ST. LOUIS – After four weeks of adventure, the 2022 Alpine Shop Trail Run Series ran to a close on Thursday, August 25. With temperatures hovering around 90 degrees before race time, racers knew they were in for a hot one and they took it to heart with some of the closest competition of the whole month. More importantly, participants went home during the month with more than $1000 worth of prizes from Series Sponsors like Osprey Packs, Hoka One One, Altra Running, Merrell, along with weekly beers from Schlafly and treats from Great Harvest Bread Co.
Andy Rains had the series championship already wrapped up and played hooky for the final race. That left the door open for Adam Ethier (33) to get his first win of the 2022 in a time of 21:10.1. Ethier took second in series points for the month just ahead of the man who took second in this race, Mike Barro, in a time of 21:52.8. Barro, (54) who took home the Men’s Masters Division title with a clean sweep of points also finished third in the Men’s Open Category, just three points behind Ethier. Jon-Paul LaVenture (40), took third for the second race in a row in a time of 22:18.4.
Like Rains in the men’s division, Amanda Eigel (45) had the Series point title wrapped up before the race even started. That didn’t stop her from her fourth straight win in a time of 26:23.8. Kelley McGaughey (39) bookended the series with two second-place finishes. She finished 70 seconds behind Eigel on the night. 15-year-old Madeline Krewet finished for the second time in three races in just 23 seconds behind McGaughey.
Just 10 seconds behind Krewet was the Women’s Masters champion Jen Ullery, who won her fourth straight race in the division and, just like Eigel and Rains, had her championship sewn up before the race even started. Ullery, however, with a fourth place finish overall, made a similar move to Barro in the men’s division and wound up in third place overall in the Women’s Open Division. Ullery beat Maria Wetzel and Susan Richmond to the line for the title. Those three women put a stranglehold on podium finishes over the month; only once did one of them fall below first, second, or third place in a race.
Behind Barro, long-time Series participant Eric Buckley grabbed second place in the Men’s Masters and Christopher Bognar (52) took third, his third straight top three finish. Bognar finished in second for the series though, with 44 points. Buckley took third with his two second place finishes in week 2 and week 4 for 24 points.
Once again, Alpine Shop is so grateful to Schlafly for providing our adult beverages for the evening along with snacks from Great Harvest Bread Co., and hot dogs off the grill. We were also pleased to welcome Kyle Rascher with On Running to Race HQ. Participants got the opportunity to try out these ultra comfortable shoes that have been enormously popular at the Shop.
The Trail Run Series will return in 2023. Final location(s) still to be announced. We are committed to providing the best event that we can and truly appreciate everyone who participated this year and will appreciate even more your feedback as we begin planning for next year.
Overall Results
Age Group Results
Final Points (Overall) | Age Group Points: Men | Women
Photos