Gary L Herman
The 12th Annual Vertical Mile Challenge (VMC) Trail Race attracted 157 runners from across North Carolina and five other states on Saturday, June 20, at Rocky Face Mountain Recreational Area in Alexander County. There was a total of 144 finishers, with 82 who completed the full VMC (8 laps, 16 miles) and 62 who completed the half VMC (4 laps, 8 miles).
Runners traveled from approximately 70 cities to race in this popular annual event, with 17 participants from Alexander County.
Rhett Bolick, age 22 of Asheboro, captured the top spot in the VMC with a time of 2:42:38. Hannah McEntire, age 37 of Charlotte, was the top female with a time of 3:15:24 (7th overall). Dominick Laporte, age 39 of Black Mountain, earned the male fastest first lap award (18:08), while Hannah McEntire received the female fastest first lap award (21:16).
The top males and females from Alexander County were also honored. The top local male was Nelson Hart, age 24 of Taylorsville, with a time of 3:27:11 (13th overall). The top local female was Angel Williamson, age 27 of Taylorsville, with a time of 5:57:44 (76th overall). The Alexander County fastest first lap awards were presented to Oscar Olivas, age 27 of Taylorsville, with a time of 25:11, and Angel Williamson (32:07). VMC results are available at https://ultrasignup.com/results_event.aspx?did=134501.
In the Half VMC, Matt Kearney, age 41 of Mount Olive, earned top honors with a time of 1:16:08. Jill Konkol, age 41 of Lenoir, was the top female at 1:32:29 (4th overall). Jerry Coffey, age 37 of Hiddenite, was the top Alexander County male with a time of 1:59:29 (18th overall), while Cristina Tellez, age 44 of Taylorsville, was the top Alexander County female with a time of 2:09:46 (24th overall). Half VMC results are available at https://ultrasignup.com/results_event.aspx?did=134502.
North Carolina runners hailed from the following municipalities: Aberdeen, Apex, Asheboro, Black Mountain, Cameron, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Clayton, Concord, Conover, Denver, Dudley, Durham, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Hamptonville, Hickory, Hiddenite, High Point, Jamestown, Kannapolis, Kernersville, Kinston, Knightdale, Lenoir, Lewisville, Lexington, Lincolnton, Locust, Marion, Matthews, Mint Hill, Mocksville, Mooresboro, Mooresville, Morganton, Mount Olive, Newland, Newton, North Wilkesboro, Oak Ridge, Pinehurst, Pinnacle, Pittsboro, Raleigh, Rockingham, Salisbury, Sanford, Sherrills Ford, Southern Pines, Statesville, Stony Point, Taylorsville, Terrell, Wendell, Whispering Pines, and Winston-Salem. Other states included Georgia, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
View photos and videos on Google Photos https://bit.ly/2026-VMC-Google-Photos or on Facebook https://bit.ly/2026-VMC-FB-photos.
Learn more about the Vertical Mile Challenge at https://rockyfacepark.com/the-vertical-mile-challenge.