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Backyard Burn'ing it up!

© Photo by Will Ramos Photography

Situated directly off the Capital Beltway this Fairfax County park is one of the most popular weekend attractions in the area. It boasts a gigantic indoor pool and athletic center, a brand new skate park, outdoor tennis courts, soccer fields, a plethora of softball fields and some of the most accessible single-track in the area. Normally a haven for mountain bikers, the trails Sunday morning were reserved for the over 200 registered racers of this increasingly popular trail running series.

© Photo by Will Ramos Photography

By 8am the park was already in full swing thanks to a ladies softball tournament. EX2 supplied the rocking sound track as racers gathered at check-in and race day registration. And a high pressure system was to thank for the crystal clear, blue sky and the low 60 degree temps found at race start.

This sold out race started out flat and fast as runners made their way around the ball fields and up the Inter-County Connector and creek side trails.

Racers ran by fields of blooming blue bells and navigated their way across more than one small creek crossing. Up next on the course were the newly redesigned mountain bike single track trails that took racers up, over, and around a former Civil War encampment and ancient Indian site.

Kudos to the Mid Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts (MORE), Wakefield Park and the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) for such an awesome job rehabbing those trails earlier this spring. We’ll be using these very same trails in June and August for the Cranky Monkey Mountain Bike Series.

© Photo by Will Ramos Photography

Many familiar faces were seen finishing in the top spots! In 20-29 age group, the top finishers from Race #1 Katie Goodwin & Jessica Oldham swapped finishes with Jessica pulling out the win for Race #2. In the 30-39 female age group Amy Grable edged out newcomer Christy Mahon to grab first place again. Amy currently leads the ladies in points. Another newcomer, Jackie Chen dominated the 40-49 ladies, but Cathy Kanese and Marcy Knapp had strong 2, 3 finishes that racks up series points for them! Congrats to Debbie Trainer and Jane Godfrey for another 1, 2 finish for the 50 + ladies!

There was a little more placement shuffling for the men. Ian Hankins finished first in the 14-19 age group and was a very strong second place overall. Great job Ian! Colin Shah jumped from second to first in the 20-20 group and John Ritchie and Tom Pulham put in solid runs to move from 4th and 5th to 2nd and 3rd. The 30-39 age group was once again the dominant age with new top finishers Eric Raffini (1st Overall), William Bondurant (3nd Overall), and George Simon taking 1, 2 and 3. Mark Fanelli and Chris Gutierrez took first and second and racked up more placement points for the 40-49 males. John Dunn, Jack Clark and Keith Weber had strong 1, 2 and 3 finishes for the 50+ age group.

Most places in the series are really up for grabs with only Amy Grable having safely secured her first place finish in the 30-39 female age group. We can’t wait to see you all on June 5th at Hemlock Overlook for the final Backyard Burn Series race of 2005. Happy Running!

© 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.

Also, it’s April … 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!

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...