It was a great weekend to be on the trails or road, as our TVO Roundup will attest with several great 5K events in the area and a couple of big trail runs.
The upcoming weekend will be light with only a few things on tap, including the famed Strollin’ Jim 40/26/13/6 events in Wartrace, Tenn. Anyone love hills? There’s enough hills in the Strollin’ Jim series for anyone. Locally, the fun Taco Trot 5K Night Run in Guntersville will have a Star Wars theme. Be sure to check out our TVO Calendar for more events.
On to the TVO Roundup:
McKannan Memorial 5K
Andrew Hodges won a challenging race and John Glidewell of Athens set a state age record in the David McKannan Memorial 5K at Ditto Landing in Huntsville.
Hodges, 40, of Huntsville, finished in 17:43, with Shaun Tompkins, 41, of Madison, hot on his heels. Tompkins finished in 17:51.
Glidewell, 67, of Athens, finished third in 18:59 to establish an Alabama age record. Glidewell also has the 65- and 66-year-old 5K records, along with the 66-year-old record for 10K and a storied background.
Tia Larsen-Calcano, 26, of Madison, won the women’s title. She was 13th in 23:45. Emily Willingham, 25, of Athens, was second (20th) in 25:14.
The race had 89 finishers. The event is put on by the Huntsville Track Club in memory of David McKannan, an avid runner, loving father, husband and brother who died in 2012 after battling ALS.
See all of the McKannan Memorial 5K results here.
Swampers 5K, 1-Mile
FLORENCE, Ala. — Josh Whitehead of Madison swept the podium in the Swampers 5K and 1-Mile events April 27, and young Logan Wood set an Alabama age group record.
Whitehead won the 5K in 16:53, with Blake Yarbrough of Town Creek in second in 17:27.
Wood, 8, of Hazel Green, set the Alabama age record with his smoking time of 5:47:48. That easily crushed the 10-year-old record held by Grattan O’Neill of Huntsville, 6:38:8.
Yate Herbo of Florence finished 13th and won the women’s title, with a time of 21:04. Julie Straub of Muscle Shoals was second (28th) in 22:34.
Whitehead also won the 1-Mile race in 4:52:59.
See the Swampers 5K results here and 1-Mile results here.
Cornbread Festival 5K
SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. — Chase Looper of Chattanooga won the National Cornbread Festival 5K on April 27 with a time of 21:17.
Bekah Wilson of South Pittsburg was second in 21:45 to claim the women’s title.
The field had 213 finishers out of 235 registrants.
See all of the Cornbread Festival 5K results here.
Rockin’ Choccolocco
HEFLIN, Ala. — Zack Jordan of Ball Ground, Ga., won the Rockin’ Choccolocco 50K on April 27 by 10 minutes.
Jordan finished in 4:44, with Graham Grant of Carrollton, Ga., in second at 4:54.
Jewly Hight of Nashville finished 7th in 4:53 to win the women’s title.
Emily Kennedy of Huntsville finished 36th in 7:19.
See all of the 50K results here.
In the half-marathon, Darby Calvin of Athens finished 10th in 3:11 and Holly Nichols of Florence was 13th in 3:34.
See all of the half-marathon results here.
Danny Smitherman of Hartselle finished 11th in the 10K event with a time of 1:37.
Troublesome Hollow 50K
BENHAMS, Va. — Chris Weissmann of Charlotte and Meghan Guler of Chattanooga had record-setting 1-2 finishes in the second Troublesome Hollow 50K on April 27.
Weissmann, 33, finished in 4:05:56 to claim the event record by 35 minutes. Guler, 29, was runner-up in 4:47, third-best on the record list.
Amanda Reynolds, 39, of Pineville, N.C., was third in 4:55, good for fourth on the record list. The top three finishers were the only ones to cross the line in less than five hours.
Scott Pollard of Huntsville finished 41st in 6:28. Christie Harris of Huntsville was 49th, in 6:38.
The event is put on by Yeti Trail Runners at the home of its founder, Jason Green. The course is on the Mendota Trail, an excellent rails-to-trails public trail, with several gentle hills. Runners went from Benham to Mendota, which was established in 1794, and then on a public gravel road to the Mendota Fire Tower. It’s atop Clinch Mountain, at 2,976 feet, and at the 20-mile mark. From there, it’s back down to Mendota and then about six miles to the finish … but almost all uphill. Gently, but uphill.
See all of the Troublesome Hollow 50K results here.
William Harper of Kingsport, Tenn., won the 25K race in 1:46.
MAIN PHOTO: Josh Whitehead of Madison wins the Swampers 5K in Florence on April 27. (Photo / Just4Running.com)
To have your event listed in the TVO Calendar, contact us at info@thetvo.com.
