Saturday, April 18, 2009 -- Danese, WV / Babcock State Park
Babcock Gristmill Grinder Trail Run/Walk (iPO Event Id#: 11749)

[Details] [Coverage] [Photos] [Overall Results] [Race Report by Don Parks]

Coverage: [2005] [2006] [2007] [2008]

Bleeding Cowboys and Babcock Beauty

Article by race director, Donnie Hudspeth with photos by Julie Black

Excellent weather makes happy racers

Well, once again we had ourselves a great time out at Babcock! The weather was spectacular, the park and the course are too. We got lucky didn't we? My hat is off to all the volunteers that so freely gave of their time and smiles to help us out. A very big thank you to Jody, Laura, Maura, Dawn and Shelley for your work on the registration and timing. We couldn't do it without you! Thanks to all the runners and walkers for coming out in record numbers to have a healthy dose of fun and exercise.

For you runners, I could say at this point that there were some battle scars from that course. Ironically, the font used on the shirts is called "Bleeding Cowboys" and the line, "We rode that thing to the ground..." keeps popping in my head. Silly me. But there really were some good stories that came out of the Babcock experience. I won't name any names, no, I can't pick on anyone in particular as it seems most everyone had a story to tell and a smile on their face at the finish. Maybe it just feels good to stop running?

Excited to be trail running

Remember, this race is included in the Trail Runner Magazine Trophy Series. Just by running the race you are now in the series. For more information follow the links on our site or feel free to e-mail me.

Also, let me suggest our favorite running club - The West Virginia Mountain Trail Runners (www.wvmtr.org). This is a great group of folks, and there are a lot of runs listed on the site. Check it out!

Another Trail Runner series race is coming . . . The Dirty Dog 15K Trail Run. See you there on May 16. iPlayOutside will be taking photos, so smile!

Thanks again for joining us this year. We will see you next year at about the same time. Bring a camera, some friends, and let's have some fun!

Happy trails,

Donnie Hudspeth

Mountain Air Productions and Usana Health Sciences
www.gauleyrace.com