Chad Woods, left, and Graham Gallemore are the only 10-time finishers of the Grand Viduta Stage Race. They were honored Sunday at the finish line with special award signifying the accomplishment. (Photo: Alan Clemons/TVO)
Given the technicality of the trails, it’s mind-boggling how the top runners flitter and zip around on them during events like the Grand Viduta Stage Race. Wesley Ormond is among those mind-bogglers, with the third-best time in the event’s 10-year history last weekend giving him another win by almost an hour.
It could’ve been named the Wesley Ormond Invitational. He won four GVSR titles and finished second, in 2017, by less than five minutes. This was the final year for the race.
Ormond, 35, of Huntsville, finished Sunday morning in about two hours. His total time of 5:39:21 topped 80 others who competed on the trails of the Land Trust of North Alabama and Monte Sano State Park. He holds four of the top 10 finishes. Those include 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2023. David Kilgore holds the top two times, 2015-16, and Kilgore is the only other finisher with more than one title.
Running Lane started the GVSR in 2014, with 36 finishers. It had a high of 108 in 2017. Race organizers decided it was time for a change due to several factors, including the amount of time and logistics, varied interest, competition with other area and regional events, and desire to try new things. The GVSR run was good, strong and went out with a sunny bang at the overlook atop Death Trail at the state park.
Only two competitors, Chad Woods, 51, of Huntsville, and Graham Gallemore, 80, of Huntsville, finished all 10 Grand Viduta races. They were honored at the finish line with blocks of granite with a special logo.
3-2-1, Go!
Runners started Friday morning at the Land Trust’s Monte Sano Nature Preserve on Bankhead Parkway just up from Five Points. It’s on the northwest side of Monte Sano. The day’s 13ish miles included popular, technical trails such as Alms House, Waterline, Old Railroad Bed, High and Bluff. Ormond crushed that setup in 1:40, kicking off his weekend with a blazing time and 17-minute finish over the next two runners.
Saturday and Sunday stages moved to Monte Sano State Park. Saturday’s was a 25k, about 16 miles, which while being the longest day was probably the easiest. Trails were familiar — Cold Springs, Goat, Mist, Sinks, Keith, Warpath Ridge, South Plateau and others — and relatively clean other than a few spots. Ormond’s time on these was 1:57, the only sub-2-hour tick of the day.
Runners finished Day 2 at the historic railroad tracks just inside the park, a representation of the historic mountaintop community of Viduta. During the 1800s it was considered a cool, comfortable getaway from the oppresive heat and diseases, such as yellow fever, in the lowlands. North Alabama’s humid summers, and ample creeks and rivers, pushed the moneyed to cooler climates. Here, it was atop Monte Sano — the Mountain of Health — where the Monte Sano Hotel and community of Viduta greeted passengers on the Monte Sano Railroad.
The state park’s short bit of rail and crossties, and the GVSR’s name and logo of a train, pay tribute to Viduta. It seemed fitting on Friday morning, a little before 9 a.m., when the shrill whistle of a train entering downtown Huntsville echoed through the Land Trust’s leafy woods.
Grand Viduta Finale
Comfortable temperatures and breezes met Sunday’s crew at the park for the final 14ish miles that included a dive into McKay Hollow.
Sunday’s course was similar to the Running Lane Wild Thangs summer finale, with a tweak here or there. The gist remained, though, with Bucca Family Trail, portions of Mist and Goat, Warpath Ridge, South Plateau and then the dip at Rest Shelter into the hollow. From there it was to the bottom — full runners to the left to Arrowhead, Big Cat and Natural Well, mini runners going up Death Trail to the finish. The full runners eventually wound back to the spot for the finish.
Ormond crossed the finish line right at two hours after blitzing the trails and nimbly scaling Death Trail for the win.
Joshua Cornett, 29, of Madison, was second in 6:22 and Kyle Kalbus, 37, of Chattanooga, was third in 6:27.
Jennifer Arnet, 42, of Madison, was the female champion. She finished 29th overall, in 8:47.
Lindsey Shady, 42, of Huntsville, was second (34th) in 9:06, and Dianna Cioppi, 52, of Hampton Cove, was third (41st) in 9:34. Cioppi won the inaugural Blue Heron Hundreds 100-mile event last September.
See all the results of the Grand Viduta Stage Race here.
GVSR Mini Results
J.D. Shattuck is a 14-year-old live wire of energy from Huntsville who local trail runners should keep in mind, because he’ll be around for a while.
Shattuck won the GVSR Mini, which was about half the mileage of the full, in a time of 3:02. Brandon Tidwell, 39, of Chattanooga, was second in 3:07, and Ben Dixon, 51, of Anniston, was third in 3:09.
Chloe Duke, 28, of Jemison, was the female champ. She finished 11th in 3:52. Becki Jones, 45, of Anniston, was second (12th) in 3:58, and Emma Coulter, 27, of Canton, Ga., was third (16th) in 4:11.
See all the results of the Grand Viduta Mini here.
Saturday’s 25K event was also a standalone for anyone who wanted to run it. Eleven runners did, with Derrick Clark, 42, of Anniston, winning in 2:32. Kristen Melton, 52, of Tuscumbia, won the women’s title in 3:15. She was fourth overall.
See all the results of the 25K event here.
Runners from almost a dozen states participated in the weekend, including from Colorado, Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the Southeast.
