Satterfield still the one at 2005 Mountain Mist
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HUNTSVILLE, AL - In what race director Dink Taylor called the “second worst
conditions in the 11-years history of this race,” DeWayne Satterfield, 40, of
Huntsville seemed to have little trouble winning his ninth overall title at the
Mountain Mist 50K Trail Run.
There was ice on the trees, mud on the trails and a biting wind in the faces of 254 runners who started the 31-mile run from the Monte Sano State Park Lodge at 8 a.m. on January 29, 2005. Four hours, 7 minutes and 33 seconds later, Satterfield returned to the Lodge to claim another win and was well pleased with the effort.
“It was one of my better times on the course, and the conditions did not bother me much,” he said. “Some of the rocks on Railroad Bed Trial were icy, but I just picked my way between them.”
This section – from mile 21 to 25 - in the Land Trust, which includes the steep climb on Waterline Trail, has always been Satterfield’s favorite part of the race. Once again this year he used this section to push the pace and pull away from early race leader Eric Grossman, 36, of Louisville, Ky. to take the win.
In the final 6-mile section, Josh Beckham, 28, of Nashville, Tenn., caught Grossman to take second in 4:12:35 with Grossman finishing third in 4:23:22. Beckham, a native Texan who is finishing graduate school at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, was also second last year.
Davy Kennamer, 46 of nearby Guntersville, Ala., and the former master record holder, was fourth in 4:28:49 and Greg Foreman, 40, a Huntsville native now teaching in Rome, Ga., was fifth in 4:30:08 putting three masters among the top five finishers.
Courtney Smith, 34, of Birdsboro, Pa., was back in Huntsville for the third year and came home in 5:06:39 to take her second women’s title. She won here in her first race in 2003.
“It was real muddy today and the rocks were slippery,” the Xerox project manager said. “But I felt good the whole way. I think the weight training I have done in this past year helped some on the hills.”
Smith was in control of the women’s race by the first aid station where she clocked in 27th overall. By the end of the race she moved up to 17th place.
Equally impressive was the progress of Dana Overton, 30, of Albertville, Ala. Overton was the second woman in 5:34:12 and went from 55th at the first station to 38th at the end of the race. Sally Brooking, 48, of Marietta, Ga. was third and first woman master in 5:39:23.
Once again the event reached its 300 runner limit a week before the race, but the chilling weather on race day reduced the number of starters. There were 224 finishers. Included among them was Rob Apple, 43, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., who finished his 400th ultra in 7:12:50; Malcolm Gillis, 71, of Toney who became the oldest male finisher in 7:38:37 and Anne Park, 65, of Huntsville who became the oldest woman finisher in 8:02:34. In all, 33 women finished the 2005 race.
There were some young runners in the race this year too. D. K. Hallmark, 16, of Mount Hope, Ala., was the fastest of four teenagers, finishing in 5:35:13. Dillon Hidalgo, 17, of Somerville, Ala., ran 6:06:01; Joel Strange, 17, of Mobile ran 6:42:36 and Brenton Floyd, 19, of Harrison, Tenn., finished in 7:33:05.
Prior to 2005 the race had used a small open sided park pavilion for the start/finish. The limited space could only accommodate about 50 finishers a one time on a cold day. Last year Monte Sano State Park completed the Lodge that was the race headquarters this year and it provided an excellent location for race activities. The carbo supper was conducted there on Friday night before the race and there was plenty of room for assembly inside before and after the race for the entire field.
“The new facility made everything so much easier this year,” Taylor said. “We plan to use this location again next year. I just hope it’s not so muddy in 2006 so we won’t have as much clean up.”