The first-place male in the 24-hour race was Shawn Cissell, age 36 of Gaithersburg, Maryland. He completed 493 laps for a total of 122.7427 miles. The first-place female was Sally Van Nuland, age 46 of Greensboro. She completed 154 laps for a total of 38.3415 miles. They are pictured with race director Rick French.
Runners traveled to Alexander County from the following states: North Carolina (19), Virginia (4), Georgia (2), Maryland (2), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (2), Florida (1), and West Virginia (1).
The first-place male in the 24-hour race was Shawn Cissell, age 36 of Gaithersburg, Maryland. He completed 493 laps for a total of 122.7427 miles. The first-place female was Sally Van Nuland, age 46 of Greensboro. She completed 154 laps for a total of 38.3415 miles.
Rick French, race director and county manager, presented the 24-hour winners with the 2022 Alexander County 24-Hour award as well as a special championship belt.
In addition to Cissel, three (3) others achieved the 100+ mile milestone, including: Joey Lichter, age 41 of Pembroke Pines, Florida, with 114.0287 miles; Josh Diaz, age 28 of Raeford, with 102.576 miles; and Joshua Urtz, age 33 of Sanford, with 101.0822 miles.
Jonathan Hogan, age 41 of Lenoir, was the top finisher in the 12-hour event with 51.7860 miles. Kimberly Caldwell, age 45 of Pulaski, Virginia, was the top female with 51.0390 miles.
Lindsay Gabow, age 27 of Eastover, was the top finisher in the 6-hour race with an amazing 47.5534 miles. Jay Finkle, age 58 of Roanoke, Virginia, was the top male with 31.6193 miles.
Brian Resutek, age 41 of Atlanta, Georgia, attempted to set a Guinness World Record for “greatest distance run in 24 hours carrying a 20 lb. pack.” Resutek ran 90.3764 miles in the 24-hour event, while the current Guinness record is 62 miles (100 kilometers). If his record is approved, Resutek will hold the world record in this unique category.
Alexander County runners performed well in the event. In the 24-hour race, Shawn Pennell was the 9th-place finisher with 68.467 miles, with Doug Gillispie finishing with 31.3703 miles. In the 6-hour race, Justin Kerley completed 28.1337 miles.
Mr. French presented the inaugural Laura M. Gillispie Memorial Award to Doug Gillispie in memory of his wife who passed away earlier this year.
View the final results at https://my.raceresult.com/194199/live.
View photos and videos on Google Photos at https://bit.ly/2022-ac-24-hour-race or on Facebook at https://bit.ly/2022-ac-24-hour-fb.
Alexander County Government staff and the AC 6/12/24 Hour team would like to express their appreciation to those who competed in the event and to those who volunteered their time to make the event a success. The team extends a special thanks to Alexander County Schools and Alexander Central High School for providing an excellent venue for the event and for the ACHS staff’s enthusiastic cooperation.
To learn more, visit www.alexandercounty24hour.com.