
The course. Photo: Alicia Milner

Kerry Beckman enjoying the fall foliage along trestle 16. Photo: Lisa Montruel

Holding her finisher’s belt buckle, Karla Steedley relishes an embrace. Photo: Caleb Steedley
The race is held on the Virginia Creeper Trail nestled between the rolling hills of Virginia. The course features more than 120 trestle crossings, providing spectacular views of the valley floor. We knew the course was fast and had planned for a 16 hour finish time, so the volunteers had to scramble when Brad Hinton ran a Course Record of 14:42:50! Steve Barber was the next runner in 16:47:52. The women’s race was a fantastic one with lead changes all day but Rebecca Watters ran a superbly all day to capture the win in 20:25:54. Meredith Ussery made a charge at mile 85 and came up just a few minutes behind Rebecca in 20:50:43. The race had many first-time 100 mile finishers and many first-time sub-24 finishers.