Barks & Brews 5K: Leon Flesher Dominates M1-12 with a Sub-18 Finish

• Leon Flesher, age 12, won the M1-12 age group in 17:32 (5:39/mi) — more than 2½ minutes clear of the field.
• Brothers sweep the podium: Atticus Flesher (age 9) edged Cody Skibby for 3rd at 20:00 — just one second behind 2nd-place Sawyer Brudz (19:59).
• Three-way photo finish for 8th–10th: Rory Robinson (26:28.85), Thomas Glidewell (26:28.86), and Milo van Houtryve (26:28.86) finished within a single hundredth of a second.
• Youngest on the podium: Atticus Flesher finished 3rd at just 9 years old; his brother Elliot, age 6, completed the 5K in 23:39 for 7th.

Leon Flesher didn't just win the M1-12 age group — he ran away from it. His 17:32 at 5:39 per mile was in a different class from the rest of the 31-finisher field, and he backed it up with the 8th-fastest split among the women in the final mile-to-finish stretch — a mark that puts his closing speed in sharp perspective.

The podium told a family story. Leon's younger brother Atticus (age 9) crossed in 20:00 for 3rd, one second behind Sawyer Brudz's 19:59 in 2nd. That one-second gap held firm despite Atticus actually posting the 37th-fastest final-leg split to Brudz's 38th — meaning Atticus was closing, but just ran out of road. A Flesher in 1st and a Flesher in 3rd, with a 9-year-old on the podium, is the subplot of the day.

Deeper in the field, the race produced one of the tightest three-way finishes you'll see anywhere. Rory Robinson, Thomas Glidewell, and Milo van Houtryve all clocked 26:28 — but the timing system separated them by a single hundredth of a second across three places. Robinson edged into 8th by the narrowest of margins, with Glidewell and van Houtryve sharing 26:28.86 right behind.

And then there's Elliot Flesher — age 6 — who ran the full 5K in 23:39 at 7:37 per mile to finish 7th. In a group that included 10-, 11-, and 12-year-olds, a first-grader cracking the top ten is worth a moment of appreciation.