Wall, Edwards Prevail at Red Mountain

XTERRA Alabama Series will go to Oak Mountain next

David Wall and Ali Edwards raced to impressive wins at the inaugural XTERRA Red Mountain Trail Run last weekend.

The event, which was part of the 2012-13 XTERRA Alabama Trail Run Series, was completed on Saturday, October 20, at Red Mountain Park Trails in Birmingham, Alabama.

Wall was the overall winner, completing the 9-mile long course in 1 hour, 11 seconds. "I have never been to Red Mountain before," said Wall, who is 25 and resides in Madison, Alabama. "I was very impressed with how nice the trails are and I plan on going back to explore some of the other trails."

Wall took the lead in the first mile and stayed in front the rest of the course. There have been two races in the XTERRA Alabama Trail Run Series so far in the 2012-13 season, and Wall has won both.

Jame Gardner of Birmingham placed second in 1:06:24, followed by Rhett Russenberger from Madison in 1:10:33.

Edwards actually placed third overall and was the first female with a time of 1:07:37. Unlike the overall winner Wall, Edwards said she had run on the trails at Red Mountain prior to the race.

"I'm familiar with the trails because I regularly attend the Alabama Outdoors group runs there," she said. "In my opinion, the race didn't really begin until mile 6, which was when we hit the technical single track section. That was a challenge!"

Edwards, 21, is currently a senior at Samford University. She has won several trail races in recent years, but this was her first XTERRA Trail Run victory.

Edwards said she knew she was close to the top male runners, but had no idea how far ahead of the other females she was. "I knew there weren't many people in front of me because no one passed me after the first mile," she said. "But I didn't see any other runners on the course during the second loop, so I had no idea how close the other men and women were."

Kristina Vaughn of Birmingham was the second female in 1:12:30, and Moira Pribyl was third in 1:21:05.

CLICK HERE to view complete results.

The XTERRA Red Mountain Trail Run was the second of six events on the 2012-13 schedule for the XTERRA Alabama Trail Run Series. The next event in the series will be the XTERRA Oak Mountain Trail Run on November 11 at Pelham, Alabama. To register for a race or learn more about the series, please visit www.dirtyspokes.com.

About the XTERRA Alabama Trail Run Series
The XTERRA Alabama Trail Run Series is open to runners of all ages and skill levels. In the 2012-13 season, there will be six races available for runners, with the courses ranging in length from 5 kilometers to 42 kilometers. The top runners in every age group will receive points after each race that will count toward the overall series standings. At the conclusion of the series, each age-group champion will receive a free entry to represent Alabama at the 2013 XTERRA Trail Run National Championship. Alabama is one of 13 regions hosting an XTERRA Trail Run Series. The others are Arizona, Northern California, Southern California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Pacific Northwest, Pocono, Puerto Rico, South Carolina and Texas.

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