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New Joe's Run receives good reviews

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If any of the Joe's Runs race officials or sponsors were worried about the acceptance of the event after moving from its longtime venue near Joe T. Garcia's Restaurant, then they should feel better after Saturday morning's (March 29) event. Of the runners interviewed, all liked the new course, and didn't seem to miss being at the old location.

The move to the new location near the Samaritan House (which the race benefits) on Hemphill, didn't keep many runners away as 1,200 had preregistered and an estimated 1,400 participated, race officials said.

A chilly morning (low 50s) greeted the runners, but the recent high winds fortunately stayed away and an early morning rain had quit well before race time.

There were several activities for youngsters, and the abundance of food was similar to what was being served at the previous location. And after most runners gave the new course a stamp of approval, chances are the event will continue to be one of the more popular ones in Fort Worth.

Men's winner Louis Brasco, 37, of Grand Prairie said this course is better than the others previously used. ``This one has long straightaways, not that many turns, so it's good. It's a little challenging. It's got a couple of little hills, one after the first mile and one after the second, which isn't really a hill; it's more of an incline.''

Women's winner Ruthie Tate, 43, said of the course, ``I liked it. I really did. Not a lot of turns; it has a lot of straightaways. It was a little more hilly than I thought it was going to be...but it doesn't have that huge hill (on the previous course that climbed to the first mile). I never did like that hill.''

Ruthie said she was surprised to win, though she often is a top challenger in the masters (40-older) division. ``I kept waiting for some young thing to pass me,'' she said with a laugh.

The last time Louis ran the 5K, when it was called Run To Joe's, was about four years ago, he said. That was just about the time he had begun getting serious about his running.