The ARC’s fall racing season has been jam-packed with strong results. This past week was no different. We had guys grinding it out at a traditional downtown road race, prepping for Shut-In with a time trial on the trails, and running among giants in California.
First up, Saturday morning was the 39th edition of the Thomas Wolfe 8k, an Asheville institution. Phillip Latter and Victor McHenry took on a strong local field on the hilly downtown course and earned solid 2nd and 4th place finishes, respectively. The race was won by Asheville’s own sub-4:00 miler, Isaac Presson, who fought off all contenders to take the 1 mile bonus (strong effort by the guy in the cut-off flannel shirt), 3 mile bonus, and cross the finish in 25:50. Nice running, guys.
Also on Saturday, Shiloh Mielke and Javan Lapp tested their climbing and descending skills with a time trial on the famed Kitsuma trail in Black Mountain. While not a race, this is a popular time trial course in WNC and a noteworthy effort for anyone who takes on the challenge. The Kitsuma Klimb TT is an out-and-back ~8.5 mile singletrack trail which requires runners to fly down nearly 1,500 feet of descent before turning around and switching to a grindy climbing gear for the journey back up. Shout-out to the WNC Trail Runner wiki for promoting and keeping records for great runs like Kitsuma! Both ARC guys had a great day in the woods, with Javan lopping nearly 10 minutes off his previous best and Shiloh setting an overall FKT (fastest known time) of 1:06:01 in his first attempt. On to Shut-In!
Finally, Scott Williams represented the ARC out in California at the Humboldt Redwoods Half Marathon. This out-and-back course is run entirely on the Avenue of Giants with nearly constant redwood canopy cover. Sounds like a decent place for a run. Scott took advantage of the great course and laid down a solid 1:13:48. He is on the right track as he gets deeper into Cal International Marathon training.
Thomas Wolfe 8k - Asheville, NC
Phil Latter - 2nd - 26:38
Victor McHenry - 4th - 27:08
Results
Kitsuma Klimb TT - Black Mountain, NC
Shiloh Mielke - 1:06:01
Javan Lapp - 1:07:24
TT Leaderboard
Humboldt Redwoods Half Marathon - Humboldt County, CA
Scott Williams - 14th - 1:13:48
Results
