Delray personal trainer wins SWA of Palm Beach County Run Away 5K
Oren Griffith Jr. recently won the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County Run AWAY 5K on Greenway Trails.
The 34-year-old Lake Worth resident, who is a personal trainer at Addison Reserve Country Club in Delray Beach, ran a 19.25 over the 3.1-mile layout in West Palm Beach to take first among the 290 runners in the annual event. He averaged 6 minutes and 15 seconds per mile.
Griffith Jr. topped West Palm Beach’s Samir Margetic, 48, who finished second (19:46), and Hillsboro Beach’s Jim Epsilantis, 61, who finished third (21:33). Palm Beach Gardens’ Kim Spivey, 40, was the top female finisher in the 5K with a time of 24.21.
“That was my best race,” said Griffith Jr., whose winning time was 20 seconds off his personal-best clocking of 19:05 on Nov. 18 in the Imagination Library Run for Reading 5K in Royal Palm Beach. That also marked his first road win in a 5K.
“I felt like everything was moving well,” he said. “It was a great pace and ever since (November), I have been trying to chase that time.”
Griffith Jr. ran cross country and track at Lake Worth High School and graduated in 2007. He went on to FAU and the University of Florida where he earned a master’s degree. He only started running long distances seven months ago after taking a decade off. His previous best time in a 5K in high school was 18:50.
“I took a long time off from running,” he said. “I only started running 5Ks in October. I hadn’t run since high school and mostly throughout the years, I was doing a lot of weight training and basketball. Last October, I started my first 5K running and I just started signing up race after race.
“It was something as I got more involved with, I started doing more training for it,” he said. “Each race, I tried to improve my time and learn from each race as well.”
He also ran his first 10K and captured first place with a time of 41:43.26 in the Head & Neck Cancer A Hard Thing to Swallow 5K, 10K & 2 Mile Walk in Hollywood on March 24.
It was a big change in his training regime from lifting heavy weights to doing more work geared to running. He also went from running distance once a week to three times a week.
“It is definitely a big difference,” he said. “I had to change up everything like my diet, flexibility, stretching and mobility. I had changed my endurance training to three times a week…just different variables of training, from running on the track to running at the park or the beach.”
Griffith Jr. said the conversion to running has been gratifying, especially since he is looking for improvement in his fitness clients.
“It is absolutely a great satisfaction to see all of the training and the effort that I have put in pay off,” he said. “Also, the health I have been able to maintain at the moment makes me want to sign up for another race right after I finish a race.
“I changed from doing the heavy lifting and changed my diet,” he said. “I am consuming more healthier carbohydrates and healthier fats.”
The SWA race took participants across varying terrain and through cabbage palms, cypress hammocks, marshes and lush pine flatwoods, with glimpses of Grassy Waters Preserve and the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County Renewable Energy Park.
The ninth annual event raised $10,450 for Resource Depot, which sparks creativity, conservation and community engagement through reuse. Resource Depot is the only advocacy and education center in South Florida championing an eco-conscious lifestyle, striving to shift from convenience to respect for people and the planet.
“This was a record-breaking year for the SWA 5K benefiting Resource Depot,” said Resource Depot Executive Director Jennifer O’Brien. “We couldn’t have asked for better weather or a better turnout.
“We appreciate all 290 runners, walkers and supporters for joining us to enjoy the SWA Greenway Trails and participating in a race that supports waste reduction and resource conservation efforts to keep these areas beautiful for all to enjoy.”
The SWA Run AWAY 5K had two new initiatives this year. For the first time, participants were able to drop off lithium batteries at the event. Lithium batteries can be a fire hazard if not disposed of responsibly. Participants were asked to tape each terminal of the lithium battery with clear tape before disposal.
Participants were also asked to turn in two empty, clean plastic shopping bags and receive two reusable recycling bags in exchange as part of its SWA Plastic Bag Xchange2 Program.