Barham takes first in 5K festival event

The weather was humid and the win was coming from the south.

Other than those two factors, John Barham said he had a good run during the annual Magnolia Blossom Festival 5K event.

"The first mile and a half was super easy, but I had a little bit of wind and the entire uphill on the way back," he said after finishing first in a time of 16 minutes and 35 seconds.

Barham has a personal best time of 16 minutes and 11 seconds in the 5K.

The recent 23-year-old La. Tech graduate (mechanical engineering degree), who is from Magnolia, ran his first Blossom Festival race in 2011 and he figures he's been running the event for about 11 years.

Other than the wind and humidity, Barham said he had a good time competing in the event.

"It was awesome to come out and have some fun at the Blossom Fesitival. I was told that there 256 runners with a total of 400 people signed up including the walkers," he mentioned.

The race started at 7:30 p.m. near the corner of south Jackson and Calhoun Street. Runners went north on Jackson to Southern Arkansas University and traved back along Washington Street. The finish line was set up near Wilson-Bearden Pharmacy.

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