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The family atmosphere for the 20th Tour de Cape was evident in both the 5K race and the cycling event last weekend.
The Saturday morning road race at Cape Harbour and the 15-, 31-, 62- and 100-mile noncompetitive cycling rides Sunday morning were dominated by entire families.
The annual recreational festival attracted over 200 runners and between 500 and 600 cycling enthusiasts.
Ida Baker High School sophomore runner Brent Haskill finished third in the 5K, 16 seconds behind winner Tom Tisell (17:03) of St. Paul, Minn. He also watched and encouraged his mother, Laura Sederquist, as she finished nine minutes later.
"I'm impressed with her; she finished seventh among the women and at one point she never thought she could go this far," Haskill said. "She stopped running for over 10 years and then got back into the sport."
Added Sederquist, 38: "Running is fun. I don't attempt to keep up with Brent since the last time that happened he was a little boy."
Haskill enjoys running with teammates or family during training, acknowledging the social aspect of the sport.
"Running by yourself can be boring so you go with teammates or friends, making a run more entertaining," said Haskill, who has one goal of being part of the Ida Baker 800-meter relay team that makes the state track finals.
"I ran with my parents at one time but now you may want a faster workout so you go with the guys on the team," Haskill said. "The Tour de Cape is a community event strictly for fun.
"The Edison Festival of Light 5K in February is another large community event with entire families running."
Cape Coral cyclist Mike Devitto, his wife and two daughters participated in the 15-mile bike ride after watching the event for several years.
"This is a perfect family event and the girls can make 15 miles so we enjoyed the excitement and of course the exercise," Devitto said.
The Tour de Cape was presented by the Cape Coral Parks & Recreation Department and co-sponsored by The News-Press .... |
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