What’s the best way to start a day when you know you’re going to consume large quantities of food, like on Thanksgiving? With a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) run, of course!
And, the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area hosted three such runs, with nearly 3,500 total runners taking part. The largest of these was the 12th annual Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot, hosted by the New Tampa Rotary Club at the Shops at Wiregrass, with more than 2,100 runners and walkers.
At the same time, BayCare Wesley Chapel Hospital hosted the BayCare Wobble at the Tampa Premium Outlets, with more than 1,100 participants, who enjoyed the cool weather, a fun costume contest and DJ music. I was there to photograph this race, which was won by Land O’Lakes resident Alejandro Peña, in an outstanding time of 15:34 (photo below left).
But, photographer Charmaine George was on-hand at the first annual “Trot for Tessa,” a non-sanctioned 5K fun run at Tampa Palms Elementary (TPE) that was created to honor a former student at the school, Tessa Wiseman, whose mom Robin also is a current second grade teacher at TPE.
Tessa, who passed away from liver cancer in August of last year at the age of 28, was an avid runner who not only logged 6-7 miles per day and ran marathons, but also served as a guide runner for visually impaired athletes who ran road races.
After high school, Tessa earned her undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and was a year from graduating from the University of Virginia Law School in Charlottesville, when she tragically lost her second cancer fight. She worked for the American Immigration Lawyers Association in Washington, D.C., where she was focused on immigration and refugee advocacy and was an inspiration to her family, friends and colleagues. She wrote an op-ed piece for Glamour magazine in 2017, following her first cancer diagnosis and again made national headlines when she was released from the Moffitt Cancer Center to attend Taylor Swift’s final Tampa performance only four months before she passed away.
TPE principal Angela Gluth said that not only was the run named in Tessa’s honor, a magnolia tree was planted at the school to remember her.
“Every time you see that tree, you’ll be reminded to live a little more like Tessa with kindness, generosity and that love for life…If there is any money left over from (the 200+) race registrations, we will donate it to our school’s Vision Department, to create Braille resources for our students. and the Wiseman family will be selecting some of Tessa’s favorite childhood books so our students here can continue with their love of reading [in Braille].”
Tessa’s father Todd Wiseman told those in attendance that Tessa “would have loved running with you through Tampa Palms today.” — GN
