Phillip Traylor and Emily Crispi sped to top podium spots in the 7th annual Wild Thangs Jackalope 8-mile trail run Saturday morning at Monte Sano State Park.
Traylor blasted the park trails in 1:08:07 for overall honors, while Crispi took women’s honors with a 1:17. She was 13th overall, just two spots ahead of Mallory Schmidt (1:18). Amy Berkman was third (17th) in 1:19.
Crispi’s time was fourth-best in the women’s Top 10 records for the race. Schmidt’s time clocks in at No. 5 on the list, and Berkman now is No. 6. Kelsi Lane (1:20) also grabbed a record spot at No. 7. The four records are second-most for one race, with the 2023 event seeing five women’s records set including Crispi at 10th (which is now bumped). Crispi and Traylor grabbed podium spots in the Wild Thangs series opener in June.
Jacob Wierenga was hot on Traylor’s heels, but the 14-year-old speedster couldn’t overcome and was second in 1:08:28. Ryan Manning was third in 1:11, and Craig Smith fourth in 1:15.
The 8- and 4-mile groups started together at 7 a.m. at the playground parking lot entrance. They sped down the road to dive into the woods on the Sinks Trail behind John Scoble Pavilion. The 8-milers then wound around the Keith Trail back to Goat, going its length before climbing it to South Plateau. The final two miles were flat and easy to the finish.
The 8-mile had 158 finishers. Runners found milder temperatures and humidity than expected, along with clean trails.
Mark Wells won the 4-mile race in a speedy 30:50:11, good for 10th on the men’s record list. Colton Zimmerman was second in 30:50:42. and Gerard Tamez third in 32:05.
Ella Carter won the women’s title in 34:06. She was sixth overall. Carter didn’t come close to her Top 10 record time set in 2022, but Saturday’s finish is good for sixth on the list. Victoria Tkacs was second (10th overall) in 35:53 and Ashley Pearce was third (20th) in 38:30.
The 4-mile run had 229 finishers, as usual with a bigger field in the short course event. It and the 8-mile have seen some speedy times in recent years.
The Jackalope was the second of four summer Wild Thangs Series events put on by Running Lane. Marco’s Pizza sponsors the series.
See the 8-mile results here (and begin with Phillip Traylor’s time as the starting point), and all of the 4-mile results here.
Photos, baby!
If you’re looking for photos from the race, check out the images by Spencer Cox here on SmugMug.
