ROCKINGHAM — The weather for the weekend didn’t look very promising at first, as Richmond County was getting much-needed rain prior to the Hinson Lake 24-Hour Ultra Classic taking place on Sept. 26, but that all quickly changed.
The rain stopped and the weather cooled off — just in time for event participants to set up their tents before the event.
Some said with the cooler nights and the high 70s during the day, it was the best weather during the event that they had ever experienced.
This was the run’s 20th year, and not only was the weather cooperative, but the full Harvest Moon glowed as it ushered in the night, illuminating the trail for the runners.
Friday night before the event, participants visited with one-another, some seeing each other for the first time since last year’s race.
Hungry folks kept La Suerte’s food truck busy on Friday night,and those with a sweet tooth opted for ice cream from the dessert truck Funsations.
The running community is a close-knit group of people, and many describe the Hinson Lake event as one big family reunion.
Colorful tents were set up around the lakefront and along the trail greeting all who arrived, giving the lake a welcoming feel.
Nearing time for the start of the race, the five-minute warning was sounded. The starting area began filling up with hundreds of eager participants, and the national anthem was played as all stood in reverence.
Race Director Jerry Lindstrand blew the horn, and the race began. There were 411 participants in the Ultra this year, ranging from ages 8 to 80. The race began at 8 a.m. Saturday morning (Sept. 26) and ended at 8 am Sunday morning (Sept. 27).
Partial distances were calculated with the dropping of a banana that included the runner’s number; thus the well-known banana drop.
There were several milestones made during this year’s event.
Throughout the previous 19 years, there have only been four runners to achieve the event’s accumulated 1000-mile mark at Hinson Lake: Ray Krolewicz, the late Bill Keane, David Solomon and Richard Lily.
There were four more added to that list during this year’s run, bringing the overall total number to eight achieving the accumulated 1,000-mile mark.
This year’s achievers were Catherine Quaintance-Kramer — the first female to reach this goal throughout the event’s 20-year history — Paul Heckert, Ken Bell and Chris Ardis. Each was awarded a special-made jacket.
There were also several medals given to those reaching 100K for the first time during one event.
A $50 bill was given to the first male and the first female making the first lap. Dylan Carpenter was first around at 11:34 , and Jackie Demchock at 12:12.
The top two overall finishers were: Steve Campbell from Richmond, Virginia, with 131.0882 miles: and Bell from Cary, with 115.6948 miles.
The top two female finishers were Brady Venables from Lexington, South Carolina, with 100.6918 miles, and Emily Lyons with 89.0517 miles.
The top Mangum Track Club male finishers were Kevin McCabe, from Cary, coming in first place with 111.3771 miles, and Tony Chadwich, from Raleigh, in second with 80.1029 miles. The top female MTC finishers were Jennifer Cassada, from Raleigh, in first place with 89.0517 miles, and Pamela Johnson, from Polkton, in second with 71.4147 miles. The top finishers were awarded a piece of pottery made by Irene Russell.
Lindstrand announced that this was his last year directing the event, as he is stepping down. He has been organizing the event since around 2012 after stepping in when Tom Gabell moved away. Gabell started the event in 2006.
Lindstrand will be passing the torch to Courtney Palmoore who is raring to go.
“I’ve been retired for three years, and I want to do some traveling; just relax and enjoy my retirement,” Linstrand said..” I will be helping Courtney throughout the year, getting all the plans done and everything ahead of time. On race day, I’ll be here to help set-up and guide, but probably won’t stay all night.
“Just like all the members of the MTC, Courtney is a true member, and she never wants to see a race go away,” Linstrand continued. “I told her to put her own stamp on it; make it your race.”
Putting her stamp on it she did, as Palmoore and her daughter set-up a glam table with plenty of “bling” for runners.
Palmoore, who served in the Army for 22 years, began running the Hinson Lake Ultras in 2019 — the same year she joined the MTC — and is very familiar with the event.
“I retired from the Army in 2023 and moved back to Rockingham,” Palmoore said. “I love running, I love the running community. Hinson is one of my favorite races, because it’s like a running family reunion.
“I wanted to be here and feel I have enough years to give back to this running community,” Palmoore added. “I didn’t want it to leave, so I volunteered to get the reins from Jerry.”
Her daughter, 13-year old Josephine, began running Hinson Lake in 2023 along with her mother.
Each participant has their own unique story; some being pretty miraculous. One of those is Heckert, who has been participating in the event for 18 years. Heckert recently battled cancer and is still recovering from the treatments which slowed him down some, but never stopped him.
Being a die-hard member of the running community, Heckert still managed to show up to get his miles in —pressing on to achieve his 1000-mile mark and receiving the coveted jacket. Heckert finished with 27.0216 miles.
James Bryant, from Fayetteville, has been running the Ultra for seven years. He said one reason he was drawn to Hinson Lake was seeing the different clubs coming together and motivating one another.
“There are a lot of people I’ve known for a long time out here from various cities,” Bryant said. “They push me to do better. Hinson was my second Ultra, and the first time here I did 50 miles. I got 100K last year, and this year I’m trying to go for 100 miles. I love this event; it’s gorgeous out here, although you never know what you are going to get,” said Bryant. He ran 63.2315 miles this year.
Krolewicz is one of the few attendees who has participated in the event for the entire 20 years. He is in his 52nd year as an educator — teaching everything from kindergarten to college, special needs, and has also taught at a juvenile correction center. He presently teaches 7th-grade English and Language Arts.
“Some smart person once said if you find a job you like, you will never work a day in your life,” Krolewicz said about teaching.
A few former student athletes that he had worked with in High School participated in the event; one being Chris Ardis. Krolewicz shared a memory from his first year at Hinson Lake as well as highlighting what keeps him coming back.
“There were about 70 people the first year, and there was a deer that ran across the dam which almost ran over a couple of runners,” Krolewicz recalled. “
“It’s a huge family reunion every year,” Krolewicz continued. “It’s a great place to come and spend time with friends. There are only a handful of us that have been here the entire 20 years.”
Krolewicz recently had surgery due to some health problems associated with coronary artery disease which turned into blockages. He told of how they went in and turned his heart off for 90 minutes in order to do the surgery.
“I had a real good surgeon… He went in knowing he was working on a finely tuned race engine,” Krolewicz jokingly said. “He fixed it up, and said I’ll come back better than I’ve been in the last 10 years. I can’t step on the gas hard right now, but I can kind of idle around a little bit. Further down the road, I’ll stomp on the accelerator to see what I can do.”
Krolewicz finished with 50.8873 miles and still remains in the No. 1 overall position at Hinson Lake. David Soloman holds the overall second-place position.
Kramer was another attendee who has participated in 18 of the 20 Ultras at Hinson Lake. She was one of the four achieving her accumulated 1000 miles this year, as well as marking the iconic moment of being the first female to reach this goal. Her son has also participated with her most of those years.
“It’s like a family reunion every time I come,” Kramer said. “The camaraderie is my favorite thing here. I wouldn’t have kept coming back if it wasn’t such a phenomenal event. Jerry and Tom have been great. The park is beautiful, and what Rockingham has done with the park to support the event is incredible. I am always looking forward to this every single year.”
Shante Bailey has been running the race at Hinson since 2011. She had her baby, Aaron, in July 2017. He participated in that race when he was only two months old and has participated in each one since.
“This was the first year that his dad wasn’t able to come, so grandma stepped in and is doing laps with him,” Bailey said. “He has done a half marathon so far.”
Steve Jacobson was determined to attend this year’s event, as he also pressed through several health issues. He has been running the Hinson Lake event since around 2012, only missing one since then. Jacobson said he was blessed just being able to show up for the event.
“I have a trashed knee, and I just found out this summer that I had a 70% blockage in my lateral interior descending artery, also known as the widow maker,” Jacobson said. “They did the stent on Sep. 2 and said it was closer to 80% blockage. They are telling me to tread carefully, so I’m out here today just walking to see what I can do. I’m just happy to be walking around this morning.”
Jacobson finished with 35.2503 miles.
Charlotte Corriher is no stranger to marathons, as this year’s event makes her 325th marathon and ultra combined.
She was dressed throughout the entire race as a gnome — fitting in with the theme of gnomes throughout the trail. This was her third year participating at Hinson Lake due to it conflicting with another event.
“I always love coming here to Hinson because it’s like a family reunion,” Corriher said. “You see people from all the different run clubs in the area, and it is a great central location.
I’ve run all my 325 events in costume except four of them,” Corriher continued. “I try to theme them towards the race. I ran one here as a banana because of the last lap being the banana lap. My mom, who is visiting with me today, makes a lot of my costumes.
“After I finish every race, it’s not ‘How did you do?’ but ‘How did everybody like your costume?’”
Corriher finished with 31.5252 miles.
Richmond County Operation Fix had its van parked beside the lodge to allow participants who had pet supplies and food donations to place them inside. This is the 13th year runners have donated items for Operation Fix.
This year’s donations totaled more than880 pounds of dry food, 216 pounds of cat litter, close to 700 pounds of canned food, numerous other treats and supplies, and $2450.67 in monetary donations, which includes the percentage of purchases donated from La Suerte’s food truck.
“We cannot thank you guys enough for the outpouring of generosity and love we always get from y’all,” said founder Allison Story. “There are some happy pets in the community this week.”
All along the trail were creative ways to keep participants focused throughout the event: comical signs that brought a smile to each participant; people cheering for the runners; interesting mile markers; and a variety of gnomes, as well as a few zoo animals that joined them this year. Runners would move the gnomes and animals around to stay occupied.
Jessica Baker also had an area full of puzzles again this year to share with anyone who wanted to take one. Oh, and we can’t forget “dodge the snakes,” as there was at least one copperhead that wanted to join them on the track this year.
Lindstrand was able to pass the torch while witnessing this year’s event as being one full of history-making moments — not to mention witnessing the die-hard, dedicated runners overcoming serious health issues who still showed up to participate.
Twenty years may have been the “sweet” number. One might say the love for the environment as well as the community of people is a common bond that keeps participants returning year after year.
