Oconee Heritage Park Trail Run Race Report

A Gift For All - The Inaugural XTERRA Half-Marathon in Georgia

Farmington, GA (November 25, 2007) - The inaugural XTERRA Oconee Heritage Park Half-Marathon was a race of endurance that was backed by compassion.  Maybe it was the leftover warm feeling of Thanksgiving that spilled over to Sunday's race or the giddiness that the holidays are just around the corner.  But whatever the reason, there was a sense of unity with everyone from the individuals that laced up and ran the 21k distance to the volunteers from the US Marine Corps.

In the overall men's division, it was Dave DeJong (27) of Birmingham that took the top prize in a time of 1 hour and 28 minutes.  On his heels were Mike Cosentino (37) of Atlanta and Jeremy Duncan (26) of Savannah who crossed the finish tape in times of 1:31 and 1:32 respectively.  Salvador Huerta (42) of Alto, GA finished in a time of 1:40, making him the master's champion for the men.

The top three females all were in their early 20's - making this division a real challenge. Finishing 18th overall and first for the overall women was Michelle King (23) of Douglasville in a time of 1 hour and 50 minutes.  Erin Grower (22) of Dallas, GA followed four minutes later in a time of 1:54 and Rachel Hagues (24) of Athens, GA finished third in 2:03. In the masters division, it was Andrea Berger (44) who stole the gold in a speedy finish of 2:08.

However, the overall race winner was the Toys for Tots Organization, not only did proceeds from the event benefit this worthy cause, but the US Marine Corps had to work hard loading the boxes and boxes of toys donated at the event.

The drizzling sky was certainly welcomed by the hot runners, as they navigated through the technical course.  Lani Anderson, who finished 17th overall and second in the men's 45-50 age group said that he "loved the course and the low key atmosphere.  I traveled from Ashville, NC just to run it.  No regrets and you all got some much needed rain."  Kelly Hansford of Watkinsville finished third in her age group and "thought the trail run at Heritage was great yesterday!  Beautiful course!".

Runners can look forward to more XTERRA Trail Runs in Georgia for 2008.  For more details and full event results check out: www.xterraplanet.com/trailrun

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