Mader, Hulsey Win XTERRA Oak Mountain 19km Mud Run

Brandon Mader, 26, from Huntsville, Alabama and Alison Hulsey, 31, of Birmingham won the XTERRA Oak Mountain 19km mud run this morning at Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham, AL.

Mader, who ran steeplechase at the University of Alabama-Huntsville, took the lead after the first mile and never trailed thereafter, posting a 1:19:11 winning time, more than six minutes ahead of runner-up Skip Hopkins from Birmingham.

“This race was hard,” said Mader, who also won the XTERRA Oak Mountain 10k held in March.  “I love running trails though and this was a great course, just a ton of singletrack for miles.”

Hulsey, a high school runner that got addicted to trails a decade ago, dominated the women’s race.  Here winning time of 1:39:04 was four minutes faster than Dawn Hurley from Fort Mitchell, AL.

“I like running hills, that’s my strength, and this course had a lot of hills,” said Hulsey.

Both Mader and Hurley won a pair of XTERRA Trail Running shoes for their efforts.

In the XTERRA 10km Mud run 18-year-old Joey Bemowski from Birmingham, and Martina Hulsey, 33, of Atlanta took top honors in 47:52, and 56:06, respectively.  Marshall Cool of Sylacauga, AL and Bryneth Caudill won the 5km mud runs in 23:21 and 32:05.

More than 330 runners from 12 states took part in today’s trail runs, the kick-off event of the fifth annual XTERRA sports festival in Pelham, AL.  The highlight of the day was a 30-foot mud/water crossing just before the finish where runner-after-runner stumbled waist deep into the muck but somehow came out all smiles – including FOX 6 news reporter Sheldon Haygood – who just had to try it for himself.

Tomorrow pros and amateurs from around the country will compete in the XTERRA Southeast Championship race, featuring a 1-mile swim, 20-mile mountain bike, and 6-mile trail run.

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