Thompson, Mason Win Scenic City Scorcher With Record Times

Hot Two-Mile Race Held In Heritage Landing Saturday

  • Sunday, July 24, 2016
  • John Hunt
Clockwise from left top: Scenic City Scorcher first finisher Christian Thompson; second finisher Richard Guiry; Sergio Bianchini gives thumbs up in the home stretch.
Clockwise from left top: Scenic City Scorcher first finisher Christian Thompson; second finisher Richard Guiry; Sergio Bianchini gives thumbs up in the home stretch.
photo by M. A. Locke

Saturday was another record-setting day for runners in Chattanooga.

The occasion was the second running of the Scenic City Scorcher, a flat and fast two-mile race in Heritage Landing.

Last year was the first running of this event and 43 individual state records were broken that day.  There were 51 new marks set on the second time around, including 27 among the males and 24 among the females.

Christian Thompson and Rachel Mason were overall winners and both did so in record-breaking time. 

Thompson was all alone in first with a time of nine minutes, 39 seconds to break the old mark of 12:51 while Mason was 17th overall in 11:55, which easily rewrote the record that had been 15:32.

Richard Guiry, a 19-year-old sophomore finance major at UTC, was the runner-up in 9:58 while Chase Faudi was third in 10:41 and Jonathan Boyd fourth in 10:46.

All broke state records for their respective ages.

The same could be said for the top four women.

Victoria Winslow was second in 12 minutes flat while Paige Thompson, Christian’s wife, was third in 12:21.  Dianna Leun was fourth in 12:40.

As has been the case in the Chattanooga area for several weeks now, the weather was hot and muggy for Saturday’s race.  There were plenty of sweaty bodies at the finish line, but there were equally as many smiling faces for a hard effort and a new state record for most.

Thompson was also the winner of the Market Street Mile on July 9 but he missed a state record that day by less than a second.

His second record-breaking attempt wasn’t even close as he shattered the old mark by more than three minutes.

Thompson and Guiry were together for the first half of the race, but the older Thompson threw in a surge with about three-quarters of a mile to go and Guiry didn’t keep pace.

“Richard was with me for the first half, but was sort of sitting back.  I pushed the pace once we came out of Heritage Landing.  Those speed humps were a real incline,” he concluded with a laugh.

Guiry is a 19-year-old whose family now lives in Las Vegas after graduating from Ravenwood High School in Brentwood in 2015.  He’s in the middle of a long week and basically used Saturday’s race as a quick speed workout.

“He’s really good,” Guiry praised Thompson moments after their race ended.

“I ran with him for about a mile and a quarter, but he made a little push at that point and got away.  I still ran as hard as I could, but I’m in the middle of a long week of training and my main goal is cross country and the conference meet,” Guiry explained.

While there were a host of state records broken on Saturday, none were any more impressive than the one set by the legendary Sergio Bianchini.

The amazing 75-year-old gentleman posted a time of 15:10 to break the old record by 5:30, but he did so two days after finishing the Vol State Road Race for the second straight year.  That’s a week-long event that covers 314 miles across the state of Tennessee and Bianchini finished in six days, 21 hours, a full day faster than last year.

He only ran 85 miles that last day.

What is really incredible is that he did so after getting hit by a car in the early stages and suffering a severe laceration on his right arm.  Luckily, the arm wasn’t broken.

“I didn’t have a chance to warm up, but I still felt great,” Sergio said after his shortest run of the week.

Paige Thompson, Christian’s wife who is doing her residency program and will be an optometrist soon, joined her husband as a record setter for females aged 25.

“I really didn’t have a goal today as I just wanted to be the fastest 25-year-old female.  I’m really happy,” she nodded.

Tim Ensign was another record-breaker after posting a time of 11:15 and finishing 10th overall.  His time last year was 10:56 when he set the mark for males age 52.

“It was hot, but I ran pretty good for an old guy,” Ensign said shortly after crossing the finish line.

“I was hoping to get close to 11 minutes, but I’ll take it as I got another record,” he smiled after breaking the old mark of 15:16.

John Crawley was another Chattanoogan who put his name in the record book for the second-straight year.

Crawley is the president of the Chattanooga Track Club who finished 51st in 14:05. There was no previous record for that age, so all Crawley had to do was be the fastest 64-year-old male in the race.

“It was a pretty good run for me, but the older you get, the tougher it becomes.  I was able to get the record last year.  There wasn’t a record for my age this year, but there was another fellow my age and I don’t know how he did.  I’m just really pleased with what I did,” Crawley explained.

It wasn’t close as he beat Jon Beck by almost nine minutes.

Anne Campeau posted a time of 20:06 and missed her record by almost two minutes, but she had the best excuse for not getting it as she’s 37-weeks pregnant with her first child.

“I kept my pace for the first mile, but I had to walk a little bit after that.  If I wasn’t pregnant, I would have gotten it for sure,” he said with a smile.

Geary Fults finished 38th overall with a time of 13:08 and easily broke the record for males age 57 by 40 seconds.  Fults was an outstanding runner back in the mid 80s and early 90s, but for personal reasons quit running for 15 years.

“I loved it today.  I was hoping to break 13 minutes, but I don’t know where those eight seconds went.  I’m just thankful to be out here.  I took 15 years off and I’m just lucky to be alive,” he added.

Jan Gautier was yet another record breaker as she finished 36th overall in 13:06.  It just so happens that the slender Baylor teacher and coach was celebrating her 51st birthday on Saturday as well.  She had no problem breaking the old mark of 18:05.

“I think I got it, but it’s nice when these records are relatively new and easy to break.  I’m happy with it, but I was running with tired legs as I’ve really been training hard this week.  I’m hoping to do well as Missionary Ridge in two weeks, but I’m happy with today’s effort,” the winningest female in Chattanooga history nodded.

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

 

Runners pass under the Veterans Bridge Saturday morning at the beginning of the second annual Scenic City Scorcher 2-mile race.
Runners pass under the Veterans Bridge Saturday morning at the beginning of the second annual Scenic City Scorcher 2-mile race.
photo by M. A. Locke
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