The 31st Mountain Mist 50K will see a bevy of veterans and newcomers, including an Olympic Games medalist, when it begins Saturday morning at Monte Sano State Park.
The on-its-toes field will hear some blasting music at the 7 a.m. start before taking off for a day on the trails. Anticipation always is jacked for the takeoff.
The event is put on by the Huntsville Track Club and attracts runners from across the country. This year’s field of 517 hails from at least two dozen states including Michigan, Colorado, New York, Texas, Nevada and New Mexico. Not all will start; last year’s race saw 452 start out of 512 registered, with 390 finishers.
Lonnie Vogan, 69, of Huntsville, with 28 successful Mist finishes, is on the entrant list. Other notable Mist veterans include Barry Ege, 72, of Hanceville, is seeking his 18th finish. He was the oldest to cross the line last year. Sally Brooking, 68, of Marietta, Ga., is going for her 25th finish.
A handful of other runners will be seeking their 10th finish and jacket, or other double-digit finishes in the teens.
Weather Gods Smiling
Perhaps after last year’s rainy, sloshy slippery mudsliding day the Weather Gods decided to cut this year’s field some slack. Only once in 30 years had it rained on race day. The mountains were a bit misty, too, fitting for the event. It didn’t rain all day but the three-plus days during the week made for memorable conditions.
This year? None of that. Low temperatures have been in single digits to the 20s for the past week, with highs ranging from the 20s to 40s.
The WAFF-TV 48 forecast includes “… Saturday morning lows to drop into the teens and low 20s. Saturday is definitely the better of the two weekend days with early sunshine and high temperatures approaching 50 degrees thanks to the light southwest breeze.”
Sunny but nippy at the 7 a.m. start, getting warmer as the day goes along and with mild breezes? Nice.
Huntsville Slam Battle
Mountain Mist is the closing battle for the Huntsville Slam, a cool four-race challenge that provides a solid test of endurance.
Slam competitors compete in Mountain Mist along with the Dizzy Fifties 50K, Rocket City Marathon and Recover From the Holidays 50K. The first three are in late November and December. That’s an average of 17.5 days apart to do 120 miles in a variety of weather conditions and courses. The events include 26.2 miles on asphalt, 62 on trails and 31 on the John Hunt Park cross country grass course.
The women’s battle between Emily Crispi and Malia Gill is close, with Katie Venckus within view at third. Defending men’s champ Dylan Glass has a solid lead but anything can happen on Monte Sano in the Mist.
Olympic Debut
Jenny Simpson is an Olympic medalist and world champion runner, with a long list of awards and accolades to her credit after years of competition before retirement.
Saturday morning, she’ll toe the line at her first Mountain Mist and trail ultra. Quite a debut, eh?
Simpson, of Boulder, Col., was a champion middle- and long-distance runner. She won the 1500 meter gold medal in the at the 2011 World Championships, and silver medals at the 2013 and 2017 World Championships. Simpson took the bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
She’s a four-time NCAA champion, has been in three Olympics, set 11 American records and was a 5-time state high school champion. Incredible background! Now, she’s getting into trail running and endurance events.
“Quite an honor to have her here, for sure,” said Mist race director Dink Taylor.
MAIN PHOTO: Plaques for Mountain Mist finishers are hand-painted on slate tiles, a quite unique reward for 31 miles of fun.
