6/27/2026
Acme Fresh Market Foundation 8K
Akron, Ohio
Rachel Turner
Finish Time: 34:08
Overall Place: 32nd Place / 1198
Division Place: 2nd Place / 116 (5th Place Overall Female Finisher)
George McFall
Finish Time: 35:38
Overall Place: 58th Place / 1198
Division Place: 3rd Place / 38
Scott Orlando
Finish Time: 38:34
Overall Place: 117th Place / 1198
Division Place: 4th Place / 47
Kristi Quesenberry Gunyula
Finish Time: 39:13
Overall Place: 133rd Place / 1198
Division Place: 4th Place / 98
Roy Miller
Finish Time: 43:21
Overall Place: 281st Place / 1198
Division Place: 12th Place / 38
Stephanie Orwick
Finish Time: 45:33
Overall Place: 385th Place / 1198
Division Place: 25th Place / 116
Mike Williams
Finish Time: 45:35
Overall Place: 386th Place / 1198
Division Place: 20th Place / 47
Peter Heroux
Finish Time: 47:01
Overall Place: 461st Place / 1198
Division Place: 45th Place / 71
Christine Churpek
Finish Time: 47:03
Overall Place: 463rd Place / 1198
Division Place: 26th Place / 89
Kevin Christensen
Finish Time: 55:29
Overall Place: 801st Place / 1198
Division Place: 28th Place / 89
Brittany Kiehl
Finish Time: 1:115
Overall Place: 1145th Place / 1198
Division Place: 111th Place / 116
Brittany Kiehl, Laura Fairfax, and Stephanie Orwick volunteered for packet pick up and race day duties.
Race Recap By Rachel Turner:
Akron 8k today, first race in the Akron Marathon race series! Had a good run and had so much fun at the after party!! I set a personal record, came in second in my age group, and 5th female overall!
Race Recap By George McFall:
And the 2026 Akron Marathon Race Series is underway… the 1st race in the series was the Acme Fresh Market Foundation 8k. 7am start time. Cloudy and humid! New course for this year’s race — we started just outside of InfoCision Stadium and crossed the finish line on the field of the stadium. It’s always cool hearing our names called as we entered the field.
On paper, I had a good run. But honestly, I struggled a lot especially after mile 3 and gave so much time back on the last mile of the race while on Exchange Street which should have been my fastest mile because of the relatively flat road. The biggest issue for me was my heart rate — it was over 190 several times. I opted to slow my pace to get it under control. I did my best to get back the time I lost but that wasn’t easy to do. My goal was to be at 6:45 pace. I ended at 7:10 pace. My chip time was 35:38. I placed 3rd in my age group. The first place runner finished 1 minute 16 seconds ahead of me. Second place was 11 seconds. Seeing these results stung because I knew I was capable of running a better time today. I will get this out of my system and start preparing for my next race which is a 5k in Aurora, OH on July 4th. America’s 250th birthday and my 55th.
It was great seeing so many Team-ER members at the race today. Thanks to the amazing volunteers and everyone on the course who were cheering loudly for the runners.
Race Recap By Scott Orlando:
This morning was the Acme Fresh Market Foundation 8K. The first race of the Akron Marathon Race Series. I was not ready to race. It has been a challenging last 2 weeks physically, emotionally, and mentally. I didn’t want to run but I did. It was very humid and was forecasted to rain but luckily it didn’t.
I toed the start line with no expectations other than to get to the finish line. Today I was running not racing. Today I wasn’t focusing on pace or strategy I was just going to run. The unexpected happened. I was running loose and free. Today running felt easy. I wasn’t pushing hard or stressing about my pace. Today I was running for me. It wasn’t my fastest race but much faster than I could have imagined. I even finished 4th in my division out of 47 with a time of 38:34. My watch data showed I averaged a 7:38 pace for 5:05 miles. An 8K should be 4.97 miles. I thought I was running tight tangents so I wasn’t or the course was a bit long. Either way I surprised myself I didn’t expect to run at that pace.
All participants received a banana themed t-shirt and finisher medal. I know it is personal preference but I prefer tech shirts and I wasn’t a fan of the banana character themed swag. Everyone also received a bag of snack for Acme Fresh Market and two drink tickets.
This year’s race featured several changes. Some where improvements while others I wasn’t a fan of. The biggest change was the title sponsor change to Acme Fresh Market Foundation. As mentioned I wasn’t a fan of the every thing being themed with the banana character. The course was an improvement over previous years bringing back the stadium finish. Using the stadium for pre and post race activities was a huge improvement. This was the first large race I have ever done where there were no bathroom lines! The band at the post race celebration was very good. I did miss the usual Chic-fil-A sandwiches after the race but understand with Acme being the sponsor why the post race food changed. In years past the 1 mile race was held the night before the race. An additional award was provided as an incentive to compete in both races. This year both races took place at the same time on Saturday. I never competed in the 1 mile race the night before so I can’t say if the change this year was good or bad. I can say as a race director making the race a one day event sure makes logistics much easier so I am fine with that change. Overall I think the race was improved with the changes they made.
Sometimes running is about trying to outperform the competition. Other times running is about outperforming yourself. For me today running was simply therapy.
Congratulations to all of the Team ER members and North Water Brewing Run Club members that ran today and did awesome. It was great to see so many running friends out there killing it. Thank you to the
Akron Marathon and all the volunteers who worked so hard to put on a great event today.
Today was a much needed boost of positive energy that I really needed. Running heals in so many ways.
Race Recap By Roy Miller:
This was all about a training run. I am happy with my results and actually really enjoyed the course. Was great to be with fellow Team ER members. My race was great to start and I think the humidity or a cold I had been fighting off had other ideas. I ended up walking a few times trying to get my breathing steady and get my heart rate back in line. Will definitely be back next year to run this one.
Race Recap By Mike Williams:
It was a hot and humid 8K run today. Akron Marathon race series did a great job today. First 3 miles was on pace but I started to fade away the last 2 miles. Overall it was a great day. It was very nice to see team mates and friends.
Race Recap By Brittany Kiehl:
I volunteered this morning for packet pickup. The staff are always welcoming and thankful for the help. You are given VIP volunteer parking, a shirt, and pin that matches the medal.
I then completed the 8K. This is the first year ACME was the main sponsor and not the National Interstate. It was weird not seeing the usual red, white, and blue themed medals. I also was not the biggest fan of the shirt with the banana this year. ACME provided a few post race snacks. I missed having Chick-fil-A sandwiches and popsicles.
However, I loved the course this year. It took you through many parts of the University of Akron. You finished on the football field and the after party was at the stadium. They even had a live band.
Also, another thing that changed was the combined start of the 1 mile and 8K. I missed not being able to do 1 mile Friday night with the boys. There was just no way we were going to get them to the start line by 7 am.
