England native and Kentuckian claim titles in Lexington’s 48th annual Bluegrass 10,000

If you happened to be one of the many people — Lexington Parks and Recreation workers, reporters or fellow Antelope Children teammates — looking for Christopher Phillips-Hart after he won the 2024 Bluegrass 10,000 on Thursday, you had to wait a bit longer than expected.

In a year dominated by a bit of friendly competition among local running groups, the team competition prompted friends in and around Central Kentucky to call in the best of the best. Phillips-Hart, an England native who now lives in Boston after several years as a Lexington resident, returned to the commonwealth to race alongside his friends for a shot at the team title in the 48th edition of the Bluegrass 10,000 and Fun Run.

“We’re a bunch of guys and gals who were in Lexington over the last (few) years, and we just ran together,” Phillips-Hart said. “The Antelope Children name was given by some randomer in a race to my friends Zach, Dustin and Sam when they were doing some distance trail run, and they were like, ‘Those antelopes! Even those antelope children walked up the hills.’ So we just accepted that name, and now we’re a good group of friends who just love the sport and love doing silly, stupid things.”

With his first-place finish in 30 minutes, 25.7 seconds for the 10,000 meters (6.2 miles), Phillips-Hart led the way for the Antelope Children to win the highly competitive team competition; the group finished with a final score of 28 (first place, second, fourth, ninth and 12th). But Phillips-Hart’s individual victory also meant he got a head start on the Antelope Children’s next race — First to Preston.

Inspired by a similar “not-so-secret race-within-a-race” after the Boston Marathon put on by independent, New England-based running brand Tracksmith , the Antelope Children devised a race immediately following the Bluegrass 10,000; the first runner to successfully finish the 10K and then reach a designated house on Preston Avenue would win bragging rights, as well as a customized shirt made by friend Emma Vogelsang.

Antelope Children festivities were to continue throughout the holiday, and, of course, include more running.

“Later today we’ll be doing lots of frivolities for July 4,” Phillips-Hart said. “We do this thing where we drink a beer, eat a doughnut, run a mile and repeat until there’s only one man standing.”

The irony wasn’t lost on Phillips-Hart that an Englishman reigned victorious on the Fourth of July.

“Just trying to enjoy being a Brit winning a 10K on July Fourth,” Phillips-Hart smiled.

Finishing 24th overall, West Liberty native and Bowling Green State University cross country and track and field senior Kailee Perry successfully defended her title as the women’s first-place finisher with a time of 36:16.9. This was Perry’s fourth time running in the Bluegrass 10,000, and second victory. Preparing for her final season of eligibility with the Falcons, Perry bested her 2023 winning time of 37:01.6.

“I was getting into the summer training and starting to build up,” Perry said. “And I just wanted a good, hard effort, so I was like, ‘Why not?’ I always enjoy this race and always have, so I thought it’d be fun to come back and just see what I could do.”

With last year’s victory on her resume, Perry said she knew the possibility of defending her title was “in sight.”

“The big thing was just come out, have fun and see what happens,” Perry said. “It’s always icing on the cake to win again.”

Though predicted thunderstorms held off, the conditions were uncomfortably humid. In addition to using every water hose and sprinkler along the race path, a certain level of mental preparation and grounding during the race were key to Perry’s success — especially after, she admitted, she “took out a little bit hard.”

“Just trusting my gut,” Perry said. “I think picking men off one-by-one and trying to stick to them definitely helps because I know they don’t like getting beat by a girl, but I think it’s kind of fun. So that kept me in it and trying to win it.”

Organized by Lexington Parks and Recreation, the Bluegrass 10,000 and Fun Run continued its upward trajectory of registrants; the 2024 edition of the beloved race in the heart of downtown Lexington drew 2,693 participants, with 2,341 of those racing in the in-person 10K race.

Among those racers was longtime competitor David Hartsek, who celebrated his 40th consecutive Bluegrass 10,000 with a first-place finishing time of 35:58.9 in the men’s crank wheelchair category.

“This race is always what I’ve done on the Fourth of July,” Hartsek said. “First thing in the morning, get out, get ready, do the course and then go back and enjoy the rest of the festivities throughout the day.”

Hartsek earned his fourth straight victory in the category just a few months after he was hospitalized for a severe blood infection. It didn’t seem likely, at least in April, that Hartsek would be able to compete come Independence Day, but he said he used the race — and what it means to him — as motivation to bounce back.

“The race was kind of in doubt for a little bit, but I never let the doubts overrule the possibilities,” Hartsek said. “The commitment, 40 consecutive years, I wanted to keep that streak going. Lord knows what’s gonna bring for the next 40, but it’s still there. And as long as I can do it, I’ll be here to do it.”

Nicholasville resident Ann Combs won the women’s push wheelchair division in 1:04:55.6 with a special cause in mind. After taking “many, many years” off as a Bluegrass 10,000 racer, Combs was inspired to return to the competition following a 2023 mission trip to Rwanda. Working with Christian ministry Cindi’s Hope, Combs decided to raise money through racing sponsorships.

“I’ve been trying to do 5- and 10K races for the last year and asked people to sponsor me $5 for every race I do,” Combs said. “To help raise money for clear water wells in Rwanda, so that’s why I was doing it this year.”

Since October, Combs has participated in more than 10 races as part of this personal project.

Chad Johnson claimed victory in the men’s push wheelchair division in 31:52.8.

View the complete results from the 2024 Bluegrass 10,000.

Bluegrass 10,000 course records:

Men: Marcus Nenow, 29:14 (1983).

Women: Katy Kunc, 33:33 (2021).

Men’s crank wheelchair: Greg Queen, 18:45 (2014).

Women’s crank wheelchair: Carley Pearson, 25:44 (2014).

Men’s push wheelchair: Paul Dietrich, 24:19 (1996).

Women’s push wheelchair: Aerelle Jones, 32:09 (2018).

Will Lexington’s Fourth of July festivities be delayed, canceled in case of bad weather?

‘Competition will be fierce’ in 48th Bluegrass 10,000 in Lexington on Fourth of July