Double Bridge Run

The Annual Double Bridge Run brought out several local runners.  One such set was father and son, Roger and Matt Dobson.  Matt is well known for his accomplishments in running, but something some may not know about Matt is that he is also coaching other runners.

Today he was pacing a young runner.  Karisa Nelson of Brewton,  a 15 year old T.R. Miller student’ athlete, Matt was helping her during the race by running with her and pacing her throught the 9.3 miles. It was her first race beyond a 10K. She won the 15-19 female age group in 1:08:01. This was good enough for 13th female overall. The race had an oustanding field with over 3200 runners.

Roger Dobson, Matt’s dad, ran today and finished in 1:27. He had not been training specifically for this race and was unsure about it. The last time he raced this far was when he ran and finished the 1986 Blue Angel Marathon! That was a long time ago. Matt said,  “I encouraged him to do it and I had the great privilege of finishing between Karisa and him….although I ran with Karisa throughout the race.”

Matt’s Master’s Record of 49:57 (40 + age) still stands, so nobody broke it this year. So today he acted as Coach and encourager on this run and will keep doing that for awhile.

Congratulations to all of the local runners.