Kyle Kraeft and Signe Ulsamer win the Swamp Forest Trail 20 on a fast day in Phipps Park

The course for the Gulf Winds Track Club's tenth annual Swamp Forest Trail Race was a loop just short of eleven kilometers, winding through Tallahassee's Phipps Park. Athletes run one, two, or three laps, depending on the race in which they're competing. Somewhere on the second kilometer of the course--or possibly the third--I spied Jeff Bryant shuffling along.


"I really just came to help out today," explained Bryant. "But when I found out I was the only one who had run the race all nine times, I had to try to do at least one lap."


Gotta keep the streak going.


Bryant may be the only athlete to have done all ten Swamp Forest Trail races, but he wasn't the only athlete returning to the event. Kyle Kraeft, who had won the three-lapper in 2020 and 2023, was back at Phipps Park on Saturday morning, 6 January 2024, to win again--this time in 2:40:17. Likewise, the defending women's champ, master runner Signe Ulsamer, revisited the race in 2024 and added another women's title, placing eighth overall in 3:44:44.

Kyle Kraeft

The three Swamp Forest Trail races are sometimes posted as 6-¾ miles, 13-½ miles, and 20 miles. Other times, you'll see them listed as a quarter marathon, a half marathon, and a three-quarters marathon. There is a difference of opinion as to how long the runs actually are, but no one who does the race argues that the courses are short. After negotiating one or more laps of hills, treacherous footing, and narrow bridges, the distances likely seem understated.


Soon after leaving the starting line, Kyle Kraeft was ahead of every other competitor in the three-lap race. Daniel Korecky was the closest pursuer, followed by Bryan Gensits and master runner Mike Tercyak. No one challenged Kraeft, but before the end of the first lap Gensits had overtaken Korecky. Tercyak passed Korecky during the second lap, then left Gensits behind during the third circuit. Kraeft, meanwhile, lengthened his lead, going on to win in a course record 2:40:17. Tercyak was the first master runner in the three-lapper, grabbing the runner-up spot in 2:46:30. Gensits was third in 2:48:44 and Korecky fourth in 2:51.37.

Signe Ulsamer

Signe Ulsamer wasn't always leading the women's field, but in the end she was the only woman to finish the three-quarter marathon. Running more than twenty minutes faster than she had in 2023, Ulsamer took her second straight Swamp Forest women's title with a 3:44:44.


Eleven athletes finished the 2024 Swamp Forest Three-Quarter Marathon.


Top Ten Athletes, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2024 Swamp Forest Trail 20-Mile Challenge

1. 2:40:17, Kyle Kraeft (M, 34)
2. 2:46:30, Mike Tercyak (M, 40)
3. 2:48:44, Bryan Gensits (M, 29)
4. 2:51:37, Daniel Korecky (M, 39)
5. 3:00:35, Matthew Dietrich (M, 45)
6. 3:02:14, Will Hanley (M, 49)
7. 3:08:48, Russell Mick (M, 47)
8. 3:44:44, Signe Ulsamer (F, 46)
9. 3:49:13, Brett Opalinski (M, 52)
10. 4:01:23, Garret Hall (M, 31)

In the two-lap race, Leonardo Canete kept up the theme of repeat winners, taking first in 1:36:16--his third Swamp Forest Half-Marathon win in a row. It was a convincing win--Canete took the lead almost from the start, never trailed, and ended the race more than two kilometers ahead of the competition. At the end of the first lap, Canete was even a minute ahead of the winner of the quarter-marathon race, Sean Blanton.

Leonardo Canete

After finishing, Blanton quipped about Canete: "I'll bet that other guy wasn't even breaking a sweat."


Master runner Hans Hassell was runner-up in the half-marathon, running 1:47:41. Another master runner, Ryan Kunz, placed third in 1:51:56.

Megan Noonan

Megan Noonan, a newcomer to the Swamp Forest Run, was the first woman in the half-marathon, coming in sixth overall in 1:56:30. Monica Judd was the the first woman master in the two lap race, the second female finisher and tenth overall in 2:10:34. Judd was a past women's champ of both the Swamp Forest Marathon and Swamp Forest Three-Quarter Marathon. Master runner Brandi Campbell took third in the women's standings, coming in fourteenth overall in 2:23:09.


47 athletes finished the 2024 Swamp Forest Half-Marathon.


Top Ten Men, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2024 Swamp Forest Trail Half Marathon

1. 1:36:16, Leonardo Canete (M, 45)
2. 1:47:41, Hans Hassell (M, 41)
3. 1:51:56, Ryan Kunz (M, 41)
4. 1:56:22, Mickey Moore (M, 53)
5. 1:56:29, Gregory Noonan (M, 40)
6. 2:00:12, Bill McNulty (M, 65)
7. 2:07:00, Michael Vincent (M, 32)
8. 2:08:56, Brian Burch (M, 49)
9. 2:11:33, Albert Hayes (M, 36)
10. 2:13:17, Fanxiu Zhu (M, 55)

Top Ten Women, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2024 Swamp Forest Trail Half Marathon

1. 1:56:30, Megan Noonan (F, 39)
2. 2:10:34, Monica Judd (F, 49)
3. 2:23:09, Brandi Campbell (F, 48)
4. 2:24:24, Ruffian Tyner (F, 48)
5. 2:29:38, Anna Brook Opalinski (F, 26)
6. 2:32:59, Tyler Mendelsohn (F, 35)
7. 2:36:06, Aditi Mukhirala (F, 16)
8. 2:36:21, Kelley Coe El-Urfali (F, 59)
9. 2:37:08, Kelsey Mezzina (F, 29)
10. 2:37:23, Angela Dempsey (F, 55)

Sean Blanton may have trailed half-marathon winner Leonardo Canete, but he never trailed anyone in his own race, the quarter marathon, winning by over 800 meters in 47:08, a course record.


"It was a blast!" said Blanton. "Everything was well marked. I really had fun out there."

Sean Blanton

Two Leon High cross-country runners were next across the finish line, with junior Cadden Maxwell coming in just ahead of sophomore Mark Moore. Both Maxwell and Stanley were clocked in 50:56.


Twelve-year-old Alexis Mayfield was first in the women's standings, placing fifth overall in 57:23--the women's course record. Mayfield is an eighth-grader on the Swift Creek Middle School cross-country team. Averi Lewis, women's champ at the 2022 Swamp Forest Half-Marathon, was runner-up to Mayfield in the one-lap race, placing ninth overall in 63:56. Just behind Lewis, Olivia Willoughby was the third woman and tenth overall in 64:05.

Alexis Mayfield

Chris Stanley was the first master runner in the quarter-marathon and the eighth-male finisher, twelfth overall in 65:15. Sarrah Glassner was the first woman master, the fifth female finisher and thirteenth overall in 65:24.


74 athletes finished the 2024 Swamp Forest Trail Quarter Marathon. Gulf Winds Track Club of Tallahassee chip-timed the races.


Top Ten Men, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2024 Swamp Forest Trail Quarter Marathon

1. 47:08, Sean Blanton (M, 37)
2. 50:56, Cadden Maxwell (M, 17)
3. 50:56, Mark Moore (M, 15)
4. 53:15, Jason Eick (M, 36)
5. 57:46, Samuel Boatright (M, 27)
6. 61:42, Mason Olimb (M, 15)
7. 62:54, Andrew Mannheimer (M, 36)
8. 65:15, Christopher Stanley (M, 46)
9. 67:44, Matt Vermeer (M, 36)
10. 68:21, Scott Nelson (M, 30)

Top Ten Women, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2024 Swamp Forest Trail Quarter Marathon

1. 57:23, Alexis Mayfield (F, 12)
2. 63:56, Averi Lewis (F, 26)
3. 64:05, Olivia Willoughby (F, 27)
4. 65:14, Savannah Stanley (F, 15)
5. 65:24, Sarrah Glassner (F, 41)
6. 71:20, Georgina Hernandez (F, 33)
7. 73:06, Kim Sims (F, 44)
8. 74:16, Nancy Proctor (F, 62)
9. 74:32, Danielle Gereg (F, 38)
10. 74:35, Tina Bahmer (F, 49)

Gulf Winds Track Club's Swamp Forest Trail Marathon winners, 2014 - 2024
Date	Distance	Men	Women	Finishers
4 January 2014	Marathon	4:07:10, Douglas Bell	5:26:39, Carla McDonald	23
	Half Marathon	1:54:23, Jon Mason	2:02:14, Brook Pace	65
	Quarter Marathon	56:03, David Hill	1:05:38, Shelley Yaun	35
3 January 2015	Marathon	4:06:02, Dink Taylor	5:04:46, Jamie Harris	21
	Half Marathon	1:43:54, Taylor Buzzard	2:17:32, Kenzie Mazziotta	82
	Quarter Marathon	54:34, Jim Halley	1:01:22, Angela Dempsey	55
3 January 2016	Marathon	3:59:49, Douglas Bell	5:07:47, Danielle Zemola	17
	Half Marathon	1:36:58, Taylor Buzzard	2:20:54, Isabel Anderson	56
	Quarter Marathon	54:17, Jose Fernandez	1:02:50, Lindsay James	68
7 January 2017	Marathon	3:28:44, Gary Gellin		15
	Half Marathon	1:34:17, Charlie Johnson	2:08:19, Sandy Johnson	56
	Quarter Marathon	52:34, Eric Sager	1:13:24, Sonya Dudley	56
6 January 2018	Marathon	4:24:26, Zachary Grossman	5:15:36, Monica Judd	25
	Half Marathon	1:28:44, Charlie Johnson	2:04:55, Kat Sack	58
	Quarter Marathon	52:51, Eric Sager	59:08, Rachael Stockel	70
5 January 2019	50K	5:27:12, Zachary Grossman	5:30:07, Rachel Wombles	5
	Marathon	4:39:22, Kevin Hanna	6:04:00, Anne Carroll	5
	Half Marathon	1:57:14, Tristan Lanasa	2:07:27, Alyssa Terry	56
	Quarter Marathon	52:50, Jim Halley	1:04:14, Laura Sellati	64
4 January 2020	20 Mile	3:02:27, Kyle Kraeft	3:25:57, Monica Judd	36
	Half Marathon	1:41:46, Tristan Lanasa	2:03:20, Ali Kelly	55
	Quarter Marathon	51:18, Gary Droze	58:51, Alyssa Terry	65
2 January 2021	No Race Held
2 January 2022	20 Mile	2:59:50, Thomas Parker	3:46:54, Sherri Wise	10
	Half Marathon	1:41:56, Leonardo Canete	2:24:39, Averi Lewis	32
	Quarter Marathon	47:34, Leo Rutledge	62:04, Angely Jimenez	65
7 January 2023	20 Mile	2:43:14, Kyle Kraeft	4:06:02, Signe Ulsamer	11
	Half Marathon	1:37:18, Leonardo Canete	2:28:03, Brandi Campbell	34
	Quarter Marathon	50:10, Cadden Maxwell	58:38, Madi Sims	74
6 January 2024	20 Mile	2:40:17, Kyle Kraeft	3:44:44, Signe Ulsamer	14
	Half Marathon	1:36:16, Leonardo Canete	1:56:30, Megan Noonan	46
	Quarter Marathon	47:08, Sean Blanton	57:23, Alexis Mayfield	73

Links

• Complete results of Gulf Winds Track Club's 2024 Swamp Forest Trail races
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRcGnLfsxyQuReOrDuTPGs8ax2hPnY0_bq1nHs3I8BV12worv2C2T-sAwIj2r1RQIyufzc_PzQqG81P/pubhtml
  
  
• More Trouble Afoot! photos of Gulf Winds Track Club's 2024 Swamp Forest Trail races
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10121673758116843
  
  
• 2020 story, “Kyle Kraeft and Monica Judd romp in the Swamp”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2020/01/swamp-forest-2020.html
  
  
• 2019 story, “More tales of the Swamp Forest Trail”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/01/swamp-forest-2019.html
  
  
• 2018 story, “Grossman and Judd were the top marathoners on the Swamp Forest Trail”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/01/swamp-forest-2018.html
  
  
• 2017 story, “Gary Gellin crushes the Swamp Forest Trail Marathon record”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/01/swamp-forest-2017.html
  
  
• 2016 story, “Bell and Zemola survive the Swamp Forest Trail”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/01/swamp-forest-2016.html
  
  
• Find upcoming trail races, long and longer, on the Trouble Afoot! racing calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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