FORT BENNING, Ga., (March 18, 2015) -- Rain and mud added another challenging level to the already rigorous course for competitors March 14 at the annual Chesty Puller 13.1 Trail Run and 5K Trail Fun Run at Dickman Field on Kelley Hill.
Spencer Folds, race director, said he warned the runners and emphasized on taking caution, especially with footing.
He said he told the runners there was a lot of water on the course and a lot of stumps that might not be visible because they were underneath the water.
Due to the wet terrain, Folds said the best strategy to tackle the course was to stay on the leaves.
"(Although) we have blown a nice trail through the woods, after this rain, that mud gets slick," he said.
"You get better traction running on the leaves ... actually (staying) off the trail."
Folds said he didn't reveal his tactic to the participants, so he could really put them to the test.
"Somebody will figure it out," he said.
The half-marathon race took place in the woods, which required runners to jump over creeks, cross logs, run on single path trails, some of which consisted of thick sand and run up the steep Hog Hill, Folds said.
"There were a couple of spots where they had to (use) rope to help them go up the hill," he said. "That's how steep some of the hills were. If you could think of any obstacle they were going to go across besides man-made stuff, they were going to go across it."
For someone who knew the course, Folds said he fell in one of the water obstacles while setting it up.
"They crossed four streams," he said. "They had one log they had to balance on to walk across. If they fell, they fell in about five-foot deep water that would completely (submerge) them and get them soaking wet. It happened to me."
Because the race was a Marine-based run, half-marathoners had the option to take on the Marine Physical Fitness Test Challenge at the end of the race, even though it was mandatory for Marine competitors, Folds said.
He said there was a timing pad at the 10-mile mark where the last three miles of the course was timed and once they crossed the finish line, they had to do a number of pull-ups and sit-ups.
David Larsen, 3rd Squadron, 16th Cavalry Regiment, who competed last year, said the PFT Challenge usually turned out to be a battle between branches, seeing who could run the fastest during the last three miles of the race.
This year, Larsen said he ran on a military team called "Wear Blue: Run to Remember" and that's what he was running for.
"(Wear Blue: Run to Remember) started in Washington State," he said. "There was a lady who set it up ... (her) husband died in Afghanistan. She was having a rough time with her husband dying in combat. She decided to start running and that helped her cope ... so, she started it and it's now all across the country."
Larsen said compared to last year, the weather was the biggest difference from this year's race and wearing cleats would probably have been a better footwear option.
Before the race, he said his goal was to beat his time from last year and finish in less than two hours.
He finished the race in 1 hour, 57 minutes and 55 seconds.
First-time competitor Blake Schitter, Marine Corps Detachment, said he had always wanted to run a half-marathon and since the opportunity presented itself, he did just that.
Prior to the race, he said he was going to try and complete the course in less than two hours as an individual competitor.
"I'm not in that good of shape right now," Schitter said. "Hopefully I can compete with some of the guys here."
He said he heard about Hog Hill and predicted that would be his biggest challenge.
He finished the race in 2:22:06.
Folds said, based off of past years, the average finishing time was between 2:15:00 and 2:20:00.
He said there were over 160 preregistered, but they all didn't show, and said it may have been the rain that deterred them; however, 15 more competitors signed up on race day.
"We started out with about 50-60 people at best the first couple of years (and) last year I think we had a little over 120 athletes ... ," he said. "So each year it's growing."
Trophies and prizes were awarded to competitors in age, gender and overall winners, Folds said.
Chesty Puller 13.1 Trail Run Results:
Overall female:
Jenn Gaddy, 2:09:26
Overall male:
Mark Gaudet, 1:38:24
Female ages 18-29:
1st Samantha Cocca, 2:12:01
2nd Emily Williams, 2:22:30
3rd Shannon Cloy, 2:28:30
Male ages 18-29:
1st James Miller, 1:41:38
2nd Christopher Fedorchenko, 1:52:32
3rd Jay Brend, 1:53:16
Female ages 30-39:
1st Samantha Rieger, 2:11:09
2nd Brandy Gainsley, 2:17:34
3rd Elizabeth Mathis, 2:28:29
Male ages 30-39:
1st Keith Toucey, 1:45:00
2nd Jonathon Warren, 1:47:13
3rd Ben Bower, 1:50:58
Female ages 40-49:
1st Francy Mueller, 2:32:48
2nd Denise Genung, 2:34:01
3rd Jennifer Schneider, 2:35:46
Male ages 40-49:
1st John Ciccarello, 1:57:31
2nd Marcus Evans, 2:05:35
3rd George Gurrola, 2:07:06
Female ages 50-59:
1st Angela Topolewski, 2:58:07
Male ages 50-59:
1st Don Bowles, 2:03:26
2nd Robert Schneider, 2:41:13
3rd Philip Croft, 3:15:15
*To see more results, visit www.results.active.com/events/2015-chesty-puller-13-1
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