FLORIDA ENDURANCE SERIES #7 – SANTOS CLASSIC – GREENWAY TRAILS – OCALA, FL

The drought was broken this week in Central Florida and with the coming rainy season comes the heat and humidity and there was plenty of it on hand for final round of the FLE series. The trail was in great shape for the 9am start as the racers filed out to course to face either four laps (sprint classes) or eight laps (marathon classes) of an 8 mile loop which included the infamous “sink hole” trail right off the bat. This 1.5 mile section is filled with lots of turns, rocks and roots and it is considered a badge of honor to make it through without having to dab your foot, after that though the course got real fast and flowy until a couple miles from the end there is a little techie section called “rattle snake ridge” which as the name implies curves like a snake and can reach out and bite you if your are not paying attention. Ad the heat and humidity and you have a real challenge on your hands. Many thanks to the OMBA club for prepping the trail and for working the event.

The race winners in the sprint top classes were Silvestre Perez Jr and Geri Laverty, the marathon class winners were Bob McCarty (pictured) and Patricia Doring. Immediately following the race the overall series awards were handed out and it was again Geri Laverty and Silvestre Perez Jr taking the sprinters championships  while in the marathon overall the champions were Bob McCarty and Marcella Toldi.