UF cross country's Cade Monk wins 44th annual Jack Gamble Melon Run; UConn alum top woman

More than 250 people kicked off their Fourth of July holiday Monday morning with a 3-mile run in the 44th edition of the Jack Gamble Melon Run at Gainesville's Westside Park.

After an 8 a.m. start, it took just 15:30.50 for 21-year-old Cade Monk to be the first to cross the finish line of the race, which was hosted by the Florida Track Club.

Monk, who is a member of the University of Florida's cross country team and a graduate of Buchholz High School, has participated in the Melon Run since he was 15 years old. However, now a senior with the Gators, Monk says Monday race might be his last one.

"This is my last year of probably being in peak fitness," Monk said. "So it was fun to go out and get a win and finish out here."

On the heels of Monk was his UF teammate, freshman Josh Stern, who finished with a time of 15:32.03.

Together, the Gator duo sprinted out the last half-mile of the race, said Monk, who added that the last of the race's many hills snuck up on him toward the end of the course.

"It's so hilly," Monk said. "This is probably the hilliest road you can find in the entire city and they decided to put it all right here in the race. The last hill... it stung a little."

Meanwhile, 25-year-old Haley Hasty ran the Melon Run for her first time on Monday and clocked a time of 17:28.87, which led all female runners and placed her 10th amongst the entire field.

Hasty, a graduate student in UF's physical therapy program, comes by way of Connecticut, where she ran cross country for the UConn Huskies from 2015-2019.

"It definitely is a tough race post-Fourth of July festivities in the heat," Hasty said. "But it was fun. Tough, but fun."

Following up Hasty among the race's females was 40-year-old Betsy Suda, who finished with a time of 18.09.40.

The run's youngest participant was 3 years old, while 86-year-old Wally McLean came in as the race's oldest runner. McLean finished in a time of 47:06.47.

Following the run, participants spent time indulging in ripe watermelon before going on their way to finish celebrating the July Fourth holiday. For Hasty, that meant returning to a friend's house to unwind.

"He has a giant inflatable water slide," Hasty said. "The goal is to cool down straight to the water slide and keep the party going."

When asked about his plans, Monk's answer was much of the same.

"We got the run out of the way. We earned our breakfast. Now we can go celebrate," Monk said.

For the race's complete results, click here.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: 44th annual Melon Run draws 266 participants on Fourth of July