Race Report:

Sizzle was the word of the evening.  Race time temps were 93F with a heat index of 97F, making for a very tough run through the trails of Forest Park.  Twenty runners toed the line under the intense heat for the 5000 meter cross country race.  Tonight’s race was #4 in the series.

Leading the field into the woods was Alex White followed closely by GSH’s Bill Carroll and Cameron Scott.  Once out of sight it was a waiting game for the race volunteers.  Finally the first runner appeared at the base of the finishing hill, and it would be Cameron Scott leading the charge.  Cameron would go on to record his first ever Summer Sizzler victory with a time of 20:59, which was pretty impressive under these conditions.  With the victory Cameron’s name will forever be listed in the Summer Sizzler Hall of Fame.  Bill would hold on for 2^nd place, finishing in 22:20 followed by Hunter Sarnelli in 23:14.  Male age group winners were Cameron in the Youth (0-19) division, Sean Vieten was first Open (20-39) male in 23:28, Mark Degrandpre’s 29:46 was good for first Master (40-49), GSH regular Doug Bielefeld was first Senior (50-59) in 25:34 and GSH’s Steve O’Neil bested a stacked Veteran (60-69) division with a time of 23:29.

The women’s field was wide open with a trio of GSH harriers; Kathy McCarthy, Kiana Eaton and Julie Carroll, battling for top position.  It took almost the entire 5000 meters to settle the matter, and it was Julie Carroll coming out on top for the victory with a time of 24:22.  The win was Julie’s 6^th of the season and 14^th of her career.  Kathy would cruise to second place in 25:27 and Kiana Eaton’s 26:05 earned her the final podium position.  Female age group winners were Julie in the Youth division, Maura Feeney was first Open female in 32:19, Anne Taupier was first Master in 32:54 and Kathy McCarthy took the Senior division.

Volunteers for the evening were Ed Carroll, Brian McCarthy, Brian Goddu and Bruce Kurtz.  I would like to thank the Forest Park Forestry Division for trimming the deep plant growth in the swamp and on the “billy goat” hill.  The extra trail width was appreciated by all.  I also want to thank all of the runners for suffering under the intense heat.  Please join us again next week for race #15, the 8000 meter road race.  Hopefully a new week will bring some cooler temps.