Lincoln County High School cross country runners Chance Christensen and Jacob Galley participate in the Battle Born Trail Run on Oct. 26.
On Oct. 26, runners from around the northern part of the county gathered at the Cathedral Gorge campsite to demonstrate their skills in the Battle Born Trail Run. These runners included locals from Panaca, Pioche and Caliente as well as Lincoln County High School’s own cross-country team. The event was set up by Kristal Romans, a longtime Lincoln County resident and a passionate member of the long-distance running community.
Since there are few options when it comes to races during this part of the year, and in order to support running sports in Lincoln, coach Lacee Pearson decided to have three of her best runners hit the trail alongside everyone else. The low number of Lynx participating in the run was reportedly due to “everyone else being out of town or injured.”
At about 8 a.m., the first group set off on their run which consisted of 3.6 miles of rugged terrain, while the youth group stayed behind, starting their one-mile race a few minutes afterwards.
The trail itself was relatively difficult, consisting of loose sand and uphill stretches, which is very different from the otherwise controlled environment of city streets, but the 10 or so racers that participated were able to complete the course without incident.
The first runners to cross the line were LCHS cross-country members Chance Christensen and Jacob Galley. The third and final member of the team to wrap up the race was Gareth Frehner, while the rest of the pack eventually crossed the line.
The times for the three LCHS front-runners were as follows: Chance Christensen finished in 27:29, giving him a split time of 7:38. Jacob Galley wrapped up his race seconds afterwards with a time of 27:34, giving him a nearly identical split time of 7:39. Finally, Gareth Frehner finished up with a time of 35:34, giving him a split time of 9:52.
The runners received their awards for the race, but the Lynx have their sights set on a much bigger objective: the NIAA Southern 2A Championships.
“This is really good practice,” Coach Pearson said to her runners after the race. “It’s a lot like Boulder City. It’ll get you ready for the big hill they have out there.”
