Wesley Hunt

War Eagle Tailtwister 50K

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Member Since:

Oct 19, 2010

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

Arkansas Traveller 100: 1st Place; October 7, 2017

Arkansas Traveller 100: 1st Place; October 1, 2016

Arkansas Traveller 100: 15:36:33, 1st Place (Course Record);  October 3, 2015

Arkansas Traveller 100: 15:59:12, 1st Place; October 4, 2014 

War Eagle Tail Twister 50K: 4:07:12, 2nd Place; June 3, 2017

2017 New York City Marathon: 2:53:59; November 5, 2017

2013 Boston Marathon: 2:59:11; April 1, 2013

PR, Sleeping Bear Marathon: 2:45:41, 1st Place; October 7, 2012

PR, Soaring Wings Half Marathon: 1:20:33, 8th Place; October 29, 2011

Personal:

Pride necessarily sprouts and grows; a pride that can only come from relentless kneading of unwilling flesh, painful months of grinding and burning away all that is heavy, all that is strength-sapping and useless to the body as a projectile. --John L. Parker, Jr., runner/author

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Race: War Eagle Tailtwister 50K (31 Miles) 04:18:39, Place overall: 2, Place in age division: 1
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
31.000.000.000.0031.00

Arrived in Rogers, Arkansas late last night for the War Eagle Trail Runs, Tailtwister 50K, in Hobbs State Park. 

The race was scheduled for a 6:30 am start, but a shuttle shortage (to the start line) caused a bit of a delay, and we got things kicked off a little after 7:00 am. I jumped out to an early lead on some beautiful, rolling singletrack trails winding through the State Park. Alone in the lead all day - a hot one with temps in the 80s and 100% humidity - I was fading a bit after the final aid station, with a couple of miles to go, but I continued to push as hard as possible with no idea whether anyone was in striking distance.  She was.  

Jenn Shelton passed me on the final climb less than a mile from the finish line. It was an incredible surge, as I could only watch while she crushed the hardest climb of the day. At this point of the race, I was simply trying to hold on and survive.

It really was a thing of beauty, and I learned shortly after the race that Jenn had passed the second place male (third overall), Justin Fanklin, on the final descent shortly before she locked in on me after discovering (from a photographer) that I was close. In fact, I was fortunate to hold off Justin, a good dude with whom I enjoyed visiting after the race.

This was a great day, and I want to commend my Dad for toughing out the rough conditions and completing his first 50K. His quads are thrashed from the descents, but Mark has a lot to be proud of after coming in just over 6 hours as the fourth 50+ finisher.

I ran 4:18:39, 9 minutes off the course record and exactly one minute behind the winner, Jenn Shelton. 

Wesley

Night Sleep Time: 4.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 4.50
Comments
From Jon on Sat, Jun 06, 2015 at 23:59:18 from 107.203.52.135

Nice job on holding on to second. I'm sure lots of guys have been chicked by Jenn.

From Rob Murphy on Sun, Jun 07, 2015 at 00:31:38 from 24.10.247.181

Great race Wesley.

From Wesley Hunt on Sun, Jun 07, 2015 at 18:29:31 from 70.215.134.115

Jon- Thanks, and no doubt about. Jenn's an impressive runner, and the smart money says she's going to have a great fall. She was very pleasant and humble after the race.

Rob- Thank you, sir. Tried to hold on during the last climb, but I was proud of the effort only two weeks removed from Jimez Mountain. By the way, I started The Boys in the Boat yesterday after the race based on your review of it in a post a few weeks back. Really enjoying it and trying not to apply every anecdote or quote to running...though it's hard.

From jtshad on Mon, Jun 08, 2015 at 12:57:09 from 141.221.191.225

Congrats on a great race! Jenn is a stellar runner as well so to be where you were is a really testament to your fitness.

Another great year for you Wesley!

Congrats to your dad as well!

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