WARTRACE, Tenn. — Dan Green crossed the finish line amid cheers from his family, girlfriend and onlookers to win the 45th Strolling Jim 40-mile race Saturday morning.
Green, 26, of Huntington, W. Va., appeared more relieved than exhausted. Finishing in 4:18:48 — tenth-best in race history — Green chatted amiably about the course. Race director Gary Cantrell, aka “Laz Lake,” teased Green about the hills, wondering if he’d found all three or four of them. The 40-mile route, and its companion marathon, half-marathon and 10K routes, is littered with long inclines, gentle hills and a few doozies. They build and work on runners, pushing them to their limits.
Green earned a special gold tee-shirt for finishing in less than five hours. These coveted shirts don’t come easy, as the first weekend in May typically is hot and humid. Covering 40 miles, or about 41, maybe, as there could be a smidge of bonus fun, is tougher in the heat. Saturday’s runners started under sunny but cloudy skies with gentle, cool breezes until midmorning when temps began climbing.
Green is no stranger to the ultra community, with several wins and top finishes. Wins include the 2022 Yamacraw 50K in Kentucky, Rim to River 100 in West Virginia and 2021 Dark Sky 50 in Tennessee. His winning time in Strolling Jim was the fourth to crack the Top 10 in the last four years, with record-holder Zach Beavin having two of those.
Allison Mercer, 40, of Atlanta, claimed the women’s title and gold tee-shirt with a time of 4:57:11. She was second, posting the fourth-best time in event history. Mercer also is third on the women’s Top 10 list with her 2022 time.
The fields of the Strolling Jim runs were dotted with a slew of North Alabama competitors. Some of them toed the starting line in downtown Wartrace after completing other recent big events. Mica Anderson and Tyson Jouglet knocked off the Boston Marathon a few weeks ago. Dink Taylor and Jeanne Bennett completed the challenging Rockin’ Choccolocco 50K last weekend. Wesley Ormond, Demin Hu, Lindsey Shady and others tamed the 3-day Grand Viduta trail race and then headed to Wartrace.
Ormond, 35, finished Strolling Jim in sixth place with a time of 5:24:21. That’s about 15 minutes faster than his winning time in the Grand Vidtuta.
See the full results of the Strolling Jim 40-mile race here.
Eric Waterman, 40, of Nolensville, Tenn., posted the fifth-best time in Strolling Jim marathon history for the win. He crossed in 3:08:49. Shannon Dye, 43, of Chattanooga, won the women’s title in 4:21 and was eighth overall.
Anna David, 53, of Meridianville, was ninth in 4:23, and Lindsey Shady, 42, of Huntsville, was 14th in 4:44.
See the full results of the Strolling Jim Marathon here.
Owen Bradley, 43, of Birmingham won the half-marathon in a Top 10 time of 1:34:46, third-best on the list. Stephen Brown, 50, of Decatur, was second in 1:44.
See all the results of the half-marathon and 10K races.
Strolling Jim was the first champion Tennessee Walking Horse, shown by Floyd Carothers at the inaugural Walking Horse Celebration. That event in Shelbyville, Tenn., in 1939 still continues and attracts thousands to south-central Tennessee for the weeks’ festivities. Strolling Jim was a 3-year-old when he won the title. The horse is buried in a pasture behind the Walking Horse Hotel, which stands by the railroad tracks in Wartrace.
Here are some other recent results:
Rocking Choccolocco Results
Bo Parrish of Nashville won the Rocking Choccolocco 50K and Andrew Higgins of Birmingham won the half marathon at the April 29 twinbill in Heflin, Alabama.
Parrish, 44, finished the 50K in 5:06, well ahead of runner-up Francois Henneberger, 58, of Enterprise. He crossed in 5:38. Jonathon Bergeron, 36, of Vestavia Hills, was third in 5:40.
Jeanne Bennett, 48, of Huntsville, won the women’s title and was 10th overall. She finished in 6:58. Dink Taylor, 57, finished 23rd in 8:06. Emeterio Hernandez, 56, of Harvest, was 33rd in 8:42.
See the 50K results here.
Higgins, 44, won the half-marathon in 1:44:58. Fourteen runners finished the event.
Big Sur Marathon
Dr. Matthew Deorio of Huntsville completed the Big Sur Marathon on April 30 in 3:32:25, finishing 180th out of almost 5,100. In the Men’s 45-49 class, he was 14th out of 291. His overall time was 56 minutes off the winner’s time.
Big Sur Marathon runners take a route along Highway 1 from Big Sur Station to Rio Road in Carmel. They were greeted this year with windy, overcast conditions. Along the route, though, they enjoyed scenic views of redwoods, the coast and other sights along the way to Carmel.
