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The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 5, 2009

Invitational's Namesake Passes

Since 1999, Robinson High has hosted the Millard Shumate Invitational cross country meet at Picnic Island. And most years, Shumate was there at the finish line, helping with timing or shepherding runners through the chute.

Sadly, he won't be there again. The meet's namesake and one of the local running community's icons passed away Wednesday night at Memorial Hospital after a bout with pneumonia. He was 88.

Shumate was the former president of Tampa's Bayshore Runners Club and a nationally competitive age-group runner. Shumate is probably best known for the hundreds of local road races he directed or assisted with. He hosted a popular series of 5-kilometer and 10k races at Horizon Park (now Al Lopez Park), as well as half marathons and a Gasparilla warm-up 15k on MacDill Air Force Base.

Before he was beset with Alzheimer's Disease in 1998, Shumate was one of the country's top age-group runners at various distances. He had run the Boston Marathon three times and New York City twice. At age 64, Shumate won his age division at the Space Coast Marathon in Melbourne with a time of 3 hours, 34 minutes and 23 seconds.

Locally, Shumate was consistently the winner of age groups over 60 at most of the major events, including the Gasparilla Distance Classic. Until his health problems, Shumate had run every Gasparilla from 1978 to 2002.

Shumate's wife of 62 years, Rosalie, said her family is in the process of arranging a memorial service.

FOOTBALL: More than a month after National Signing Day, Plant wideout Orson Charles will finally make his college announcement today. Charles will choose between Georgia, Tennessee and USC.

After helping lead the Panthers to a Class 4A state championship and then participating in the Army All-American Bowl Game, Charles took his five official visits, which included tours of Florida and FSU.

Charles, who led the state last year with 1,421 receiving yards, dropped the Gators and Seminoles from consideration.

Bill Ward, Katherine Smith

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