Garrett Holland skated to the finish line on a blustery, icy morning to win the 32nd Mountain Mist 50K at Monte Sano State Park.
Holland, 30, of Birmingham, finished in 4 hours, 41 seconds, winning by more than 25 minutes. It was Holland’s first Mist win. He has been on a roll, winning the Ridge to Blazing Ridge 20-miler in August at Oak Mountain State Park and the Endless Mile Marathon in Pelham in October.
Max Simpson, 29, of Huntsville, was second in 4:26:24, and still is looking for his breakthrough in the iconic ultra. He was second last year, as well, but this year shaved 10 minutes off his time. Dylan Glass, 33, of Gurley was third in 4:33:08. Glass was seventh in last year’s Mist.
Ruth Wamack, 21, of Chattanooga, finished 17th in her Mist debut and claimed the women’s title in 5:16:59. Wamack was the only woman in the Top 25, a strong showing as she makes a name for herself amid the trails.
Katie Lance, 29, of Kingsport, Tenn., was second (26th) in 5:40:38, and Emili Crispi, 31, of Huntsville, was third (39th) in 6:00:38.
Cynthia Mitchell, 48, of Athens, was the Women’s Masters winner, finishing 94th in 6:58:22. Jeffery Gibisch, 45, of Huntsville, was the Men’s Masters champ, finishing 11th in 5:06.
The event was held January 24 at Monte Sano State Park, on park and Land Trust of North Alabama trails. It had 287 official finishers. The field was capped at 525 registrants, with more than a dozen dropping in the final days.
Race day saw about 150 who did not start, and a handful who didn’t finish. Weather conditions prevented many from getting to the state park, or it concerned them enough about getting home later. Multiple roads were closed in Huntsville Saturday as conditions deteriorated and then opened by afternoon.
Huntsville Slam Winners
Karen Rudolph of Madison and Seth Rigsby of Huntsville captured the four-event Huntsville Slam titles after their Mist finishes.
Runners competing in the Slam must finish four events, with cumulative times comprising the final standings. The events include the Dizzy Fifty 50K trail ultra in November, Rocket City Marathon and Recover From the Holiday 50K in December, and Mountain Mist. That’s about 120 miles total in 60 days on trail, road and grass course.
Rudolph, 40, finished the Mist course in 7:21:40, finishing 130th. She won the women’s title by 30 minutes over Laura Patterson, 42, of Huntsville, who finished in 6:59.
Rigsby, 27, of Huntsville, finished 56th in the Mist standings and won the Slam title by 10 minutes. Samuel Newport, 22, of Louisville, Kentucky, was second, finishing the Mist course in 6:45:43.
Final standings below:
