Sunday, July 7, 2019

Zach DeVeau and Rachel Durbin hit the trail again at Munson Hills

Zach DeVeau, Rachel DurbinGulf Winds Track Club's seventh annual tour of Tallaahssee, Florida's trails continued on Saturday morning, 7 July 2019, with a six-mile race at Munson Hills, where Zach DeVeau and Rachel Durbin continued winning. DeVeau was the first man in the race, the second in GWTC's 2019 Summer Trail Series, coming in first overall in 38:24. It was DeVeau's second win of the 2019 series, and it was also the second series win for Durbin, who was the first woman in the race. Durbin ran 43:56, placing sixth overall.


The Series had first visited the Munson Hills in 2018, and this was the second time that the trails had been included in the four-race circuit. It also marked the return of the inflatable alligator. A course decoration and informal Series mascot, the alligator has probably been at more Summer Trail Series races than any of the runners. With smooth plastic skin and prominent handles, the fake 'gator really can't be mistaken for the real thing--unless you're a tired runner coming up on it suddenly around a corner.


"They punked me with a blow-up ten-foot alligator," reported Donalsonville, Georgia's Myles Gibson. "I really did jump."


However startled Gibson may have been by the 'gator, it didn't keep him from finishing second overall in 39:17, the first master runner in the race. Ryan Kunz took third in 40:22. Kunz had been second to DeVeau in the first event of the Series, the Red Bug Trail Race. The third finisher at Red Bug, Florida State University School cross-country runner Morgan Castano, placed fourth at Munson Hills in 43:30.


DeVeau had last run the Summer Trail Series in 2015, winning three out of the four events, but this was his first time racing Munson Hills.


"It was good, flat, and not a lot of roots, which suits me pretty well," commented DeVeau. "A lot easier to open up on than Red Bug."


Rachel Durbin was racing Munson Hills for the first time as well. That wasn't the case for her rivals in the women's field. Emily Molen, a rising senior on the Chiles High cross-country team, was the women's champ at the 2018 Munson Hills Trail Race. Alyssa Terry of Tallahassee had been runner-up to Molen. But it was Durbin, an alumna of Ohio's Bowling Green State cross-country team and a newcomer to the Tallahassee trails, who prevailed, taking first in the women's standings in 43:56. Terry was the second woman and eighth overall in 44:44. Molen, the defending champ, was the third woman and sixteenth overall in 47:14. Another veteran of the 2018 Munson Hills Trail Race, Laura Sellati, was the first woman master in 2019, taking sixth in the women's standings and 26th overall in 51:05.


Gulf Winds Track Club's 2019 Summer Trail Series continues on Saturday morning, 27 July 2019, with the Tom Brown Park Trail Race. The Series concludes on Saturday morning, 24 August 2019, at the Maclay Gardens Trail Race.


Gulf Winds Track Club chip-timed the 2019 Munson Hills Six Mile. 86 athletes finished the race.


[All photos used in this article were taken by Fred Deckert.]


Top Ten Men, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2019 Munson Hills Six-Mile Trail Race
  1. 38:24, Zach DeVeau (M, 31)
  2. 39:17, Myles Gibson (M, 52)
  3. 40:22, Ryan Kunz (M, 36)
  4. 43:30, Morgan Castano (M, 17)
  5. 43:48, Kyle Kraeft (M, 30)
  6. 44:16, Ryan Baumbach (M, 39)
  7. 45:13, Philip Sura (M, 49)
  8. 45:29, Jack Schwenkler (M, 12)
  9. 45:40, Fanxiu Zhu (M, 50)
  10. 45:43, Kevin Malfa (M, 35)

Top Ten Women, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2019 Munson Hills Six-Mile Trail Race
  1. 43:56, Rachel Durbin (F, 24)
  2. 44:44, Alyssa Terry (F, 25)
  3. 47:14, Emily Molen (F, 17)
  4. 47:37, Cecilia Bouaichi (F, 23)
  5. 50:00, Kaley Ford (F, 24)
  6. 51:05, Laura Sellati (F, 40)
  7. 51:11, Clifton Lewis (F, 11)
  8. 51:41, Megan Chapman (F, 28)
  9. 52:05, Stella Lewis (F, 14)
  10. 52:20, Monica Toth (F, 30)

Gulf Winds Track Club's Summer Trail Series race winners, 2013 - 2019
YearDateRaceTop MaleTop FemaleFinishers
2013June 22Cadillac Trail 5½M37:38, Kevin Sullivan45:07, Stephanie Liles-Weyant121
July 13Swamp Forest Trail 4½M30:19, Kevin Sullivan34:12, Micah Adriani124
July 27Magnolia Trail 3½M21:44, Kevin Sullivan24:45, Stephanie Liles-Weyant114
August 3Red Bug Trail 4½M33:31, Bryce Van Dam43:46, Stephanie Liles-Weyant92
2014June 21Red Bug Trail 4½M38:30, Charn McAllister42:02, Brook Pace114
July 12Swamp Forest Trail 4½M29:06, Charn McAllister33:13, Brook Pace109
July 26Magnolia Trail 3½M26:03, Charn McAllister30:16, Emily Molen108
August 2Cadillac Trail 5½M41:38, Brian Molen48:25, Emily Molen88
2015May 30Cadillac Trail 5½M39:15, Zach Deveau42:51, Alyson Churchill158
June 13Oak Hammock Trail 5M32:59, Zach Deveau35:10, Alyson Churchill129
July 18Coon Bottom Trail 4M28:42, Zach Deveau29:14, Alyson Churchill112
August 1Red Bug Trail 4½M35:14, Greg Bargo35:24, Alyson Churchill112
2016May 21Magnolia Trail 3½M25:18, Dan Baur27:05, Katie Gorman133
June 4Oak Hammock Trail 5½M42:53, Eric Godin45:24, Katie Gorman123
July 9Red Bug Trail 4½M33:14, Dan Baur35:04, Katie Gorman130
July 30Cadillac Trail 5½M43:06, Paul Guyas42:29, Alyson Churchill95
2017June 10Munson Hills 6M36:45, Chris O'Kelley46:34, Emily Molen87
July 1Red Bug Trail 4½M37:34, Chris O'Kelley48:24, Emily Molen90
July 15Oak Hammock/Swamp Forest 5M33:35, Charles Biberg39:36, Kat Sack89
August 5Tom Brown Park 4½M32:40, Chris O'Kelley36:36, Jennifer Bayliss71
2018June 23Munson Hills 6M38:02, Vince Molosky45:10, Emily Molen124
July 7Phipps Park 4M30:49, Jim Schafer33:39, Kat Sack127
July 21Maclay Gardens 5M38:26, Brad Busboom44:39, Kat Sack110
August 4Tom Brown Park 4½M28:39, Brad Busboom32:29, Kat Sack109
2019June 22Red Bug Trail 4½M35:27, Zach DeVeau38:53, Rachel Durbin125
July 6Munson Hills 6M38:24, Zach DeVeau43:56, Rachel Durbin86
July 27Tom Brown Park 5M
August 24Maclay Gardens 4½M


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Posted by Herb Wills at 2:59 PM
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