The Huntsville Times - Sports News

January 26, 2003

Satterfield weathers cold, rugged terrain

Huntsville runner wins Mountain Mist 50K for seventh straight year

01/26/03

By JIM OAKS

Times Running Writer

There were no pretenders among the contenders at the ninth Mountain Mist 50K Trail Run on Monte Sano Saturday. And the least pretender of all was Huntsville's DeWayne Satterfield.

In a race that featured nine runners under 4 hours, 30 minutes on the rugged 31-mile course up and down the hills of Monte Sano State Park and the Land Trust, Satterfield, 38, picked up his seventh straight victory - this time in 4:05:43. Tadd Morris, 35, of Camp Hill, Penn., was second in 4:13:36 and Paul Hewiston, a 39-year-old New Zealander now living in Spain, finished third in 4:14:06.

The race started with David Purinton and Todd White, both from Huntsville, leading the first 6.3-mile leg in 41 minutes. By the second aid station, White had gained a minute on Purinton, with Brian Wieck of Fountain Hill, Ariz., Hewiston, Satterfield and Morris all a few seconds back of the leader.

By the time the leaders reach the halfway point on Fearn Drive, Wieck had taken a slim lead over Satterfield and White was about a minute back of those two, and according to race director Dink Taylor, who saw them at that point, the two front-runners were looking good.

''We both ran the next section in the Land Trust hard, but I gained a small lead about halfway,'' Satterfield said. ''I heard him yell pretty loud and he said he had turned his ankle. Then I heard him again and he must have hurt it again.''

By the time Satterfield reached the Land Trust aid station, he was four minutes ahead of Morris, who had caught White. Wieck had to retire at that aid station. Satterfield had reached his favorite section, the Old Railroad Bed Trail, and there would be no more challengers.

He reached the Monte Sano Boulevard aid station in 3:08, almost four minutes ahead of his pace last year when he set the course record at 4:03:47. But this year he did not have Courtney Campbell breathing down his back and found the solo effort on the final section harder.

''I began the race thinking I might break four hours,'' Satterfield said. ''But I may have pushed a little too hard on Water Line.''

Morris led Hewiston by three minutes at Monte Sano, but the New Zealander caught him on Rest Shelter hill, the final steep climb on the race. However, Morris had the speed to open a 30-second gap on the final flat mile of the course. Both were in the race for the first time, and said they enjoyed the challenge.

Davy Kennamer, 44, of Guntersville finished fourth overall in 4:15:33 and for the third straight year lowered the master's course record.

The women's race was over by the first aid station as Courtney Fenstermach, 32, from Birdsboro, Pa., built a six-minute lead that only grew as the race progressed. She finished in 4:59:40. Course record holder, Kathy Youngren, is the only other woman to break five hours on the present course.

Fenstermach is a member of the Reading Area Trail Runners (RATS) who have brought a group to Mountain Mist for the past seven years. She works in sales for Xerox and played field hockey in college at Gettysburg College.

''I wasn't good enough to run,'' she said. But she certainly was good enough to win Saturday.

Barbara Saunders, 43, of Harvest, twice the winner of the women's division in the race, was second in 5:14:35, and Sally Brooking, 46, of Marietta, Ga., was third in 5:20:46.

In addition to Kennamer's course record for masters, two new standards were established among the Grand Masters (Over 50). David Jones, 51, of Eagleville, Tenn., ran 5:02:13 and Dru Sexton, 50, of Roanoke, Va., finished in 6:36:04.

Taylor was extremely pleased with the total number of finishers - 205 - and the quality of the field.

''We had 24 people under five hours and all 205 made it in under eight hours,'' he said. ''The weather turned out great. It was a little cold at the start, but there was no wind and the sun came out by nine.''