By KEVIN CHIRI

Publisher

RESERVE – Ask anyone who runs their own business if there is a need for stress relief, and you’ll get a mighty big &#8220you betcha.”

Gregg Simon, owner and operator of Gregg’s Neighborhood Supermarket in Reserve, considers himself a member of that club, but has found a great way to shed a little of the stress that goes with operating a small business.

&#8220I have always exercised, but a number of years ago I started running. It’s great to break up the stress,” he said.

But now Simon is taking his running to a new level, as he competed in the Crescent City Classic in New Orleans last weekend for the seventh consecutive year, and kept a streak alive of finishing in the top 500 every year.

Any of the 20,000 plus runners who can finish in the top 500 are considered an elite group. They are awarded an autographed CCC poster for their performance. Simon didn’t even realize the first year in 2000 when he finished 430th that there was extra meaning.

&#8220I remember running past this guy with a mile to go and being told I was in the 400s,” he said. &#8220After the race my friend told me it meant I would get one of the autographed posters.”

Ever since then, Simon has made it a personal goal to finish in the top 500 for 10 years in a row, and after his 270th place finish this year, he has the streak up to seven in a row.

Simon was one of only six runners from St. John Parish to finish in that elite number, with Bryan Oubre of Reserve leading the local contingency with a fantastic 168th place showing. The 26-year-old finished the 10K (6.2 mile) course in 41:11.

Also finishing well from St. John were Sean Doody, 42, who was 228th; James Carroll, 94, who was 235th; Simon at 270th; Cathie Koss of Gramercy as the top parish woman in 321st overall; and Christopher Bergeron, 40, who finished in 379th.

Simon followed up his first year finish by coming in 331st in 2001, then 387th in 2002. But ever since then, he has a streak of four finishes in the top 300 as he was 208th for his best finish ever in 2003, then 236th in 2004, 299th in 2005, and 270th in 2006.

&#8220The toughest thing about running in this is that there are so many people,” he said. &#8220But if you come in with a qualifying time of under 45 minutes, they put you in some of the groups up front to start. Of course there are always people who sneak into the front groups, but some of them get hurt since they are slow, with a lot of faster runners going past them.”

Simon has also run the Mardi Gras Half-Marathon three times, and works out by running three to four miles a day, three times a week, most of the year. With the race approaching, he increases that workout for the 6.2 mile CCC run.