Dirty Dog 15k Report

(Start by JR Petsko)

After a week of relentless rain the clouds parted for the 5th Annual Dirty Dog 15K Trail Run. Kanawha State Forest is a perfect venue for trail races and Saturday was no exception. The break in the weather gave the trails just enough time to drain, but left it nice and muddy. 144 humans and canines toed the line on Saturday to tackle the challenging course

Jacob Malcomb (Marietta, OH) took the lead early and held on for the rest of the 9.3+ mile course for a new course record of 1.04.15. Jason Bryant passed Michael Bee and Randy Gibbs between the uphill climb on White Oak Trail and the finish posted a 1.06.26 for 2nd overall. Bee and Gibbs paces each other the whole way finishing 3rd and 4th, respectively. The running most be in the blood of the Bee family, because Lowell Bee post a super fast 1.28.42 for win the Male 60+ category.
Alison Bryant held a commanding lead until she got off course after the 3rd aid station. Trail running adds the extra challenge of varied terrain and orienteering that every runner must overcome. Meg Schueger passed Heather Parks on Pine Ridge Trail and finished as the first place female overall with a time of 1:21:44. Parks was only two feet behind Meg at 1:21:45.

DD15K has a dynasty in the making for Top Dog. Jack Gibbs lead the DD15K wire to wire for three-peat top dog honors with a time of 1:07:57. He loves to run and it shows. Earning his third dog tag Jack jingles when he walks. Randy is lucky to have such a great running companion. The dogs are what make this race special. Our runners train all week long with their canine best friends, and the DD15K gives the dogs a chance to compete with their companion, too.

The course was in great shape providing runners with challenging downhill sprints. Blowovers caused by the combination of the freeze thaw and high winds gave runners some log hopping fun.

(Logan and Gary Smith by JR Petsko)

The results came be found here and at iplayoutside. JR Petsko and Don Parks took outstanding photos of the event, too. Special thanks for the all the pet supplies and donations. We dropped everything off on Saturday.

The MSTR results will be posted soon. You still have four more races to post great times. See you on September 14th at the Helvetia 10K!
(Ivy and Randy Bowers by Don Parks)