MOORESVILLE — Drew Whitworth and Barb Mackey traveled hundreds of miles to earn a buckle in the Blue Heron Hundreds 100-mile endurance event. Both returned home with buckles and new hardware for their trophy case.
Whitworth, of Ashland City, Tenn., won the 100-mile event in 18:48:26.4. The 26-year-old carried a pace of 11:40 per mile. He had splits of 3:10, 3:36, 3:43, 4:14 and 4:03 over five 20-mile loops. He won by about four hours and was the only runner to post a time of less than 20 hours.
Mackey, 58, of Dexter, Mich., finished fourth overall and won the women’s division. She finished in 24:14:32.06, a pace of 14:33. She had loops of 3:27, 4:06, 4:39, 5:57 and 6:02.
The 100-miler and other Heron Hundreds events were held at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. The course is a 20-mile loop on refuge roads, which are dirt-rock and consistent throughout. Temperatures boogered up some runners as the day went along, although not like previous years when it was held on Labor Day weekend.
Ran Crump was the only local runner in the 100-mile field, finishing third in 23:56:53.
The weekend included a 100K, 40-mile and marathon. It was put on by Fringe Events, which will host the Devil’s Racetrack Backyard Ultra on April 12 at Wade Mountain Preserve. It’s a unique endurance event that challenges runners in various ways.
See all of the 100-mile results here.
Other winners from the Heron Hundreds weekend:
100K
— Sutton Coleman, 35, Madison, 11:01:09
— Meghan Sottolano, 39, Huntsville, 13:06:00
See all of the 100K results here.
40-Mile
— Ryan Donovan, 40, Huntsville, 7:05:18
— Stacy Gagne, 48, Madison, 7:15:40
See all of the 40-mile results here.
Marathon
— James Jones, 42, Falkville, 4:27:17
— Sarah Montgomery, 39, Falkville, 4:27:18
See all of the marathon results here.
