6/28/2025 Kristi Quesenberry Gunyula, Rachel Turner, George McFall, Roy Miller, Scott Orlando, Christine Churpek, Mike Williams, Kevin Christensen, Stephanie Orwick, Renee Buckus, Nancy Wardell, And Brittany Kiehl The National Interstate 8K Akron, Ohio.

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6/28/2025

The National Interstate 8K

Akron, Ohio

Kristi Quesenberry Gunyula

Finish Time:  36:12

Overall Place:  70th Place /1257

Division Place:  4th Place / 109

Rachel Turner

Finish Time:  37:28

Overall Place:  91st Place /1257

Division Place:  7th Place / 105

George McFall

Finish Time:  37:34

Overall Place:   95th Place  /1257

Division Place:  5th Place / 56

Roy Miller

Finish Time:  37:38

Overall Place:  97th Place /1257

Division Place:  7th Place / 56

Scott Orlando

Finish Time:  39:28

Overall Place:  136th Place/1257

Division Place:  7th Place / 45

Christine Churpek

Finish Time:  41:28

Overall Place:  179th Place /1257

Division Place:  13th Place / 109

Mike Williams

Finish Time:  45:22

Overall Place:  333rd Place /1257

Division Place:  26th Place / 56

Kevin Christensen

Finish Time:  49:22

Overall Place:  491st Place /1257

Division Place:  13th Place / 31

Stephanie Orwick

Finish Time:  49:40

Overall Place:  507th Place /1257

Division Place:  26th Place / 112

Stephanie also volunteered for packet pick up duties.

Renee Buckus

Finish Time:  54:07

Overall Place:  683rd Place /1257

Division Place:  46th Place / 112

Nancy Wardell

Finish Time:  54:40

Overall Place:  698th Place /1257

Division Place:  55th Place / 109

Brittany Kiehl

1 Mile Race

Finish Time:  11:35

Overall Place:  299th Place / 461

Division Place:  19th Place / 28

8K

Finish Time:  1:09:31

Overall Place:  1091st Place /1257

Division Place:  95th Place / 112

Brittany also volunteered for packet pick up duties.

Race Recap By Kristi Quesenberry Gunyula:

It was a humid challenging morning running the Interstate 8k, but it was awesome seeing all the running friends along the course and afterwards. Thank you #akronmarathon

Race Recap By George McFall:

The Akron Marathon race series kicked off this morning with the National Interstate 8k. I love doing this race series. It’s great to catch up with people before and after the race. It was a hot and humid morning. My mind said take it easy but my legs had other plans the first 3 miles. I got out of the start corral fast. My first mile was 6:50. I backed it down to 7:05 on the 2nd mile. Hit the 5k mark at 22:33 then said that’s good… and slowed the pace. I could tell I was overheating and my heart rate was high. Mile 4 was a 7:58 pace and the last .97 was around the same pace. Finished with a time of 37:34, 7:34 pace. I ended up 5th in my age group and 95th out of over 1200 runners. The 8k course is always challenging. The after party was fun! I did not mind getting caught in the rain on the walk back to the car after the awards were handed out. A big thank you to the race organizers and the amazing volunteers who make this race awesome!! I am looking forward to the Goodyear 10k in August.

Race Recap By Scott Orlando:

I hade a great time today at the National Interstate 8K. With the warm temperatures and extreme humidity I made the decision to dial it down, not worry about speed, and just run at a comfortable pace enjoying the experience.   I started out a little faster than I would have liked but eventually settled down into a slower pace.   I was very surprised to watch a runner in front of me cut every corner of the course each time there was a turn.  He would cross the street out of the designated course road lanes and make his way up on the sidewalk at each turn.  At one turn there was no sidewalk but he still managed to cut the corner.  This was very disappointing to watch such an accomplished runner cut the course.  The the final water stop I passed him so I have no knowledge to if he continued to cut the course after that.  I can say that several runners reported his bib number to race officials.  I was told that they would disqualify him if he was in contention to receive an age group award.  It turns out that he was in my age group but did not earn an award so they let his time stand,   I finished with a time of 39:28 placing 7th out of 45 in my age division.
The course was well marked with volunteers and traffic patrols blocking streets everywhere.   There were two fluid stations on the course.  The last fluid station was at the 2.9 mile mark of the course.  Being how hot and humid it was I would have liked for them to have one more fluid station around mile 4.   Thanks to the good pre race communication I knew there would not be a fluid station in the late miles of the course so I chose to do something I typically don’t do in a race which was to carry my own fluids.   I filled my SPI Belt H2O Companion with electrolytes.   THE H2O Companion holds 6 ounces of fluid so it was a perfect size and really helped me stay hydrated in the last couple of miles of the race.  The post race festival was a lot of fun until it rained.  Participants received nice t-shirts and finisher medals as well as two drink tickets and 1 food item ticket.
It was great to see so many Team-ER members, North Water Brewing Run Club members, and other running friends there.
Thank you to Akron Marathon for putting on another amazing event and to all of the volunteers who gave their time to support the race.

Race Recap By Nancy Wardell:

I ran the Akron Marathon Race Series National Interstate 8K with a whole bunch of teammates! Great to see so many faces and say hello for at least a little bit! This race is always very well organized and seems to be a Team-ER favorite! The course is very well marked and all the volunteers always seem to be more than helpful and so polite! Love the swag and medal and yummy food and drinks every year as well. I finished at 54:40 with a pace of 11:00 minutes.

Race Recap By Kevin Christensen:

We finished running in the Akron National Interstate 8K this morning. It was warm and humid. Too humid for me to share the after race photo.

Race Recap By Renee Buckus:

I ran the Akron National Interstate 8K this morning to officially kick off summer racing! Despite the abrupt end we still had the best time. Cheers to feeling strong as heck and spending time with the best running friends. Let’s go!

Race Recap By Brittany Kiehl:

Different start/ finish line locations. Course highlights the college campus along with parts of downtown Akron. Lots of crowd support with music! Finishers received a soft t-shirt and medal. Fun post race festivities with food trucks and drinks!