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Ron Roma approaches the finish line of the 46th annual Run Thru History Saturday at the Vicksburg National Military Park. The 71-year-old Vicksburg resident, was the overall winner of the 5K race walk, with a time of 32:23. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Terrie Foster approaches the finish line of the 46th annual Run Thru History Saturday at the Vicksburg National Military Park. The 39-year-old Vicksburg resident was the women's winner of the 5K race walk, and finished second overall, with a time of 32:28. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Jack Kelley approaches the finish line of the 46th annual Run Thru History Saturday at the Vicksburg National Military Park. The 17-year-old from West Monroe, La., was the overall winner of the 10K run, with a time of 36:16. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Elisabeth Gaillet runs in the 46th annual Run Thru History 10K Saturday at the Vicksburg National Military Park. Gaillet finished the race with a time of 45:37 to win the women's championship. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Maggie Winters, left, and Abram Rice, right, show off their trophies for winning the girls' and boys' Cannonball 1-miler children's fun at the 46th annual Run Thru History on Saturday. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Terrie Foster, left, and Ron Roma, right, show off their trophies for winning the women's and men's 5K race walk at the 46th annual Run Thru History on Saturday. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Jack Kelley, left, and Elisabeth Gaillet, right, show off their trophies for winning the men's and women's 10K run at the 46th annual Run Thru History on Saturday. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Ron Roma and Terrie Foster erased all of their bad history with the Run Thru History in one go on Saturday.

The two Vicksburg residents won the men’s and women’s 5K race walk championships and finished first and second, respectively, at the 46th edition of the race through the Vicksburg National Military Park.

Roma won for the first time in more than 15 attempts at the Run Thru History. He’d finished in the top 10 six consecutive years, and second each of the last two.

Roma said the Run Thru History’s status as an all-star event for the state’s race walkers made it a championship he was proud of, especially after chasing it for so long. The 71-year-old topped the field of 240 walkers with a time of 32 minutes, 23 seconds.

“I had the first taste of it last year at the Over the River Run. I’d done very well in that one, had several seconds and several thirds, but this one here has always been harder,” Roma said. “I haven’t placed as high because of all the competition. This is a much more difficult race to win.”

• Complete race results from MS Race Timing
• Run Thru History photo gallery

Foster, meanwhile, redeemed herself after a heartbreaking finish in 2024. She was battling for the women’s title when she fell from exhaustion 50 yards from the finish and wound up in fifth place overall.

This time she finished nearly four minutes ahead of the women’s runner-up Ella Kate Boone, with a time of 32:28.

Boone finished fourth overall in 36:23 and Elizabeth Joyner was fifth in 36:30. Lee Fore slotted into third place and was the men’s runner-up with a time of 35:07.

“My friends joked that it was my redemption race,” the 39-year-old Foster said.

Roma was just ahead of Foster as the two came to the finish line. He mistakenly thought another line of tape on the ground was the finish and eased up, which almost allowed Foster to catch him.

Foster, though, also throttled back a little bit to make sure there wasn’t a repeat of last year. She finished five seconds behind Roma.

“He was my lead person. I just tried to keep him in my line of sight and within reach,” Foster said. “I thought about trying to just go for it, but I didn’t want to fall again because I was tired. Last year was bad enough. I said it’s not even worth falling so let him have it.”

The Run Thru History’s 10K run was just as competitive — for the first half, at least.

Jack Kelley, Will Bates and Ryan Crandall were all within about 30 yards of each other at the halfway point. Then Kelley surged while Bates and Crandall fell off the pace, and Kelley wound up winning by two minutes.

Kelley, a 17-year-old from West Monroe, Louisiana, had a winning time of 36:16. Isaac Childs finished second overall in 38:18, David Bennett was third in 38:19, and Crandall (39:25) and Bates (40:12) rounded out the top five.

“The other guys slowed down and it was a downhill. I took advantage of it and I went past them. They just couldn’t stay with me,” Kelley said. “After we passed the arch, my lead started growing.”

Crandall had finished either first or second in the Run Thru History eight times in the last nine races, and won it in 2017, 2022 and 2024. He said a lingering quad injury suffered a few weeks ago contributed to his struggles in the second half of Saturday’s race.

His consolation prize was seeing lifelong friend Elisabeth Gaillet bring home the women’s championship.

The 29-year-old track and cross country coach at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Ridgeland had a time of 45:37 to win the Run Thru History in her first attempt at it.

“Ryan brought me over here. It was a lot of fun. I’d heard how great a race this is, but to be able to actually participate in it was a win in that sense,” Gaillet said. “His parents do the timing, so he’s been talking it up for years. This is the first time I could actually do it.”

Gaillet placed 13th overall. The women’s runner-up was Rebekah Swenson, in 46:42, which was good for 18th place. Haley Bennett was third in the women’s division and 21st overall with a time of 47:11.

“I haven’t been able to do a lot of training, so my plan today was just to come out and have fun and run. Then actually coming away with a win is fun,” Gaillet said. “I was with a group of guys and they were helping me pace, and to feel out where second place was, and keep pushing me through the whole race.”

More than 500 people participated in the Run Thru History’s 5K race walk, 10K run and 1-mile children’s fun run.

Vicksburg resident Abram Rice won the fun run’s overall title by beating Jack Dornbusch in a sprint to the line, and 11-year-old Maggie Winters won the girls’ championship.

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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