BALLWIN, Mo. – We’re excited to get out for our last race of the 2018 Trail Run Series tonight at Castlewood State Park for what should be some of the best weather we’ve ever had.
We walked over as many trails as we could this morning to get an idea of what the trails were like – and how well they would hold up for a race this evening. And, at the risk of looking crazy, we’ve decided once again, to reverse gears and go with history. We’re going to do the stairs, after all. Not quite the course we originally announced, but the spirit remains the same. At the risk of the course changing again as it’s being marked, we aren’t going to post it here, but you can take a look at the map at check-in this evening.
We have four major categories that will be awarded prizes this evening for the entire series: Men’s and Women’s Open, and Men’s and Women’s Masters (50+). The current points (after three races) for these categories can be found here.
In the men’s open division, Benjamin Hudson (42 points) has a 10 point lead on Jon-Paul LaVenture and a 12 point lead on David Welch. In the women’s open category, Hanna Floyd (40 points) holds a 12 point advantage over Katherine O’Brien and a 19-point lead on Julia Grunloh.
For men’s Masters, Chris Martel, with a perfect 45 points, leads Eric Buckley by nine points and Keith Lyston by 15. On the women’s side, Susan Richmond also holds a perfect 45 points for the series and leads Rachel Hartmann by 11 and Sophia Lin by 15 points.
All leaders, assuming they race this evening, will be almost impossible to catch in the points standings. However, the battles for second and third place are neck-and-neck all the way around. We’re pleased to announce that The North Face will be providing Base Camp Duffel bags for the first and second place finishers (all categories) and Alpine Shop will have gift certificates for first through third positions as well.
A reminder – Altra Running and Hoka One One will both have demo running shoes available tonight at Race HQ. Just a hint… you’ll want the traction!