Watch CBS News

Hundreds Take On The Key Largo Bridge Run

Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter

KEY LARGO (CBSMiami/NSF) --  Nearly 800 runners laced up their shoes and took on the sixth annual Key Largo Bridge Run on Saturday.

A scenic out-and-back footrace above the Upper Florida Keys and the eastern edge of the Florida Everglades attracted 771 half-marathon, 10k and 5k runners.

The USA Track & Field-certified course crosses the 65-foot-high, 1.25-mile-long Jewfish Creek Bridge along the southern portion of the 18-Mile Stretch, a section of the Florida Keys Overseas Highway that connects mainland South Florida with Key Largo.

Key Largo Bridge Run
An SUV, trailering a boat, passes competitors in the Key Largo Bridge Run Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014, in Key Largo, Fla. The event attracted 771 participants who competed in 5K, 10K or half-marathon divisions. During the run, traffic from the Keys to the South Florida mainland was diverted to an alternate route. Traffic to the Keys was not impacted by the event. (Andy Newman/Florida Keys New Bureau/HO)

Winning the overall men's and women's half-marathon titles were Miami's Scott Byers, 34, who placed a time of one hour, 25 minutes and 14 seconds, and Big Pine Key resident Helena Bursa, 39, who ran 01:31:33 in the women's division.

Lauretta Bailin from Amesbury, Mass., outpaced even her male competitors in the 10K division, posting a time of 42:53. Marathon, Fla., resident James Kidney won the overall male division with a time of 43:53.

Islamorada's Ivan Diaz, 28, and Erinn Cowell 38, of Tequesta, Fla., were the men's and women's 5K category winners, with first-place times of 21:30 and 24:49, respectively.

Since its inception, the bridge race has attracted participants from across the U.S., the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Canada and Europe.

The 2015 event is set for Saturday, Nov. 7th.

(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Florida Keys News Bureau contributed to this report.)

RELATED CONTENT:

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.