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Backyard Burn'ing it up!

© Photo by Will Ramos Photography

The day started off on the chilly side in the upper 40’s but the forecasted rain held off making for great running conditions. The ground was a bit damp from the overnight rain, but not enough that it made the trails too slippery.

© Photo by Will Ramos Photography

Race director Jim Harman started both the 5 and 10 mile races simultaneously just after 9 AM. Runners were treated to a little hill warm-up on the pavement before entering the trail system and fire roads. A highlight of this course was the suspension bridge that all racers had to cross twice. It swayed and bounced and helped to propel everyone across. Based on the smiling faces seen in the terrific photos by Will Ramos racers seemed to really enjoy this part of the course.

Three and a half miles into the race the courses split with the 10 milers heading deeper into the forest while the 5 milers headed back to the finish. While the 5 milers were enjoying their Papa John’s pizza the 10 milers continued on the back trails which included a little rock garden treat that challenged all and left some a bit battered!

Alex Hetherington, of Stafford, VA repeated his overall win from last year’s BYB race at Prince William Forest crossing the finish line with a time of 1:03:04. Quentin McMahon, last year’s series winner in the 14-19 year old age group came in second overall just over 4 minutes behind Alex. Fast on Quentin’s heels was orienteering champ, Jon Torrance, of Washington DC who crossed just 18 seconds behind for third place overall.

Katie Goodwin was the first woman across the finish line on Sunday with a time of 1:16:14. Katie was also the official overall female finisher in last year’s Off-Road Triathlon. Jessica Oldham, of Arlington, VA finished 33rd overall and 2nd in her age group with a time of 1:20:19. Last year’s female 20-29 age group series champ, Sarah Mikalauskas came in barely a minute behind Jessica at 1:21:22.

This race had amazing energy and spirit! Thanks to EVERYBODY who came out to run, help-out or cheer-on! Volunteer Manager, Ryan Mauter, and the rest of the staff send a HUGE thank you out to the ALL of the volunteers, especially Dan & Anzie who came out really early (and all the way from B'more) and Jess who gave up her last day of Spring Break to help us out! You Rock!

We really hope to see each and every one of you at another (if not all) of our races this season. Liked the course? EX2 returns to Prince William Forest on May 1st for the Off-Road Marathon and Half Marathon. And if you want to experience running some different trails, sign up for the other BYB series races at Wakefield and Hemlock (April 17th and June 5th)!

© Photo by Will Ramos Photography

Remember, this is adventure sport racing… You create your own adventure! If you did the 5 miler and felt strong, get out there and train and kick it up to 10 miles for one of the next two races. You only need to participate in two of the 10 mile races to win points in the series.

Also, it’s March… the weather is only going to get nicer, so hit the pool, dust off your mountain bike, and get training for the Cranky Monkey series, two awesome Adventure Races and one sweet Triathlon!

Based on the popularity of the first race - don’t miss out. Guarantee your spot (and get the early registration discount) by registering now for the other races!!!!!!

Photos

Will Ramos is our Official Photographer. Will's photos have been published in national magazines such as Sports Illustrated and Adventure Sports Magazine. All photos are available for purchase at...