It was almost like a couple’s day at the annual Signal Mountain Pie Run Saturday morning.
John Gilpin was the men’s overall winner for the third straight year while his girlfriend Haley Moody was second among the ladies.
Jennifer Huwe was also a repeat winner as she won the women’s division while her husband Kevin was second overall behind Gilpin.
The weather was ideal for this challenging 10K prediction run as skies were overcast and temperatures were about perfect.
Gilpin didn’t waste any time taking charge, running most of the way alone as he crossed the finish line in 35 minutes, 40 seconds as he averaged 5:45 for the distance.
Kevin Huwe was a distant second in 37:09 while Noah Cochran was third in 37:58.
Jennifer Huwe, Tripp McCallie and Moody all ran together most of the way, but Huwe put a gap on the other two at the top of the last hill to win with a time of 40:57.
Moody was two seconds behind McCallie to take the runner-up spot in 41:04 while Jennifer Funk was the third female and 21st overall in 48:26.
Jose Pulido, a 43-year-old resident of Chatsworth, Ga., was the prediction winner as his actual time of 42:30 was just a second off his predicted time. He was eighth overall behind Moody.
Jeff Stracener was just six seconds off while Jennie Gentry was third after missing by just 10 seconds.
Gilpin posted a time of 1:09:04 in finishing fourth at a half-marathon in Murfreesboro last weekend and the 27-year-old physical therapist was still feeling the soreness from that last hard effort.
“At least my calf didn’t explode, but I just tried to run hard the whole way,” the former UTC standout expressed afterward.
“This has always been a fun event and it’s nice and hilly. And I like running for an apple pie, but I’m still sore and beat up from last week’s race,” he added.
Kevin Huwe is a 32-year-old mechanical engineer for McKee Food, Inc. who is in the middle of some intense marathon training. He had planned to get a good workout in and decided to just join the race so he’d have some company along the way.
“It was alright, but I thought I was running faster than I was. That was my worst 10K time in a while, but I just wanted to get a great run in. I’ll get about 80 miles this week, which is the most I’ve run in a while, but I could have gone faster,” he smiled.
Cochran is a 20-year-old junior at UTC who is majoring in math. He had a time of 5:23 in taking 10th at the Stump Jump 50K trail run last week and has now raced for the past five weekends, so he wasn’t expecting a whole lot out of Saturday’s race.
“I just tried to roll as good as I could,” he explained later.
“It was foggy the last time I ran this race, but the scenery was nice today and I just tried to take in the views. I passed Jeremy Miller after the first mile and pretty much ran by myself after that.
“I love this race because it’s hilly and that’s one of my strong suits as a runner. I enjoy climbing. I always want to win and I did my best today, but I’m still tired from last week and I’ve raced for the past five weekends,” Cochran nodded.
Jennifer Huwe’s time of 40:57 was some 52 seconds faster than her winning effort from 2018. She and her husband are both training for the California International Marathon in early December, so she too was just looking for a strong effort.
“I just ran this race as a good workout, but I’m pretty sure this is my best time ever on this course,” she smiled.
“It was beautiful and really scenic. That makes all the hills worth it. Haley, Tripp and I all ran together until the top of the last hill, but I’m happy now that it’s over and I’m looking forward to eating that apple pie,” she laughed.
Moody is a 30-year-old attorney for Miller & Martin who finished sixth in that Murfreesboro half marathon last weekend with a time of 1:26 for her first time ever at that distance. Saturday was her first experience on the Signal Mountain course.
“This is my first time here, but I enjoyed it as it was nice and challenging. We all ran together for most of the way before she gapped us at the end. I didn’t feel so good on that hill, so I just let her go. She gapped me and I couldn’t cover it,” she explained.
The top three finishers in the prediction portion all received cash prizes of $50, 30 and 20, respectively.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)