King of the Mountain: Campus Recreation Holds Final Race

Liberty’s Mountain Trail Series had its grand finale this weekend with the King of the Mountain sprint — a single track and one mile course, starting from Snowflex and going all the way up Liberty Mountain. With roughly a 1,000 feet elevation change, this race has the sharpest incline of any of the other races in the Liberty Mountain Trail Series. 

The Liberty Mountain Trail Series is a cluster of five races starting with the Deep Hollow Half Marathon & 5K, Valley View 5-Miler, the Reindeer Run 2-Miler, the Arctic 5K and the King of the Mountain. The series began in October and ended in March, offering a variety of weather conditions. The early March weather for the King of the Mountain event was sunny and 60 degrees, leaving the runners as well as the spectators soaking up the sun before the race began. 

The crowd filled Snowflex as onlookers waited for the race to begin. Spirits were high as groups of students talked excitedly about the race and how they thought they would do, but some students seemed anxious about the rigorous nature of the event. Mike Ellsworth, the director of Outdoor Recreation, described the King of the Mountain event as a “one mile kill hill.” 

“It’s not the most difficult race,” Ellsworth said. “This one is definitely the fastest sprint cause it’s only one mile. Your heart rate gets beating the fastest, but you’re done the fastest. You kinda go straight up the back side of the mountain.” 

Ellsworth said they chose to end the series with the King of the Mountain race because it gives runners one final sprint.

“It’s kind of like this summit of experience where you climb all of Liberty Mountain and see it all beneath you,” Ellsworth explained. “It’s a really great way to finish out the series for a lot of runners.” 

Freshman Stephen Duhaime, who had already run the Deep Hollow half marathon and the Reindeer Run 2-Miler, had been looking forward to this event for a while. 

“This one was pretty exciting,” Duhaime said. “It’s unique. Just one mile straight uphill, so it’s gonna burn.” 

Duhaime went on to finish 19th with a time of 9 minutes and 10 seconds. 

The first competitor crossed the finish line so soon after the race started it seemed as if the runner flew rather than ran. Grant Russell, 24, took first place with a time of 7 minutes and 38 seconds. Russell immediately sat down after the race.

“My legs just hurt really bad,” said Russell breathlessly. “It’s my first time running this race.” 

Russell explained that he ran the Deep Hollow half marathon in October but did not participate in any of the other races in the Liberty Mountain Trail Series. He said he had been running high mileage at the end of last year but then switched to weight training, which he believed benefitted him in this event. 

This school year’s Liberty Mountain Trail Series is over, but there is always next fall. For more information on the trail series, visit liberty.edu/races.

Napier is a news reporter. Follow her on Twitter