The first Saturday of summer welcomed a hearty field to the trails on Chapman Mountain, with Josh Cornett winning the Alabama A&M 5K with the fastest time in six years.
Cornett, 31, of Madison, powered across the finish line in 20:52. He was part of a group of speedgoats who bolted from the start and separated early from the field. It was the fastest winning time since 2019, when Daniel Silivant won in 19:41.
Tia Larsen-Calcano, 27, of Madison, smoked the line as well, finishing seventh and taking the women’s division. She crossed in 26:56, the second-fastest women’s time in six years. Zoe Stubbs, 10, of Madison, was second (18th) in 30:28, and Kalena Stubbs, 16, of Madison, was third (22nd) in 37:07.
Dylan Glass, 33, of Gurley, was second overall in 21:17 and Jude Seibert, 18, of Ardmore, was third in 21:44. Seibert also was third two years ago.
Kevin McGrann, 42, of Lake Bluff, Ill., took Masters honors with his sixth-place finish in 26:49. He was in town to attend a wedding and jumped into the festivities. Heather Wadsworth, 46, of Madison, took Masters honors in the women’s division. She finished 29th in 33:28.
The field had 72 finishers out of 106 registered, including 12 runners ages 60-older and 15 ages 14-younger. The race was held at the Chapman Mountain Nature Preserve, which is part of the Land Trust of North Alabama. With more than five miles of trails in the woods, this historic property, now preserved, offers a variety of activities within minutes of downtown Huntsville.
Alabama A&M 5K History
You may ask yourself, “Am I right, am I wrong?” while on the trails in summer, but another twist is why Saturday’s event is the “Alabama A&M 5K.”
A bit of race history, thanks to Harold Tinsley, one of the founders of Huntsville Track Club and longtime historian. The club was formed in 1971, and the A&M race began a year later. It is one of the oldest races in the state, and definitely in Huntsville. It has had more than a dozen race directors, and changed names, locations, terrain and distances in its 53-ish years. Here is Tinsley’s account, published in 2017 in HTC News:
This race began as the Alabama A&M 10K Road Race. The race usually included a 1-Mile Run on the track behind the old A&M gym and except for 3 years it was a 10K until 2014 when it was changed to the current 5K Cross Country Race. Those 3 years (1994-96) it was a 7K, and one year without even an announcement at the start or on the entry form, the splits were marked and called in kilometers instead of miles.
Needless to say that led to confusion and much dissatisfaction. Why do that and why a 7K? No one but (race director) Charlie Feaux would know that – a very interesting character. Coming right before Atlanta’s Peachtree Road Race, this race date, distance and the hills were designed as the club’s tune-up for Peachtree, which was run on a very hilly course in the early years. Club members dominated the awards at Peachtree in the years when it was a competitive, timed race with team competition.
The A&M race drew some top southern road racers in the early years including the Peachtree winner one year. It was one of the club’s main races in the early years and has a very interesting history. It was not well attended in later years due to the heat and hills and a lower interest in competitive racing. Race director James Falcon changed the distance and course to a cross-country race in 2014 resulting in the current race name. This race is currently free to HTC members.
Matthew Jones is the current race director. The event is one of many on the HTC schedule.
See all of the Alabama A&M 5K results here.
Watch the start of the race here:
