BALLWIN, MO – A massive storm system moved through the St. Louis area late Wednesday evening, forcing race officials to alter their plans for the fourth and final race of the 2019 Alpine Shop Trail Run Series. But the rain couldn’t stop the event from happening. With an alternate course in play and no extreme weather to cope with, runners faced a slick 3.5 mile course that combined a little road running, a lot of rocky climbs and an eventual naming of the series champions for Overall and Masters categories.
There was little surprise in the coronations for any of the champions. All four category winners won their division in every single race they competed in during the August series. In fact, only the Women’s Open winner, Jaime Maher (36, St. Louis), didn’t win all four races, and that’s only because she didn’t run in the first race of the month.
On the men’s side, Jon-Paul LaVenture (37, Ballwin) cruised to the race win and the series overall title in a time of 23:08.4, beating Andy Rains (26, Ballwin, 23:20.9) to the finish line by just 12 seconds. Josh Wright (41, Kirkwood, 24:01.8) took third for the third straight race and all three men finished in the same order for the series standings.
For the women’s open category, Maher took first for the third straight race (and 14th overall) in a time of 28:03.1. Maher won her first Trail Run Series event in Race 4 of 2018. Since that time, she has won every race in which she has competed. Yuting Huang (28, Ballwin, 30:35.2), who had finished third for the past two weeks, leapfrogged up to second place in the race but couldn’t quite catch up to the point totals for Mandy Wright (Kirkwood ,42, 30:57.3) in the series standings. Wright took third in the race, but second in the Women’s Overall thanks to her win in the first week of the series.
In the Women’s Masters category, Kate Dewey (51, Chesterfield) easily won the night and the series in a time of 32:34.6, with Julie Dobslaw (51, University City, 34:25.6) in second place and Susan Richmond (Eureka, Mo., 58, 34:50.3)in third. Dewey, with her fourth straight win, cruised to the series win with a perfect 60 points. Dobslaw took second and Sherri Schultz, based off of three straight third place finishes earlier in the series, finished in third.
Chris Martel (53, Francis Park) won his 12th straight Masters Trail Run Series race with a final time of 25:36.8 (6th overall). Eric Buckley (56, St. Louis, 27:12.2) finished in second both in this evening’s race and in the series. Mickey Howell (54, Villa Ridge, IL, 27:38.9) did the same in third.
Thanks to everyone who came out and ran with us for the 2019 Trail Run Series. Alpine Shop and the Off-Road Racing League would also like to thank all of our sponsors for this event: The North Face, Urban Chestnut, Optimal Performance Center, Terrain Magazine, Great Harvest Bread Co., GU Energy, FITS Sock Co., Altra Footwear, Hoka One One, Native Eyewear and Smith Optics.
Overall Results
Age Group Results
Point Series Totals – (Updated 8/23/19)
Photos (by Tom Williams)