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MAYS AND PATRICK WIN GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN MARATHON
MITCHELTREE WINS THE TRIATHLON

Glen Mays from Little Rock, AK won the Grandfather Mountain Marathon on Saturday and Betsy Patrick from Banner Elk, NC won the women's division. Both are natives of Winston-Salem and both competed at Grandfather for the first time.

The 40th annual running of the marathon had a field of 370 contestants from 29 states plus Germany. They ranged in age from 18 to 70. Approximately one third of the field were women, the highest percentage ever.

Mays, who celebrated his 36th birthday with his victory, had a time of 2 hours, 48 minutes and 54 seconds. The record is 2 hours, 42 minutes and 11 seconds set by Garrick Hill. Mays is a veteran marathon runner and winner of the Little Rock and Greensboro races.

Mays said his winning strategy was simple, "just hang on!" He said he had always heard about the Grandfather race and it lived up to his expectations. "It's the toughest race I have ever run," he said. The 26.2 mile race begins in Boone, climbs to the Blue Ridge Parkway and ends at MacRae Meadows, site of the ongoing Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.

Over the course of the race, runners have to climb over 3,000 feet in elevation on the uphill and downhill course. Overall, the net elevation gain is 1,000 feet.

Second overall was Mike White, 43, a cross country coach from San Jose, CA, with a time of 2 hours and 50 minutes. This is White's third time here. Four years ago he ran the Boston Marathon and heard about the Grandfather race so he entered and won.

Because of his love for the Blue Ridge Mountains and the beauty of the course, complete with its ending at the Highland Games, White chose Grandfather as the venue for his final cross country race. "It's my favorite site," White said, "what more could you ask for."

Actually, it was almost more than he asked for. "The Grandfather course is much harder now. I really feel it is the hardest in America. The changes they made were good changes--it's an even better course now."

As a tribute to White's running career, his high school cross country coach, now 70 years old, joined him to run his final race. "It was emotional to be on the Highland Games track with everyone cheering for me," White continued. "At that time it hit me that this is the last one."

Third place went to Rodney Jackson, 41, of Boone with a time of 2 hours, 57 minutes and 19 seconds. It was Jackson's second time at Grandfather. He finished ninth last year and his goal this year was to improve his time.

Not only was this Betsy Patrick's first time at the Grandfather Mountain Marathon, it was her first marathon. She intended to run one three years earlier, "I wanted to run 26 miles when I was 26," she explained, "but I was injured." She had run The Bear before, placing third.

Three weeks ago, Patrick won the women's division of the 100-mile Blood, Sweat & Gears bike race in Boone (she finished 6th overall). Her winning time at the marathon was 3 hours, 9 minutes and one second, good enough for 12th place overall. The course record of 3 hours, 3 minutes and 57 seconds was set by Suzanne Clemmer in 2004.

Patrick credits her victory to the encouragement she received from a fellow competitor. "I was really struggling around mile 18 and he was running beside me," Patrick explained. "We began talking and he helped me through my rough spot and I was able to finish strong."

Second was Dr. Amy Fowler, 38, a Chapel Hill pediatrician, with a time of 3 hours, 26 minutes and 25 seconds. Her husband Vance is an infectious disease physician at Duke Medical Center and the two always run Grandfather together, finishing with the same times. Fowler also placed second two years ago.

Third with a 3 hour, 27 minute and 8 second time was Jennifer Gapin, 25, a graduate student at UNC-Greensboro. She has run three other marathons but this was her first time at Grandfather.

With the addition of a new race this year, the 65-mile Grizzley bike race on Friday, the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games now have three races--The Bear Thursday night, The Grizzley and the marathon. The temptation by several competitors was to enter all three and create a Grandfather Mountain Highland Games Triathlon, or as some said, a "Tartan Triathlon."

Of those "iron men" who participated in all three , Andy Mitcheltree, 29, of Blowing Rock totally dominated. He finished eleventh in the five-mile Bear run (elevation gain of 1,568 feet) Thursday night. With very little sleep, early the next morning he won the 65-mile Grizzley bike race that climbed the back side of Beech Mountain enroute to its finish at Grandfather Mountain's MacRae Meadows. Then at 7 AM Saturday morning, he began what many call "America's toughest marathon" and finished sixth!

"My trainer checked out my legs after the bike race," said Mitcheltree, "and he said my muscles were in great shape. All I needed was a leg massage.

"The key to winning the bike race was the climb up the back side of Beech Mountain on a gravel road that Lance Armstrong trained on. That's where I broke away.

"I did lots of cycling to train but not that much running. I am a runner, also. I placed fourth here, second in Raleigh and 56th in Pittsburgh in addition to running the Boston Marathon.

"The training paid off. It was as much a mental benefit as it was physical. I feel great now."

Mitcheltree said a number of others will be participating in the triathlon next year. One he might need to watch out for is Betsy Patrick!

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