Mill Mountain Mayhem 10k - 4/18/09

We had perfect weather for this race. As some of you know this race has been over a year in the making. It has been an interesting process but worth it. The Roanoke City Parks and Recreation workers involved in this race were a huge help leading up to race day and during the race. Thank you.

This race is part of the Roanoke Non Ultra Trail Series (R NUTS) and this course is like a mini ultra trail run. It is a challenging course with over 1250ft of elevation gain and loss, lots of rocks, and a screaming fast 1.5 mile technical downhill to the finish. This course is very similar to the Promise Land 50k that Gina and I and a couple of other Mill Mountain Mayhem participants will be running next weekend.

We had 86 participants in this first year race. I look forward to this race growing. It is by far the Roanoke Valleys toughest 10k race. Each of you should be proud of your ability to run and finish such a tough course. It is a great accomplishment whether you were a front runner or at the end. These races are here for you to challenge you. There is only one winner and if you’re like me you will never see this person except at the start line. Challenge yourself and make a goal of matching or exceeding your time in 2010.

We had 6 people participate from out of state (thanks for coming to play with us), 32 from outside the Roanoke Valley, and 18 people that were new to Mountain Junkies LLC races. One of these was the winner David Cheromei, who ran the course at an amazing 5:41 per mile pace. Hard to believe. He crossed the finish line moving so fast that he had to hurdle the metal gate 80ft away. To me this is as amazing as our last finisher, Ray Gilbarte, finishing the race at age of 71.

Thank you for participating. I like seeing each of you compete and am enjoying the little community this R NUTS series has created. I look forward to the last race in the series, the Trail Nut 10k and Half Marathon, and what can be dreamt up for 2010.

Don’t forget the Sponsors:
Gilbert Chiropractic
Joel Gardner DDS
Super Shoes
Outdoor Trails
Road ID
Dick’s Sporting Goods

Josh Gilbert
Head Mountain Junkie