This year has been a very eventful year, both ups and downs, for Kingswood Klam 5K Run race winner Emma Rogers, who recently completed her studies at William & Mary and who will start her teaching career this fall at Clara Byrd Baker Elementary School in Williamsburg. Rogers won the Colonial Half Marathon in February with a dominant performance (1 hour, 18 minutes, 10 seconds), but then had a serious bike accident in March and is just now recovering to running form. The eighth annual Kingswood Klam 5K was held last Saturday, starting and finishing at the Kingswood Pool.
It had two out-and-backs, of West Kingswood Road and Oak Road, before a loop of Dover Road and Kingswood Road. It was mostly flat, but with several short inclines — not the fastest of courses, but not too challenging. It was the ninth Colonial Road Runners Grand Prix race of 2024.
Many participants, either from the CRR or members of the Kingswood Pool, had the home-course advantage of running past their ownhouses. There were 117 entrants, with 94 finishers in the 5K and 19 finishers in the 1-mile fun run. The race director was Gina Waddell.
Rogers, 23, of Williamsburg, won for the women by 1 1⁄4 minutes with a time of 17:55, just three seconds shy of the course-record 17:52 set by Laura Labuschaigne, 27, of Richmond, another W&M grad, at the 2023 Kingswood race. CRR Grand Prix leader Emily Honeycutt, 33, of Newport News was second in 19:10, and the rapidly improving Tricia Murphy, 43, of Williamsburg was t.