See images from the 2023 Frozen Goat
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Craig Smith hit familiar trails Saturday at the Frozen Goat 30K at Monte Sano State Park and crushed the field with a time of 2:56:28 to claim the overall title in the longest of three running events in 33-degree weather.
“The trails were drier than I expected,” the 47-year-old said. “There were some slick spots, as always, but they were in better shape than I expected. It was cold, but once you got down out of the wind it wasn’t bad.
“It was a nice tune-up for the Mountain Mist 50K in a couple of weeks,” Smith continued. “I wanted to put in a good race effort and see where my fitness level is for that race, and it went really well. About as well as I could have hoped.”
Smith’s time was more than 15 minutes faster than second-place finisher Sara Gibson, and said his pace was dialed in for the Frozen Goat.
“It was right where I wanted to be and expected to be based on the course and how much climb there was and knowing my fitness level,” Smith said. “Climbing Death Trail is always rough, especially at the end of a 30k race. That always gets me every time. I always end up walking more than I want to. Otherwise, it was what I expected. I know these trails really well.”
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Andrew McCain, 33, was second (third overall) with a time of 3:13:47, and Jared Matt, 45, finished third (fourth overall) at 3:17:32.
Sara Gibson, 38, topped the women’s division and finished second overall with a time of 3:11:48. Jennifer Hosler, 42, was the second female finisher, 3:24:31 (seventh overall), and Michelle Hopkins, 33, was third at 3:54:26 (19th overall).
See all of the final results of the Frozen Goat 30K here.
The cold temps and wind didn’t deter a field of participants from taking to the trails and a crowd of spectators from gathering for the races that included a 4-miler, 15K and 30K and was named after a herd of goats that may or may not exist.
“Believe it or not, there used to be a herd of about 10 goats that roamed the Monte Sano State Park for years,” said RunningLane’s Sean Allen. “For those who have never seen the goats, it’s hard for them to believe that there was actually a pack of goats that roamed the mountain. But there was, and you could smell them before you saw them. Nobody has seen them in about 10 years, but they did in fact exist for some time.”
The Frozen Goat is run by the same directors of Eagle Ridge, Grand Viduta Stage Race, Wade Mountain & Wild Thangs Trail Series, River Monster Trail Run, Cathedral Caverns Trail Run and Lost Falls. The races were run at beautiful Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville. The Frozen Goat also serves as a great last tune-up two weeks before the Huntsville Track Club’s 29th annual running of the Mountain Mist 50K.
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