BALLWIN, MO. – On an absolutely beautiful night (especially for August) in St Louis, 176 racers completed the 4.2 mile course for the second run of Alpine Shop’s 2013 Trail Run Series at Castlewood State Park. The names at the top of the leader board remain the same as 45-year-old Mike Barro took home the overall win with a final time of 27:33.0. He was followed close behind by Luke Persell (27:47.4) and Dave Otto (28:53.8) to round out the top three. Sunny Gilbert finished fourth overall at 29:401, and won her ninth women’s race in the past 10 going all the way back to the series’ first year in 2011. You can find complete results here and age group results here.
Photos from the start/finish line are available now, as are shots from the Kiefer Creek crossing area. A quick, condensed video of the race can be found here.
The 176 total finishers for the course once again set a new attendance record for the event. Next Thursday’s run (August 22) is anticipated as the first to climb over 200 total finishers. (Help us make it happen by inviting a friend!)
With a temperature of 70 degrees and barely a cloud in the sky, the weather was about as perfect as you could possibly want. Low temperatures alone, though, weren’t enough to help the majority of the pack keep a fast pace as it hit the first climb of the night up the steep gravel trail to the overlook. While the leaders were well on their way to the first creek crossing over a very shallow running Kiefer Creek, more than half of the pack dealt with the climb and then made their way down from the bluffs, eventually hitting the creek themselves and back to the water station near the park office.
The next climb hit almost immediately as the path headed up the Midway/Office Connector and eventually to the Rollercoaster across the northern section of park. That led to the steep descent down the Fern Glen Connector (the first climb last week) and back to the finish line.
Congratulations to all finishers and once again our thanks to Kirkwood Station Brewery for the beer and Big River Running Company for doing all the timing for the races.
Next week’s course will be announced by Monday afternoon, Aug. 19. Not signed up yet? What are you waiting for? Register here!
