Fifteen runners posted record times Saturday in the Wild Thangs Big Foot Trail Run summer series kickoff at Monte Sano State Park.
The combined fields of 458 runners had comfortable conditions to get Running Lane’s four-event series underway. The park trails — Firetower, Bucca, Sinks, Bankhead and North Plateau — were in great shape. Expected humidity levels weren’t as bad at the 7 a.m. start, but temps cranked up by mid-morning after everyone was finished.
Cole Robinson, 17, of Huntsville, scorched the 10K trails in 40 minutes, 16 seconds to claim the overall course record. His was the first of five Top 10 records set for the men’s 10K. More than 230 runners competed in the 10K.
Megan Allan, 39, set the women’s record in 47:34 in winning the 10K women’s category. She was 11th overall. Lindsey Brimner, 34, of Owens Cross Roads, was second (19th) in 50:52, and now is No. 2 time on the Top 10 list. Alissa Fisher, 31, of Huntsville, was third (22nd) in 53:40 and sits fourth on the Top 10 list.
Also posting record times were Emily Johnson, 43, of Huntsville, with a 54:26 (8th best), Stella Wennberg, 37, of Winfield with 54:38 (9th best) and Emily Crispi, 28, of Spring Hill, Tenn., with 54:31 (10th best).
The men’s 10K finishers were more spread out, with Calvin Vechinski, 21, of Huntsville, coming in second in 42:39. Max Simpson, 26, of Huntsville, was third in 43:33. Jared Murray, 32, of Birmingham, was fourth in 43:57 and Blake Harvard, 39, of Madison, finished fifth in 44:45. All of those times are now in the Top 10 for the event.
Robinson’s 40-minute jaunt was masterful. He obliterated Wesley Ormond’s 5-year-old course record by more than 90 seconds. Ormond won the inaugural Big Foot in 2018, and is intimately familar with the park trails as a four-time Grand Viduta winner.
As well, Allan’s record in the women’s Top 10 demolished the 5-year mark set by 22-year-old Kayla Roberts in the inaugural event. Roberts ran a 52:22. Allan smashed that by almost five minutes, and Brimner’s time knocked Roberts to the third position in the records.
See all of the Wild Thangs Big Foot results here for the 10K event.
Big Foot 5K Results
Saturday’s 5K winners — Mark Ridley, in 23:45, and Isabelle Allan, in 25:07 — posted T-10 record times as they smoked the Big Foot short course.
Allan, 13, of Huntsville, won easily over Amanda Salazar, 42, of Meridianville, who crossed the line at 26:44. Her time was good enough to hit the record books, too. Allan’s is now third-best, while Salazar’s is ninth on the list.
Ashley Roman, 18, of Decatur, was third (20th overall) in the women’s 5K in 28:28. Allan was sixth overall, and Salazar was 14th. Nora Allan, 11, of Huntsville, was fourth in 29:02 and 24th overall. She and sister Isabelle peeled off at the 5K trail while their mother, Megan, went on to smoke the 10K women’s field.
Ridley, 58, of Owens Cross Roads, took the 5K title by 30 seconds over Jean-Francois Gout, 39, of Starkville, Miss. Ridley’s time is fifth-best on the 5K men’s list, while Gout’s 24:15 eased in at 10th.
Gene Desanti, 39, of Huntsville, was third in 24:40.
The 5K field had 219 finishers from six states.
See all of the Wild Thangs Big Foot 5K results and records here.
