Taylor captures a ‘special’ Silver Bell Sprint race

Published 11:36 pm Friday, November 30, 2007

Shelley Taylor won this one for John Bruner.

Taylor, the former Northwest Whitfield and currently a standout distance runner at Tennessee-Chattanooga, frequently trained with Bruner, who tragically died on Aug. 4 during the Missionary Ridge Road Race in Chattanooga.

“John and I were the same age and we ran a lot together during the summer for our training,” Taylor said Friday night immediately after posting a time of 19:00 to win her second consecutive 5K Silver Bell Sprint that benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters.

“So I wanted to run this race in John’s memory,” said Taylor, wearing a “Team Bruner” T-shirt. “Through running we became friends. The running community is like a tight-knit family and it was definitely a huge loss to all of us.”

Daniel Martinez, 33, finished in 16:35 to win the male division in his first appearance in the Silver Bell Sprint.

Taylor’s last big competition was on Nov. 21 in UTC’s regional event. The 20-year-old Taylor’s training has consisted of some swimming until this week when she picked up her running to the tune of “about 20 or 30 miles,” she said on a night that was 10 degrees warmer than the 2006 race.

“This race meant a lot more to me and a lot of other runners because of the situation with John,” Taylor said. “It was special and I felt really good tonight.”

Bruner, 19, was about to begin his sophomore year at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville where he was a member of the school’s cross country and track teams.

The former Dalton High standout, who was The Daily Citizen’s All-Area Cross Country Runner of the Year in 2005, collapsed near the finish line in the 4.7-mile Missionary Ridge race.

An autopsy, performed by the Hamilton County (Tenn.) medical examiner, revealed that Bruner died of a rare “coronary artery anomaly.” Dalton physician, Dr. Brad DeLay, called Bruner’s condition a “variation of normal anatomy of the coronary arteries.”

Martinez, a 15-year running veteran, has won three Healthcare Classics and was finally talked into competing in the fifth Silver Bell Sprint.

“People kept telling me I should run this race,” Martinez said. “To win i my first race feels great.”

Martinez said he trains by running 20 or 25 miles per week, so the 5K distance Friday night was a breeze.

“I run 12 to 15 races a year and this was the best time I’ve had,” Martinez said.

— Brookwood School had 84 youngster participate in Friday’s event, according to principal Eill Esters.

“We do a lot of health things with our kids and when we heard about this race we jumped on the chance to get them involved,” Esters said. “We’re doing this in preparation for the Bill Gregory Healthcare Classic in the spring. We had kids from 4 to grandparents in their 70s, I guess. We had the full spectrum representing Brookwood.

— Sam Young, track and cross country coach at Murray County High School, was competing in his fourth Silver Bell Sprint.

“The year I didn’t run my daughter was having a baby,” Young said.