MormonTimes.com racers finish first

MormonTimes.com racing team runners took first place in both the 5K and 10K runs at the Freedom Festival Run in Provo on Friday morning. Five runners from the team ran through the finish line of what team manager Bob Wood called a "pretty hilly course.""Our MormonTimes.com Running Team were the stars of the day at the Freedom Run in Provo this July 4 morn," Wood said.Lindsey Dunkley finished first in the 5K run, winning the $300 prize. She finished it in 16:56, according to Wood. She finished more than a minute ahead of the second-place runner. "I was happy with the win," said Dunkley, mother of three children. "This is my fourth 5K since my daughter was born last year."Rena Chesser sped through the finish line first in the 10K run at 37:33, also winning a cash prize. Chesser recently competed for a spot to go to trials for the Beijing Olympics and missed it by two one-hundredths of a second. She said this race got her excited about running again after the disappointment."It was a good race," Chesser said. "It was a good way to show patriotism and get out and run with thousands of other runners."Other participants included Jill Stevens, Julia Bachison and Heather Anderson. Stevens will also be singing "God Bless America" at the Stadium of Fire tonight at the Lavell Edwards Stadium. Bachison had two blood blisters on her feet break during the race. Her white socks were stained red when she finished. But that did not stop her from finishing — just 30 seconds short of her time at the New York Mini-Marathon last month. "On mile five I wanted to cry, but I didn't,"  Bachison said. "I just hung tight and ran with the blood."Anderson improved her time from her last 10K in New York by 8 minutes. She also ran the entire 10K for the first time, without walking. "I may have finished last out of the Mormon Times team, but I don't care," said Anderson. "I didn't walk once and I beat my own time."Members of the team will race on the 24th of July, which they hope "will be their ticket to a personal best," Wood said.