Steven Palmer of Florence won the 8th annual Blood Rock 100 with a Top 10 time, while Huntsville runners Tay Cavett and James Ebert recorded podium finishes in the 50-mile and 55K.
Cavett won the 50-mile race women’s division with an event record time and was third overall. Ebert won the 55K title, leading a gaggle of runners posting record times.
Palmer, 40, crossed the 100-mile finish line ahead of his nearest competitor by more than four minutes. He finished in 26:25:56 on the rugged course at Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham. The event, along with three others, were held Nov. 6-8.
Palmer’s time is the 10th best in the 100-mile event’s history. Among the others in the Top 10 are Jeff Browning, Karl Meltzer and Wesley Ormond of Huntsville. Palmer was one of 18 finishers in the 100-miler.
Jeff Morgan, 56, of Huntsville, finished 14th in 39:46:06. Ran Crump, 28, of Madison, was 18th in 43:33:19.
Cavett Record in 50
Cavett, 26, was third in the 50-mile race, finishing in 11:11:45 to set the women’s record in the race.
She and fourth-place finisher Jane Murawski blew away the event records with their runs. Cavett’s now top time is more than an hour better than the previous mark. Murawski’s No. 2 time is about 50ish minutes better. Their times, along with the No. 10, were the first to crack the record list in three years.
Graham Grant, 28, of Carrollton, Ga., won the race in 10:07:04. That time puts him fifth on the record list, the first inclusion to the Top 10 in four years. Tony Pollard, 54, of Fairhope, was second in 10:54.
Pollard, Cavett and Murawski, 44, of Idaho Springs, Col., each finished about 10 minutes apart.
Donnie Smith, 56, of Huntsville, finished 16th in 16:59:43.
Ebert Wins Again
Ebert continued his podium prowess this year, leading a crew of record-setting runners to win the Blood Rock 55K.
Ebert crushed the course record, finishing in 5:49 to claim the top spot on the list. The top six men’s finishers cracked the records list, including the first four places led by Ebert. He won by about three minutes.
Chad Woods, 53, of Huntsville, finished 27th in 9:34:21. Jill Hardesty, 58, of Huntsville, finished 36th in 10:49:33.
Kelsey Drum, 33, of Birmingham, won the women’s division and was seventh overall with a record time. She finished in 7:11:50, now the top spot on the event records list.
Kelly Clary, 56, of Huntsville, was 32nd in the 25K event, finishing in 3:18:36.
See all of the Blood Rock results for each race here.
