Mendez, Harley win XTERRA Oak Mountain 20km

Photos / Results

Mauricio Mendez from Mexico City and Rachel Harley from Birmingham won the XTERRA Oak Mountain 20K trail runs on a beautiful day at Oak Mountain State Park in Shelby County, Alabama.

Nearly 400 runners from 20 states took part in today’s trail runs, the last of six events in the 2015-2016 XTERRA Alabama Trail Run Series.

Mendez, a triathlon pro who finished 2nd at the off-road triathlon held on the same trails yesterday, led from start to finish and took the tape in 1:16:58.

“It was really nice out there today,” said Mendez. “The trails were fantastic, and the weather was perfect, just a really nice day to run.”

Donny Barnes from Huntsville finished second in 1:20:33, and Travis Grappo from Birmingham was third in1:23:35.

In the women’s race Rachel Harley, a former track star at UAB, paced herself in the beginning and turned on the jets towards the end to take the win in 1:26:05, more than two-minutes ahead of runner-up Jennifer McGranahan. Christine Hoffmann in third just eight seconds later and Sarah Graves came in fourth just 17-seconds after that.

“It was awesome, I loved it.” said Harley, who use to practice on these trails when she was running in college. “The weather is perfect, Oak Mountain is awesome, and this atmosphere is cool.”

Marcus Barton and Franziska Mast won the 10K race in 42:07 and 48:47, respectively, while Jeff Clark and Libby Davis took home the 5K crowns in 19:13 and 24:16.

This week the XTERRA Alabama Trail Run Series Champions – those who scored the most points during the course of the season – will be announced as regional champions and earn a free entry to represent Alabama at the XTERRA Trail Run National Championship in Utah this September.  And the race winners in each division of the 20K today earned an entry into the XTERRA Trail Run World Championship in Hawaii this December.

Full results are available at http://jtltiming.com/running.htm.

2016 XTERRA Alabama Series Champions

Female 25-29 Heather White Birmingham, AL 30-34 Danielle Chasse Anniston, AL 35-39 Sasha Robertson Oxford, AL 40-44 Mary Alford Piedmont, AL 45-49 Michelle Losekamp Bowling Green, KY 50-54 Teresa Phillips Gadsden, AL 55-59 Lynn Bolger Mobile, AL 65-69 Luvern Blackwood Trafford, AL Male 20-24 Timothy Taylor Hokes Bluff, AL 25-29 Brad Olzinski Pelham, AL 30-34 Clint C Helena, AL 35-39 Casey Masters Ozark, AL 40-44 John Gilbert Birmingham, AL 45-49 Dennis Davis Gadsden, AL 50-54 Jeff Phillips Gadsden, AL 55-59 Casey Fannin Hoover, AL 60-64 Norman Bolger Mobile, AL 65-69 Craig Kelly Huntsville, AL 70-74 John Dagnan Vestavia Hills, AL 75-79 Bruce Greene Anniston, AL

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