HIDDENITE, NC (October 15, 2020) — Congratulations to Brian Beal for his victory in the first-ever Vertical Night Challenge at Rocky Face Park on Saturday, October 3 at 6:00 p.m. A total of 56 runners completed this unique 8-lap race which uses the same 16-mile course as the popular Vertical Mile Challenge, but with the added difficulty of running the trails in the dark (with a headlamp). Full results and links to photos are available below.
Beal blazed the course in the dark with a time of 2:47:17. He also earned the award for fastest first lap for a male at 17:14. In addition, Beal received the cherished “Double Buckle” for finishing both 8-lap events this year — the Vertical Mile Challenge in August and the Vertical Night Challenge in October.
Sarah Nichols earned first-place female and fastest first lap for a female (21:58) in the Vertical Night Challenge with a total time of 3:36:35. She placed 14th overall in the 8-lap event.
Cody Wingler earned the award for first-place male from Alexander County. He placed 18th overall with a time of 3:47:39. He also earned the “Double Buckle” for completing both 8-lap events this year.
Aniceto Cruz Garcia earned the award for fastest first lap for a male from Alexander County. He finished the first lap in 20:23 and placed 19th overall with a time of 3:48:10.
Angela Mathews earned the award for first-place female and fastest first lap for a female from Alexander County. She finished the first lap in 33:25 and placed 52nd overall with a time of 5:43:58.
The youngest finisher was Liam Myles, age 11, who placed 31st overall with a time of 4:19:32. He received a special award for his amazing achievement.
HALF VERTICAL NIGHT CHALLENGE
The event also featured a Half Vertical Night Challenge, which consisted of four laps (approximately eight miles). There were 29 finishers in the Half VNC.
Congratulations to Nike Pennell for his victory in the Half VNC with a time of 1:28:13. Pennell won the race by almost 10 minutes ahead of the second-place finisher.
Kelly Deffke earned the award for first-place female in the Half VNC with a time of 2:00:52. She placed seventh overall.
Douglas Pennell earned the award for first-place male from Alexander County in the Half VNC with a time of 1:40:19. He placed fourth overall.
Heather Davis earned the award for first-place female from Alexander County in the Half VNC with a time of 2:38:10. She placed 14th overall.
“DOUBLE BUCKLE” WINNERS
More than 20 runners earned the “Double Buckle” for completing the Vertical Mile Challenge in August and the Vertical Night Challenge in October. The buckle rewards those who finished both of these extreme trail races at Rocky Face Park.
Those who received “Double Buckles” include Brian Beal, Carl Haynes, Stephen Robbins, Cory Parker, Matt Kornegay, Scott Perry, Cody Wingler, Tyson Badders, Hayden Murray, Matt Miles, Kjirsti Myles, Benjamin Smoker, Nicholas Myles, Tyler Peek, Robert Yerger, Tom Mount, Brad Denny, Eric Early, Elena Der, Tina Parsons, Mandy Sadowski, and Farzad Faryadi.
EVENT RESULTS/PHOTOS
To view results of the Vertical Night Challenge and Half Vertical Night Challenge, visit www.bitly.com/2020-vnc-results or my.raceresult.com/159062. To view and/or download photos, visit our Google Photos page at www.bitly.com/2020-vnc-photos or check out photos on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rockyfacepark.
Alexander County Government would like to express its sincere appreciation to the many volunteers who made this event possible, including the Alexander County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Alexander Rescue Squad, Alexander County Emergency Services, and other valuable individuals.