
PRESS RELEASE – Charlie Epperson and Nelle Douglas captured the XTERRA Oak Mountain 20K trail run titles on a beautiful day at Oak Mountain State Park in Shelby County, Alabama Sunday morning.
For Epperson, a pro triathlete from Guam (via Tennessee) it was sweet redemption of sorts. At yesterday’s XTERRA Southeast Championship triathlon he took an elbow to his eye at the start of the swim and lost his contact lense in the process. Although he finished the swim he was rendered practically blind without his contacts and had to pull out.
“I was pretty disappointed after yesterday,” explained Epperson. “I thought my contact was in my goggles and I could find it after the swim but it wasn’t there so I was out of luck. Learned a lesson, though, in the future I’ll have an extra set of contacts in transition.”
In today’s race Epperson went out with the lead pack and pulled away along the dam section in the early stages of the first of two 10K laps.
“I was with Andy Lee and Joey Bemowski and pulled away a little bit at the dam. I thought those guys would reel me in but I got in a good flow, and I knew Andy could track me down so was trying to keep my distance,” said Epperson.
His winning time of 1:16:59 was almost a full three minutes ahead of Lee (who is also an XTERRA pro triathlete).
“Especially after yesterday, today was really fun. These trails are amazing, so flowing, plus we had perfect running weather today,” said Epperson.
Robert Pritchett finished third, Bemowski fourth, and XTERRA regular Brandon Mader – last year’s XTERRA Oak Mountain trail marathon champ – fifth. Also of note 14-year-old Korey Shively finished 11th overall.
In the women’s race Douglas took the lead early in the second of two 10K laps and put it in cruise control a bit until she saw Balian coming on hard a few miles from the finish.
“I got a little complacent there for a while until I saw her behind me picking up speed and that’s when the race really began,” said Douglas, a Birmingham native that’s just been running for a year now. “I had a baby in June and running was my idea to get in shape and be a cute mom, then I just fell in love with it.
Douglas did her first half-marathon two weeks ago in Knoxville and had so much fun she signed-up for this one.
“This course was really engaging, and I had never run without headphones before so that was a challenge but it was great to be immersed in Mother Nature like that. I really liked it.”
Her winning time was 1:47:21, and Balian finished in 2nd just 26-seconds behind, while Lindsay Collin and XTERRA pro triathlete Kara LaPoint ran in just 34-and-35 seconds back of Douglas.
Pelham running star Robby Letson and Sylvia Sontheimer won today’s 10K while Sloan Monk and Makenna Leathers captured the 5K crowns. You can find complete results for all three races at www.jtltiming.com/running
More than 300 runners from 12 states took part in today’s trail runs, the last of seven in the 2013-2014 XTERRA Alabama Trail Run Series. Points will be tallied and Series champions will be announced by the end of the week. Every age group champion will earn a free spot to run with the best from across the country at the XTERRA Trail Run Nationals half-marathon in Ogden, Utah on September 21.
The 2014 XTERRA Southeast Championship was presented by Paul Mitchell and Shelby County Tourism. Sponsors include Muscle Milk, XTERRA Wetsuits, PowerBar, Gatorade Endurance, XTERRA Fitness, LifeProof, XTERRA Boards, the Utah Sports Commission, XTERRA Cycle and Tri Gear, City of Pelham, Oak Mountain State Park, Optic Nerve Sunglasses, XTERRA Apparel and the Shelby County Reporter.


GPS Sports Calendar
December 2023
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1st
ISA BOYS SOCCER
IIAAG GIRLS BASKETBALL
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Events for December
2nd
IRON LEGENDS THROWDOWN
ISA HS BASEBALL
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4th
IIAAG BOYS SOCCER
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Events for December
5th
ISA HS BASEBALL
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IIAAG GIRLS BASKETBALL QUARTERFINALS
Events for December
5th
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7th
ISA HS BASEBALL
IIAAG BOYS SOCCER PLAYOFFS
Events for December
9th
40th GRC PLUMERIA ROAD RACE
GUAM RUGBY INTERNATIONAL 7s TOURNAMENT
ISA HS BASEBALL
HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING
IIAAG GIRLS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS
Events for December
10th
TOUR OF GUAM 2023
GUAM RUGBY INTERNATIONAL 7s TOURNAMENT
Events for December
11th
ISA HS BASEBALL
IIAAG BOYS SOCCER SEMIFINALS
Events for December
12th
ISA HS BASEBALL
ISA GIRLS BASKETBALL
Events for December
12th
Events for December
14th
ISA HS BASEBALL
IIAAG BOYS SOCCER FINALS
Events for December
15th
ISA GIRLS BASKETBALL
IIAAG GIRLS BASKETBALL FINALS
Events for December
16th
3rd GUAM NINJA CHAMPIONSHIP
ISA HS BASEBALL
HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING
Events for December
16th
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18th
IIAAG BOYS SOCCER ALL-ISLAND MEETING
Events for December
19th
ISA HS BASEBALL
ISA GIRLS BASKETBALL
Events for December
19th
Events for December
23rd
HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING
ISA HS BASEBALL FINALS
Events for December
23rd
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24th
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25th
Events for December
27th
Events for December
29th
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Events for December
30th

Basketball
FAMILIAR FOES TO MEET FOR HOOPS CROWN

Basketball
ISLANDERS AVENGE EARLY SEASON LOSS
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