No Tranquility in Hotly Contested Series
This article just came out in the March issue of Ultrarunning Magazine.
Perfect Day, Awesome Runners, The
Best Volunteers on Earth, It just doesn’t get Any Better!
 |
| Beautiful Picture of Tranquility Lake by Olivia Affuso |
We could not have asked for better conditions for the final
race in the 2014 Southeastern Trial Series.
Temperatures were in the mid-40s at
the start with beautiful clear skies all day.
Over 150 runners toed the line November 22nd for the 7:00 AM start at 10,000 acre Oak Mountain State Park, in Pelham, Alabama, just south of Birmingham. Most people think of Alabama as rather flat, that is, unless have run trails in the area. Located just at the tip of southwest tip of Appalachian Mountains, our hills may not be very tall, (Double Oak Mountain, which runs the length of Oak Mountain State Park, rises only a little over 600 feet above the surrounding terrain) but what it lack in size, it makes up for in shear ruggedness. Tranquility Lake 50K is actually two races, a 25K, one loop of the 15.6 mile course and the 50K, two loops. The 50K course had 4,390 ft. of elevation gain and is 93% single track trails with only about 2 miles of gravel roads closed to cars.
Over 150 runners toed the line November 22nd for the 7:00 AM start at 10,000 acre Oak Mountain State Park, in Pelham, Alabama, just south of Birmingham. Most people think of Alabama as rather flat, that is, unless have run trails in the area. Located just at the tip of southwest tip of Appalachian Mountains, our hills may not be very tall, (Double Oak Mountain, which runs the length of Oak Mountain State Park, rises only a little over 600 feet above the surrounding terrain) but what it lack in size, it makes up for in shear ruggedness. Tranquility Lake 50K is actually two races, a 25K, one loop of the 15.6 mile course and the 50K, two loops. The 50K course had 4,390 ft. of elevation gain and is 93% single track trails with only about 2 miles of gravel roads closed to cars.
The run starts with a spectacular but very short climb up
the trail along the spillway of Tranquility Lake to the top of the Dam. From there, runners follow the western shoreline
for about 1/3 mile before another short climb up to the old Boy Scout Camp,
Camp Tranquility, now being restored. They follow the gravel road up another
hill to the entrance of the camp before starting the very fast one mile descent
to the first real climb, the Yellow/White Connector. This rugged trail climbs
600 ft. in about 3/4 of a mile. Runners then head southeast along the West Ridge
Trail for three miles to the Aid Station at Peavine Falls Parking Lot. From
there, the course follow the Blue Trail for about 5 miles along the East Ridge
of Double Oak Mountain before dropping down to the North Trail head and a water
only aid station. The West Ridge Trail and the Blue Trail offer spectacular
views, especially the West Ridge, where you run along the ridgeline itself. It
is not a good idea to spend too much time sightseeing while running up there. Sections
are very rocky.
 |
| Tranquility Lake D |
The descent to the North Trail Head is a bit tricky with a
few steep sections and lots of loose rocks and roots. From the trail head, runners
follow relatively docile trails with gentle climbs for the final 3 miles back
to the Redbud Pavilion and the finish for the 25K. For 50K runners this is the
location of the next aid station before heading back out on the second loop. Near
the end of each loop runners circle the east side of Lake Tranquility called
the Old Lake at Oak Mountain.
The Southeastern Trail Series is a series of 7 races in the
Birmingham Area. The series starts in April with a 5K and 10K and builds
throughout the year, culminating in the Tranquility Lake 50K. The series is
designed to transform road runners to trail runners and help short distance
runners finish their first ultra.
Runners earn points based on their time for each race run in the series.
Going into the final race of the series, the 50K, the 3 lead women were
separated by just two points. The lead four men were less than 10 points apart.
This was going to be a very competitive race.
Donna Arrington came into the 50K leading the series by 0.783
points over Lisa Booher, our 2013 Southeastern Trail Series Points Champion.
Vanessa Stroud was just 1.4 points behind Lisa. We knew this was going to be a
race to the end. Donna and Vanessa had run the Pinhoti 100 just three weeks
before giving Lisa a slight advantage and she took that advantage winning the
Women’s race by almost 25 minutes (6:02:54) over second place Donna Arrington
(6:27:21). Beverly Brower, of Jackson Mississippi, took third in 6:29:20 and
Vanessa Stroud came in fourth at 6:49:54. Lisa is the 2014 Women’s Points
Champion in the Southeastern Trail Series.
 |
| Left to Right, Vanessa, Lisa, Donna and Beverly |
On the men’s side, John Brower of Jackson, Mississippi, took
first in 4:47:59 and set a new course record. Second went to Douglas King of
Marietta, Georgia in 4:58:19. Third place was taken by Todd Lytle of Mineola,
Florida in 5:02:10. Two of the three men competing for the Southeastern Trail
Series Championship, points leader, Suman Silwal and second place Mark Beggs, also
ran the Pinhoti 100 three weeks earlier. The first of the points championship contenders
to finish was Mark Beggs in 5:47:45. Logan Cook, third in the point’s
championship, finished in 5:58:43. Suman
finished in 6:21:14 but his points lead was just too much for anyone to
overcome. He is our 2014 Points Champion
for the second year in a row.
 |
| Left to Right, Logan, Suman and Mark |
For more information on the series and individual
races, including the Lake Martin 100, check out our website, SoutheasternTrailRuns.com
By David Tosch, RD
No comments:
Post a Comment