Round and Round They Go, Where They Stop - Nobody Knows

Greensprings 24-Hour Ultramarathon 2025

Much like the saying, one normally associated with gambling, you really have no idea who will finish where at the start of a repeating lap race.  Especially one 24-hours or longer.  Repeating the same lap over and over again does not sound like a fun way to spend a day.  At least for most.  However, the 100+ folks that came out to run the Greensprings 24-hour are exceptions.  For Ellen at Happy Cat Events, https://happycatfitness.com/ the sponsor of this race, and for me personally, our goal has always been to celebrate those finishing at back of the pack as much as the front runners.  Some of those finishing early in this race were just as inspiring as those who made it through all 24 hours.  Every runner had a unique experience, and we were proud to be out there to see it all. 

The Greensprings 24-Hour started three years ago as an idea and it had the goal to challenge runners while also supporting a local charity that is making a big difference in the community.  More on that shortly.  The race has continued to grow, and this year was the most successful yet.  I was fortunate enough to be the Race Director for the third year in a row, and as always, I walked away from the event exceptionally motivated by the storylines that emerged during the race. 

There are so many positive things to say about this year’s event that I am not entirely sure where to start.  The weather was exceptional, the course was beautiful, and the field of runners was a strong one.    There were several key storylines that were awesome to watch and be a part of. We had several race personal records, personal records in overall distance, first time ultra-finishes, and many other equally impressive efforts.  I will try to describe some of them here, but I know I will miss many others that were equally amazing – my apologies in advance to those I missed.

The Arc of Greater Williamsburg – Three years ago when we were developing this race, I knew exactly which organization I wanted to support.  My uncle Wayne was disabled from a young age, and I could see how much more challenging this was for our family as he matured, the organizations that support folks like him are simply few and far between.  Knowing what an amazing job The Arc does in our local community made this an obvious choice.  I watched how much of a difference a similar organization in Middletown, Ohio made in Wayne’s and our family’s lives over the years.  In short, we wanted to embrace The Arc’s ethos of “Respect – Dignity – Inclusion” and their motto “The Arc is there when the school bus stops coming.”   It was great to have them there at the start and finish and throughout, thanks to The Arc Director, Pam McGregor, and also to Caroline Johnson, who was a tremendous help during the event.  If you don’t know anything about them, I suggest you take a look here: The Arc of Williamsburg | For Adults With Developmental & Intellectual Disabilities

William and Mary did an exceptional job again raising funds and conducting a team relay event, specifically to promote physical fitness and support The Arc mission.  Thank you!  We are very proud to give part of our proceeds each year to this organization, and for the runners who also donated, thank you! 

A new record with an amazing assist – The previous record at this event was 104.105 by two-time winner Trish Rice.  This year there were many amazing performances, but the two top finishers both eclipsed her record.  Victoria Haynes put in an amazing performance and completed 112.965 miles.  Finishing second was Amber Lewis with an impressive 106.32 miles.  If you saw either one of these two athletes, they appeared focused and determined throughout.  What is also amazing, and one of those stories you may never hear unless you read this, is who supported Victoria in the wee hours of the morning when many athletes fall apart.  Trish Rice voluntarily paced her on a couple of laps, providing some moral support as Victoria eclipsed her race record.  Trish was a tremendous help as an all-day/night volunteer, but this was truly going the extra mile.  What sportsmanship, this is what the sport is all about and I have a pretty strong suspicion I know who will be one of the first to sign up next year. 

More 100’s than ever – Each year one of the ultimate goals in this race for many strong athletes is to surpass 100 miles.  Often known as the gold standard in events like this.  Amazingly we had eight athletes surpass this goal.  You already know about Victoria and Amber.   The other six included:  Brian Whalen, Ben Hine, Sergio Diaz, Dana Reesman, Lindsay Weingart, and Brandon Parker.  What a superb effort by these runners, it was inspiring to watch you all achieve this goal.  Hoping for even more next year!

From here there and everywhere – One of the most interesting things to me is where did everyone come from.  Always interesting to me where folks come from to do these hard events.    Also amazing to realize that we had people from Alaska, Oregon, and even Denmark participating.  Wow!  We had Michelle Regn all the way from Alaska, driving here and doing events enroute.  We had Ed Furtaw’s friends from Oregon, the Gatton’s who made in for the event.  A young lady from Denmark, Tessa Mbuyi Enevoldsen was out there being supported by her boyfriend David Stoltenberg who was fresh off participating in the Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra in Tennessee.  It was great to meet them, and their positivity was awesome throughout the race.  All of them had successful races and although the majority who do this event are from Virginia, we love having folks from far away be part of it. 

Is there any such thing as too old or young? – I know there is a lot of debate on this across the ultra-community.  I think the simplest thing is, one size does not fit all.  In this event our ages spanned the decades from an 11-year-old young boy as well as two 77-year-old participants. As a 60-year-old myself, I was inspired by what I can still do in my own career while at the same time observing that the ultra-future is in good hands.  11-year-old MJ Brewer was awesome, completing a 50 KM, while even running a lap in his Halloween costume with friends.  There was also Bill Hart at 77 who beat his own age group record with 84.17 miles.   Many others inspired to include 72-year-old Marianne Cowan completing 50.945-miles and Frozen Ed Furtaw at 77-years-old of Barkley Marathon fame completing 50 .945-miles as well.  Even more inspiring if this was not enough, we were able to watch Ed and MJ run a lap or two together.  In the Marine Corps we have a birthday tradition where the oldest Marine present hands a piece of cake to the youngest, symbolizing the passing of traditions on to newer generations.  What a perfect thing to see during this race.  There were many runners over 60 and many in their 20’s celebrating the past, present and future of the sport. 

Our Volunteers are the best – I know all the races say that, and that is likely always true.  Seemingly easy to support, an event like this looks simple but things can quickly get complex.  With all hour finishers, round the clock nutrition requirements, it keeps the volunteers busy.  From packet pick-up, set-up, aid station support, timing – runner tracking, and clean-up, it is a whirlwind of 24 hours.  Thanks much to all those who helped, and especially to those who were there the entire time, or most of it.  I cannot thank Heather Gardiner, Trail Master Mike, Tal Brewer, Shuni Brewer, Trish Rice, and Angela Fitzsimmons enough.  There were many others that helped out, and it made a huge difference in making this race happen.  Dan Pulskamp also did a superb job once again timing and supporting this event.  Thank you all!

So, there you have it.  An amazing weekend with many exceptional performances.  If you showed up, you won.  Even if you had a big goal, and you did not meet it, you achieved more by your presence and perseverance than most people ever do.  Of course, there were some things that did not go the best organizationally and we will work to fix that over the course of the next year.  Those are all my responsibility and for the few that were impacted by this, you have my heartfelt apologies.  I have been doing this for 25 years and know intimately how deeply emotional races like this can be.  If you have thoughts on how to make this a better event, let me know.  You know where to find me.  I want to thank several others before signing off.  Ellen, thanks so much for the opportunity. It is a true pleasure to work with you on this race – you give so much to the ultra-community in this area, and your Happy Cat Events is an exceptional organization.  You have built something impactful and enduring and we all appreciate you for it.  For Heather, I couldn’t do any of this without you, and it simply would not be nearly as fun if I could.  For all of you that participated as runners, families, volunteers, and supporters – thank you for you!  Come back next year we can’t wait to see you out there again. 

Darrin Denny

https://www.adventureupcoaching.com/