on those hills alongside them!”
Congratulations to First Place Winners Alexander Colon from Orlando and Jessica Marlier from Apopka. Thanks to sponsors Dash Sports, Visit Lake, Oakwood Smokehouse, Skratch Labs, Suncreek Brewery, Clermont