There are races that make you work for your reward, and then there's a race that hands you a cold slice of watermelon the second you stop running. Guess which one we'd rather shoot in August?
The 2nd Annual Watermelon 5K Fort Lauderdale went off at 7:30 in the morning on Saturday, August 8, 2026, at TY Park in Hollywood. More than 280 runners lined up on a South Florida summer morning, ran a chip-timed 5K through some of the prettiest live oak shade in Broward County, and then went straight for the melon. We were out there on the course with our cameras from the first fast footsteps to the last group photo under the pavilion, and honestly, this one was a blast.
Here's how the morning went.
Melon Weather: An August Morning Under the TY Park Oaks
August in South Florida isn't exactly known for being kind to runners. That's why a 7:30 start matters so much. The sun was still low, the oaks along the TY Park loop were doing their job, and the whole course had that soft green light we love shooting in.
You could feel the difference in how people ran. Nobody was fighting the heat yet. Shoulders were loose, strides were easy, and there was a lot of talking in the first half mile. It's the kind of morning where a summer 5K actually feels like a good idea instead of a dare.
Victory Sports Management handled the timing, so every bib had an RFID chip and every finish was official down to the hundredth of a second.
Front of the Pack: The Fast Ones Came to Play
Somebody has to lead, and this year that job belonged to Tommy Mooney (bib 254). The 19-year-old from Chagrin Falls, Ohio, ran completely alone for most of the morning and crossed in 16:12.93. When we picked him up on the course, there wasn't another runner in the frame. That's a lonely, beautiful kind of fast.
Behind him, Kevin Castro (bib 218) of Miami came through third overall in 20:49.65, and he did it flexing both arms and grinning like he'd just won the lottery. Twenty-two years old, red cap, mirrored shades, zero chill. We love that energy.
Jonathon Lambert (bib 152) of Tamarac took sixth overall in 21:16.60 and won the men's 35-39 group, running in a Team Fort Lauderdale Road Runners singlet.
Veteran Legs: Age-Group Wins on Display
One of our favorite things about a race like this is how spread out the ages are. The field ran from a 5-year-old all the way to runners in their late seventies, and plenty of the fastest people out there weren't the youngest.
Kir-Sheng Chen (bib 200) of Lighthouse Point ran 23:12.16 for 15th overall and the men's 40-44 win. His face in our photo tells you exactly how much that cost him.
Then there's Ruth Mosley (bib 103) of Fort Lauderdale. She's 67. She finished 20th overall out of the entire field, was the fifth woman across the line, and won her age group in 24:38.44. She was also smiling the whole way. We've photographed a lot of races, and that combination doesn't come along often.
Young Guns: Teen Runners Holding Their Own
The high schoolers showed up too, and they weren't just there to participate.
Julien Simpson (bib 114) of Pembroke Pines, 16 years old, ran 25:27.90 for 25th overall. When we caught him he was shirtless, mouth open, absolutely emptying the tank. No pacing strategy, no holding back, just go.
Keynan Williams (bib 48) of Miami ran 26th in 25:39.84 wearing the light green event shirt with the cartoon watermelon on the front, throwing up a peace sign as he went by. Two very different approaches to the same effort, about twelve seconds apart.
That's a 5K for you. Everybody's racing something a little different.
Better Together: Running Side by Side
Not everybody runs alone. Some of the best photos we made all morning were of people running together, matching stride for stride without saying a word.
Nathan Snow (bib 184) of Weston and Valerie Joseph (bib 1) of Hollywood came through the oaks shoulder to shoulder. Joseph, 34, went on to win the women's 30-34 age group in 27:45.18. Snow, 50, finished 38th overall in 28:12.58.
They probably didn't know each other before that mile. That's how running works sometimes. You find somebody moving at your pace and you just stay there.
Watermelon Red: Bandanas, Bright Kits and Big Energy
If your race is named after a fruit, people are going to dress for it. And they did.
Alayna Levey (bib 227) of Fort Lauderdale ran in a red watermelon-print bandana and matching red shorts, and won the women's 20-24 age group in 29:25.16. She threw us a thumbs up on the way by. Perfect.
Charlie Mosley (bib 99) of Davie, 69 years old, won the men's 65-69 group in 29:38.96. Yes, another Mosley in the winner's column. More on that later.
Red shoes, red bandanas, green event shirts, watermelon socks. The whole course looked like a fruit stand, and we're not complaining.
Club Colors: The Teams That Showed Up
South Florida's running clubs turned out in force. We spotted Milestone Running Club red all over the course, and Team Fort Lauderdale Road Runners was well represented from the front of the pack to the middle.
Brandon Lee (bib 105) of Fort Lauderdale ran 21st overall in 24:59.17 in a Milestone shirt, filming as he ran. Teresa Soto (bib 154) of Pompano Beach came through in 31:23.8 in a tropical-print Road Runners tank, red headband on, throwing double peace signs at our lens. Brandon Gray (bib 167) of Fort Lauderdale wore Milestone red too, headphones on and eyes straight ahead, and finished in 30:40.47 for fifth place in the men's 40-44.
Clubs change the feel of a race. When you've got fifteen people in the same shirt cheering for each other on a loop course, everybody runs a little better.
The Green Tunnel: Where the Course Gets Real
The TY Park loop has a stretch where the oaks close in overhead and the path narrows. It's gorgeous. It's also right about where a 5K stops being fun and starts being work.
Marlon Gonzalez (bib 118) of Miami came through that section leading a whole string of runners, blue tank, jaw set, in 30:32.18. Behind him you can see the rest of the pack strung out through the shade.
This is our favorite spot to shoot on this course. The light does something you can't fake, and the effort on people's faces is completely honest.
Smiles Per Mile: Why We Love Shooting This Race
Some races are quiet. This one isn't.
Jasmine Pope (bib 146) of Fort Lauderdale ran 33:38.83 in green shorts and a hydration vest, smiling straight into the camera. Tyler Lange-Baillie (bib 14) of Fort Lauderdale finished in 33:39.93 and stopped mid-stride to flex both arms for us, tattoos and all.
Here's the thing about race photography: you can't manufacture that. Either people are having a good time or they aren't. At the Watermelon 5K, they are. It shows up in every single frame.
Thumbs Up: Personality on the Pavement
Nicania Cange-Talton (bib 199) of Coral Springs came around the bend in the light green event shirt, both thumbs up, headphones on, absolutely beaming. She finished in 34:56.32.
A little later, one of our favorite photos of the morning: a runner in a maroon top with her arms straight overhead, phone in one hand, celebrating like she'd just won the whole thing. She was somewhere in the middle of the pack. Didn't matter. Paul Ladino (bib 132) of Pompano Beach was right behind her, working hard in 35:27.84.
Winning your own race counts. Every time.
The Last Half Mile: Digging In Near the Finish
By the time runners hit the last stretch, the shade thins out and the sun starts to find you. This is where the morning gets honest.
Scott Levine (bib 35) of Fort Lauderdale came through in a green and pink basketball jersey and a backwards red cap, still grinning, in 35:35.69. He looked like he was enjoying himself more than most people enjoy a Saturday morning at all.
Other runners had their heads down and their arms working. Some had gone quiet. That's the last half mile of a summer 5K, and getting there at all is the whole point.
Camera Ready: Waving, Grinning, Going For It
Diane Fanor (bib 201) of Miami ran the whole thing in a straw bucket hat, a lime green top and magenta leggings, with a neon fanny pack and her phone out. She waved at us with one arm while running with the other and finished in 40:25.69.
Shauna-kay Campbell (bib 290) of Fort Lauderdale came by in the event shirt, visor and headphones, throwing double peace signs, and clocked 42:01.77.
If you're wondering whether we notice this stuff, we do. Every wave, every peace sign, every "hey JP!" We're catching all of it.
Every Bib Counts: First-Timers and Family Runners
Not everybody who signed up is a runner. Some of them just decided to do it, which is arguably braver.
Isabella Barrientos (bib 1870) of Hollywood, 19, picked up a race-morning bib and ran 41:33.61. Race-day registrations get the plain white Victory bibs instead of the pretty watermelon ones, which is how you spot the last-minute crew.
And then there's S. Barkley (bib 74), all of 11 years old, from Hollywood, who ran 45:31.37 and took third in the boys 10-14 group. He gave us two thumbs up and the biggest smile on the course. He was wearing the event shirt like it was a jersey.
Kids at races are the best. Full stop.
The Payoff: A Medal Shaped Like a Melon
Let's talk about the medal, because the organizers absolutely nailed it.
It's a watermelon. A big enameled slice of watermelon, green rind, red flesh, black seeds, gold "FINISHER" lettering, hanging from a red and green ribbon printed with seeds. There's a little palm tree on it. It's ridiculous and it's perfect and every single person who crossed the line got one.
We set one down next to an actual slice of watermelon just to see how close they got. Pretty close, honestly.
Every registered runner also got the light green event shirt with the dancing cartoon watermelon on the front, which showed up all over the course and all over the finish area.
Cool Down: Watermelon in the Finish Area
Then comes the part everybody signed up for.
Volunteers had trays of cold watermelon slices going the whole time, and the finish area smelled like summer. Darleen Ramirez (bib 208) of Fort Lauderdale, 18, finished in 37:33.69 and had a slice in each hand within about ninety seconds.
Shasha Taylor (bib 196) of Opa Locka ran 53:35.86 and came into the pavilion laughing, medal in one hand, melon in the other. Her whole face said "worth it."
There's no better recovery food after a hot 5K than cold watermelon. It's water, it's sugar, it's electrolytes, and it doesn't feel like a chore. Whoever thought of this race deserves a raise.
Family Business: The Mosleys Take Their Age Groups
Remember Ruth Mosley (bib 103) and Charlie Mosley (bib 99)? They both won their age groups. Ruth took the women's 65-69 in 24:38.44 and Charlie took the men's 65-69 in 29:38.96.
After the race we found them standing together in the finish area with their medals on, watermelon in hand, laughing with another finisher. Two age-group wins, same morning, same last name.
We're not going to speculate about how they know each other. We're just going to say that this photo is one of the best we made all day, and that we'd like to be running like that in thirty years.
Sweet Rewards: Medals, Melon and Big Grins
The finish area at TY Park is shady, it's got picnic tables, and nobody was in a hurry to leave.
Isabella Barrientos (bib 1870) came back for a proper photo, holding her medal up in one hand and a slice of watermelon in the other, smiling like the run was already ancient history.
Coeurlande Carry (bib 78) of Sunrise finished in 49:32.85 and went straight for a slice in each hand. Two-fisted watermelon. That's a woman who understands the assignment.
This is the part of the morning we like shooting most. The hard part's over, everybody's proud of themselves, and nobody's guarding their expression anymore.
Friends and Finishers: The Group Shot That Says It All
The last frame we made tells the whole story better than we can.
Three friends from Hollywood, all lined up under the trees with their finisher medals on and a slice of watermelon each: Isabella Barrientos (bib 1870), Briana Booher (bib 214) and Isabella Means (bib 213). Booher was the faster of the group at 32:38.27; Means came through in 52:52.49. Different paces, same medal, same watermelon, same grin.
That's what a good community 5K looks like. Not everybody runs the same speed. Everybody gets the same reward.
Sweet Miles, Cold Melon and a Great Morning
The 2nd Annual Watermelon 5K Fort Lauderdale did exactly what a summer race should do. It started early enough to beat the heat, it ran through the best shade in Broward County, it was timed properly, and it ended with something cold and sweet in everybody's hand.
More than 280 runners finished, from a 5-year-old to runners in their late seventies. Tommy Mooney took the overall win in 16:12.93. Ariel Aragon (bib 57) of Hollywood was the first woman across in 22:51.27. And a whole lot of people in between ran their own race and walked away with a watermelon medal they'll actually keep.
We'll be back next August. Bring your appetite.
Ran the Watermelon 5K? Your photos are up. Head over to our galleries to find yours, and if you're an event director looking for someone to cover your next race, we'd love to talk. JP Pedicino Photography shoots road races, triathlons, obstacle races and community events all over South Florida — Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, West Palm Beach, Miami and everywhere in between.
Find the complete set of race results at Victory Sports Management.
