Summer BHAG season is over, with our stylish whites tucked snugly in drawers for another few months. Pumpkin spice is being added to everything from post-run pizza to recovery cold plunge tubs or saunas. What, you haven’t been in the Orange Sweatbox or had a Pumpkin Plunge to refresh and restore your body and senses?
(Just wait … it probably will happen.)
Those participating in Big Hard Ass Goals saw a great summer, perhaps a bit hotter than usual. From big events here in the state to those out west or in Europe in the mountains, athletes tackled challenging goals. Some achieved those. Others didn’t and will, or may, try again. Redemption feels pretty darn good.
What’s coming up next? Big trail and endurance events aren’t over, by any stretch. We’ll be keeping an eye on things, including TVO-area upcoming marathons, while planning next summer’s BHAG fun.
Zombie Backyard Ultra
PELHAM — Matthew Mullins of Owens Cross Roads, was among area finishers of the Zombie Backyard Ultra on Aug. 30 at Oak Mountain State Park.
Mullins, 44, finished with 50.04 miles and tied for sixth. He has competed previously in the Zombie, with T-10 records in 2022 and 2023 with 75.006 miles in each.
Other local finishers include Cherie Hildreth, 46, Madison, with 29.19 miles, and Kelsey Kemp, 34, of New Market, with 8.34 miles.
The Zombie is a backyard ultra setup with a 4.167 mile loop and about 500 feet of gain and loss. Runners had one hour to complete the loop and be in the starting corral when next hour begins to attempt the next lap.
See all of the results here.
Cruel Jewel 100
BLUE RIDGE, Ga. — Sharon Wheeler of Hixon, Tenn., finished second in the Cruel Jewell 100 on May 18 with a record finish.
Wheeler, 48, finished in 28:22:43, putting her eight in the event’s Top 10 women’s records. It’s her second one on the list.
Kevin Steegen, 34, of Huntsville, finished 75th in 41:25:04.
The Cruel Jewel 100 is a 103.54 mile race in the Chattahoochee National Forest. It consists of 94 miles of trails, 10 miles of mountain roads and 20 aid stations. The race starts at noon on Friday, taking runners into the weekend. It is a Western States 100 qualifier.
See all of the results here.
Yeti Snakebite 50/50
LITHIA SPRINGS, Ga. — Christy Scott of Owens Cross Roads finished tied for ninth in the Yeti Snakebite at Lithia Springs State Park on Aug. 30.
Scott, 52, completed 35.1 miles in 8.88 hours. She is training for a 100-mile event this autumn. The 35.1 miles puts her in a tie for 10th on the Snakebite women’s records list with several others.
Carrie Lin, 53, of Athens, tied for 55th with 23.4 miles.
Runners had 8.88 hours to complete as many miles as they could or wanted to finish on the 6-mile loop.
See all of the results here.
Massanutten 100
FORT VALLEY, Va. — Kyle Wagner of Huntsville finished 25th at the 30th annual Massanutten 100-miler on May 16 in the George Washington National Forest.
Wagner finished in 28:18:09.
The event is held in the Massanutten Mountains of the George Washington National Forest in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. The course includes short but rugged mountain climbs with more than 18,000 feet of total ascent. It has a 36-hour cutoff.
See all of the results here.
Hellbender 100
OLD FORT, N.C. — Mac Dean of Chattanooga was one of five record-setting runners in the 10th Hellbender 100 on May 9.
Dean, 33, finished the 100-mile event in 21:18:53, the ninth-best time in event history. on may 9, 10th anniversary
Mac Dean, 33, of Chattanooga – 21:18:53, 9th best time in event history and one of five T10 men’s records set this year. Dean was fifth overall. Kyle Kalbus, 39, of Chattanooga, finished 21st in 25:19:35.
Dan Riefenberg, 43, of Huntsville, finished 37th in 26:44:43. Jeff Morgan, 56, of Huntsville, 56, finished 99th in 33:23:24.
Due to the effects of Hurricane Helene, the course was altered somewhat but still included the Black Mountains of North Carolina. Runners plunged deep into the valleys and to the summit of Mt. Mitchell, the highest mountain east of the Mississippi. Hellbender has an elevation change of more than 48,000 feet.
See all of the results here.
Delirium 32K, 15K
ANNISTON — Cherie Hildreth of Madison was top local finisher in the Delirium 32K on the Coldwater trails on June 21.
Hildreth, 46, finished 17th with a time of 4:18. Christy scott, 52, of Owens Cross Roads was 24th in 4:46, and Darby Calvin, 30, of Athens, was 52nd in 6:05.
Emeterio Hernandez, 58, of Harvest, finished 12th in the 15K with a time of 2:18.
Runners in the 32K had four trails of different distances, from 1.36 to 9.67 miles, to complete in seven hours in a specific order.
See all of the results here.
Mid-State Mile
FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Cody Linhart took top honors among TVO-area runners at the Mid-State Mile backyard endurance run on June 14.
Linhart, 33, of Knoxville, finished ninth with 67.10 miles. Runners had 20 minutes to complete the 1-mile course and be in the starting corral before the next mile began. The mile had 340 feet of elevation gain.
See all of the results here.
Yeti Troublesome Hollow 50K
BRISTOL, Va. — Ryan Phillips of Killen was the top TVO-area runner in the Troublesome Hollow 50K on April 26.
Phillips, 40, finished 75th in 7:05:44. Jennifer Taylor, 33, of Signal Mountain, Tenn., was 84th in 7:11:35. Janice Sutton, 69, of Madison, finished 115th in 8 hours, 30 seconds.
The event takes place north of Bristol on the Mendota Trail, a lovely rails-to-trails conversion with a couple of steady, gentle inclines. At the community of Mendota at about mile 18ish, runners briefly hit the asphalt before a a forest service road. That takes them for a near-3,000-foot climb to the top of the little hill with a historic firetower lookout. Then it’s back down and on the trail to the finish.
See all of the results here.
Mont Blanc TDS
Martin Schneekloth of Huntsville completed the TDS 153K on Sept. 27 in Chamonix, France.
Schneekloth finished in 41 hours, 53 minutes, 7 seconds. The TDS is 95 miles with more than 9,000 meters (29,530+ feet) of elevation gain, starting at Courmayer. Participants have a 44-hour, 55-minute time limit. The event is part of the multi-race week in the French Alps with nine UTMB races.
The TDS was among Schneekloth’s big summer that included the Trail 100 Andorra, and Trail Verbier St. Bernard. He also completed the Black Hills 100 in Sturgis, N.D., on June 27-28 in 31:51:10.
“Neither course changes nor inclement weather could deter me from my goal to finish this beast,” he posted on Facebook. “After 3 UTMB finishes, I figured this couldn’t be that much more difficult. Oh, how wrong I would be. Unexpected heat on the first day and during one of the major climbs had me struggling early. Then followed the usual painful foot issues before sleep deprivation during night two did the rest. My “A” goal went out for good pretty quickly and a secondary sub-40 hour goal went with it shortly thereafter.
“At one point during night two, I didn’t know where I was and had to ask runners where we were going. Hallucinations were the least of my problems, though they were ever present in night two. I met so many people and sadly forgot many of their faces as my mental state was fading fast. After nearly 42 hours, I finally crossed the finish line under the ever-present applause of the crowds and the never-wavering support of my amazing wife and crew extraordinaire.”
See all of the TDS results here (Schneekloth’s time is on Page 21).
