Billy Carlton shattered the course record Saturday to win the ninth annual Wild Thangs Jackalope 8-mile trail run at Monte Sano State Park.
Carlton, 20, of Decatur, Ga., sped to the win in 57:43 to establish a mark that could stand for a while. It popped the record of 1:01:04 set in 2021 by Nathan Wanuch of Huntsville. Only three other runners had dipped below an hour and two minutes until Carlton put his name atop the record list.
Carlton is going into his senior year at Georgia Tech, where he runs cross-country for the Yellow Jackets. He is majoring in mechanical engineering and is interning in Huntsville this summer. He’s turned a 4:03 mile during indoor competition, and clearly is quite efficient dancing on the trails.
Zach Mitarotonda, 23, of Huntsville, was second in 1:03:19. He is eighth in the records list, one of only two Jackalope runners with a 1:03 along with Brandon Mader back in 2018. No one has clipped a Jackalope record in three years until Saturday, and the two men weren’t the only ones.
Women’s champion Ciara Alley, 37, of Nashville, sped to a 1:12:24 finish. She was sixth overall, joining Angela Tieri of Owens Cross Roads in the top 10. Tieri, 41, was second in the women’s race (9th overall) and barely missed a record-book entry in the final spot. Tieri crossed the line in 1:19:46, just a few steps off 10th and the 1:19:41 set in 2021 by Katie Woodfin.
The race had a solid turnout of 129 official finishers from 10 states including New Mexico, Texas and Illinois.
In the 4-mile race, Alex Allen, 29, of Madison, zoomed to the win in 30:31, which puts him ninth in the record boot. He won by almost two minutes.
Adeline Carlton, 22 of Decatur, Ga., won the women’s title and was ninth overall. She finished in 36:06.
The race had 163 official finishers from six states including Texas and Oregon.
The races were the second of four in the Running Lane Wild Thangs summer series. The next is Aug. 1, the Skunk Ape 5- and 10-milers, at Monte Sano State Park.
See all of the 8-mile results here and 4-mile results here.
