Napiers Finish Marathon Together

The youngest runner in the XTERRA Oak Mountain Trail Runs marathon was 15-year-old Harris Napier. Not only was he the youngest, he was also the most inexperienced as it was his first attempt at a marathon of any kind, let alone a trail marathon.

Joe Napier, Harris' father, is an experienced distance runner, so he did the marathon with his son.

"It was a great experience," Joe said. "We didn't go as fast as we would have liked, and the course was probably a little tougher than we expected, but to finish together like that made it all worth it."

The Napiers crossed the finish line together with a time of 5:30:29. It was enough to put Harris first in the 15-19 age division, while Joe took 10th in the 40-44 age division.

Harris actually got ahead of his father early in the race, but they found a similar pace in the middle of the course.

"We don't get to practice on that kind of mountain terrain in South Carolina, so I don't think I was ready for all of that," Harris said. "But I still feel like it was a nice accomplishment, and I'm really happy I did it."

Joe said: "He would get in front of me on the uphills, then I would catch up to him on the downhills. We were both getting tired there at the end, so it was good to have each other for encouragement."

The Napiers made the drive from Mount Pleasant, S.C., for the race. Harris is a freshman at Wando High School, so they drove back to Mount Pleasant shortly after the race so that he could attend classes on Monday.

"We got back home about 2 in the morning," Harris said. "I was tired, but I made it (to school)."

As an age-group champion for the marathon course, Harris received a free entry to the XTERRA Trail Run World Championship at Hawaii on December 2. It is an offer he may take up.

"That race in Hawaii is a half-marathon, but after this race, I'm really excited to keep it going," Harris said.

Joe added: "I must say I'm really proud of what Harris accomplished - his first marathon, and doing it on a really tough course. If he wants to run in Hawaii, we'll figure out a way to get there."

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