Teresa Roberts of Masterpiece Fitness once again hosted the Fifth Annual Matthews State Forest Trail Run. It was perfect weather for the new course beginning and ending at the new entrance for Matthews State Forest off of highway 58. The parking is great, and we had bathrooms and a nice picnic shelter with tables and a nice fireplace. Seventeen runners from all levels came out to run the extended course of approximately ten very challenging miles.

Robert Tasselmyer was the first overall male with a time of 1:36:10, and Teresa Roberts was the first female to finish with a time of 2:04:15. We were all impressed by a ten year old, Noah Berg, who ran with his father, Brandon Berg, who placed 11th overall with a time of 2:21:44. His dad, Brandon placed 3rd overall with 1:49:06. Several was over the three hour mark, but were definitely considered winners by all.

Races cannot happen without trustworthy volunteers and we want to express appreciation to ours: Karen Porter and Tori Lindberg are faithful timers every year and were joined by Doug Hines, Patty and Don Smyth, Marie Smith, Day Lindberg, and Faith Hennis. Many of our runner’s families took photos and helped any way they could. We are grateful to all.
There was no charge for the race, so we had no trophies, or t-shirts. However I was able to present nice door prizes due to the generous local donors: Old Mill Golf Resort, Chapters Book Store, Hair Classics Salon, Galax Smoke House, Subway Lisa’s Carwash and Southwest Farm Supply. Brian Horton from Horton’s Super Market has always provided our races with bagels and bananas. Please support these great local businesses as they support our community.

I did request runners make donations to Galax Mountain Bikers, and Matthews State Forest. The trails are from the mountain bikers efforts, and we all are appreciative for their upkeep. We are thankful to Matthews State Forest who is always supportive, and allowed us to use their new facility at no cost.

Below are the results and photos. We are tentatively planning April 21, for 2018. Mark your calendars!

RESULTS

FIFTH ANNUAL MATTHEWS STATE FOREST TRAIL RUN

Name – Time –  Age
1. Robert Tasselmyer 1:36.10 40 First Place Overall
2. Don Smyth 1:47:48 58 2nd Male Overall
3. Brandon Berg 1:49:06 40 3rd Male Overall
4. Jones Baker 1:49:46 27
5. Nick Jones 1:57:53 34
6. Teresa Roberts 2:04:15 60 1st Place Female
7. Ralph Pini 2:07:10 61
8. Darin Church 2:07:12 45
9. Josee Williams 2:15:07 44 2nd Place Female
10. Crystal Morphis 2:19:37 44 3rd Place Female
11. Noah Berg 2:21:44 10
12. Tony Truitt 2:27:35 55
13. Ima Johnson 3:02:32 62
14. Paula Doughtie 3:58:40 52
15. Shane Kinney 4:10:03 50
16. Julie Kinney 4:12:01 47
17. Trudi Jackson DNF 53

PHOTOS