A crew of area trail runners knocked off the Black Canyon 100K ultra last weekend in Mayer, Arizona, with one qualifying for the Western States Endurance Run lottery.
Lisa Gates, 42, of Huntsville, finished in 13:49:42. That was easily inside the 17-hour cutoff to be eligible for the Western States ultra lottery. Black Canyon is one of several qualifying events for the 2027 WS 100 in California. The 2026 entrants include David Brown, 47, of Danville and Tom Krajna, 68, of Huntsville.
Other finishers of the Black Canyon 100K ultra:
— John Roth, 43, Chattanooga, 14:50:58
— John Woodfin, 51, Huntsville, 18:15:05
— Shelby Britt, 38, Huntsville, 18:17:27
— Colleen Wilson-Hodge, 57, Huntsville, 19:01:57
See all of the results here.
Carnival Frolic 13.1
DECATUR — Josh Whitehead of Madison won the Carnival Frolic half-marathon on Dec. 14 by more than a minute over the 2025 champ.
Whitehead, 47, finished in 1:13:23, ahead of last year’s winner, Jack Paizin of Columbia, Tenn. Paizin finished in 1:14:55. Nick Cross, 33, of Chattanooga, was third in 1:22:55.
Katy Butler, 20, and Bella Butler, 20, both of Dayton, Ohio, crossed together, but Katy took the women’s title in 1:24:14.6 and Bella was second in 1:24:14.7. Nina Sillivant, 31, of Huntsville was third (8th) in 1:29:47.
The event had 155 finishers.
Andrew Ward of Decatur won the Carnival 5K in 17:55. Sophie-Paige Lamp was second and won the women’s title, in 19:17.
See all of the results here. See all of the photos here from We Run Race Photos.
Mesa Marathon
Tay Cavett and MacKenzie Goff, both of Huntsville, completed the Mesa Marathon last weekend in Arizona.
Cavett and Goff crossed the finish line in 3:37:25.
See all of the results here.
Strawberry Plains Half Marathon
STRAWBERRY PLAINS, Tenn. — Will Jeter of Knoxville won the Strawberry Plains half-marathon on Feb. 14
Jeter, 26, finished in 1:11:28. Eddie Smith of Smyrna was second in 1:14:31.
Marion Corum, 36, of Knoxville, won the women’s title. She was 20th, finishing in 1:24:47.
See all of the results here.
Wauhatchee Trail Race
CHATTANOOGA — Sergio Bianchini of Chattanooga won the 39th annual Wauhatchee Trail Race on Feb. 7.
Bianchini, 84, finished in 1:14:26, but had a 40-minute head start so his official time was 35:24. Jan Gautier, 60, of Chattanooga, finished in 1:00:05 but with the head start had an official time of 35:35.
The 6.7-mile race is age and gender handicapped for starting times. Males 25-29 are considered the fastest group and start at time zero. All other groups receive a head start. Females 80 and over start at 9:15 a.m. and males 25-29 start at 10:15.
See all of the results here.
Best Running Store Nominations
The Running Event is now accepting nominations for the 2026 Best Running Stores awards program, which celebrates running industry and community leaders.
The awards reception will take place during the final day of The Running Event in San Antonio on Dec. 3. Click here to submit a nomination.
“Run specialty stores are the foundation of the running industry, and every year, we just keep seeing that foundation grow stronger,” said Genae Salinas, TRE Event Director. “The Best Running Stores awards program has become a cornerstone of TRE. It’s more important than ever to celebrate the stores driving our industry forward while supporting their local communities.”
A pillar of TRE, the awards program recognizes run specialty retailers that exemplify meaningful community impact, excellent customer service, intentional employee support and innovative business practices. Each nominated store is extensively evaluated on criteria including customer experience, inclusivity, training opportunities, and community engagement. The top 100 stores are secret-shopped as the last step of the evaluation process.
Fleet Feet Huntsville/Madison was among the South Region finalists in 2008-14, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023.
Winners will be announced in late July.
Nominations for this year’s Best Running Stores program close March 13. Click here to nominate a store.
