Wool worth

BURKES GARDEN, Va. — Most people at 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning are either asleep or trying to count sheep to get back to sleep. On Saturday, a large group of runners were also trying to count sheep — but they were wide awake.

Saturday marked the 16th annual Varmint Run 1/2 marathon and 5K races on the roads through Burkes Garden. A cool, foggy morning could not keep a record turnout of 240 runners, many from far outside Four Seasons Country and as far away as Scotland, from braving the weather as well as the curvy drive to take on the difficult course.

“The first year, it was like 30 runners,” said race director Charity McDaniel. “This is the first year that we’ve had 184 pre-registered runners. Usually we have 80-90 pre-registered. So this year’s huge.”

Those runners were competing for the most unique trophies in Four Seasons Country sports — custom-made wooden and fleece sheep with small golden plates on the sides to acknowledge the winner’s accomplishment.

The sheep is part of the legend of the Varmint. And an adherence to the legend of the Varmint — as well as the difficulty of the course — is a big reason the race has become the most prestigious in the area.

“It’s just unique with the sheep trophies and the coyote and everything tied into it, I think that’s why people come, see if they can win a sheep,” McDaniel said. “Most races you’re getting a plastic trophy. Here you’re getting a sheep.”

Recent Virginia Tech graduate Jordan Chang outran the competition, winning the men’s half-marathon in a time of 1:21:50. Chang, 22, drove two hours from Blacksburg. He will be returning with a sheep.

“I like fun prizes,” Chang said. “Medals are all the same. It’s good to win something different.”

A former member of the Virginia Tech triathlon team, Chang is used to endurance events. He found the rolling hills challenging, but excelled and overcame them.

“I haven’t been really training specifically for this race, but I had a good time,” Chang said. “I looked at the times from the other years and I was right around where the others were. So I was excited.”

Kingsport, Tenn. native Terry Ketron finished second, posting a time of 1:23:37. The 45-year-old chemical company manager was pleased with his performance — especially relative to his age.

“I think I ran about the condition I’m in,” Ketron said. “It’s a tough course out there. I ran pretty good. I kind-of died towards the end. I ran about all I had today.”

Saturday was Ketron’s second Varmint Run, but his first was a decade earlier.

“I think that with 10 or 12 years of age, it is tougher,” Ketron said. “I was better conditioned much younger, so yes, I found it tougher.”

Chang’s fellow graduate Aaron Bradner came in third with a time of 1:24:37. The 21-year-old is used to running in his hometown of Hampton, Va. The consistent elevation changes threw him for a loop.

“That was a hard course, relative to Hampton,” Bradner said. “Hampton’s real flat and this had all those rolling hills. I’m not used to it.”

But he enjoyed the experience.

“It was a nice change of pace because Hampton’s so built-up, there’s only so much you can see,” Bradner said.

Marion resident Jessi Darcy won the women’s half-marathon in a time of 1:38:58. It was the 30-year-old’s first experience with the Varmint.

“I feel O.K.,” Darcy said. “This is the first time I’ve done this, so it was kind-of fun.”

It was her first time experiencing the layout’s elevation changes. But she adapted, adopted and improved.

“It was hillier than I thought it was going to be. But it was O.K.,” Darcy said. “It was fun. I would come back and do it again.”

Tabitha Whited finished second in a time of 1:45:32. The 19-year-old Grundy, Va. native and political science major at Concord University was aided by the morning mist and the cool weather conditions.

“The sun wasn’t out,” Whited said. “Last year the sun was just beating down on you all the time. So this race was a lot easier ‘cause you stay cooler. So I felt awesome the entire race. I paced myself and I ended up turning in a much faster time than I did last year.”

Whited thought she could have done better. But it was impossible to wipe the smile off her face.

“I was hoping to go a little faster today, but it’s a rough course and we’re at a high elevation,” Whited said.

Bristol, Va. resident Janine Myatt was the third fastest woman in the half marathon, finishing the course in 1:45:44. The 41-year-old assistant district attorney was also satisfied with her performance.

“I was really pleased with my race,” Myatt said. “It’s a hard course, so anytime you can finish well here it’s an accomplishment.”

It was Myatt’s fifth Varmint, and even though the weather was different, the course was still the same.

“I’ve done it in torrential downpours. I’ve done it in 90 degrees, pretty much every kind of weather,” Myatt said. “It’s always hard.”

An hour before Chang was the first to cross the line in the half-marathon, 15-year-old Dylan Jones of Greeneville, Tenn. crossed the line to win the 5K in 18:41. But the junior at Greeneville High School was not entirely pleased.

“I guess I feel good, I won,” Jones said. “But I didn’t really run what I wanted to.

“We drove (the course) yesterday. I was sort of afraid of the hills coming back and that’s what slowed me down quite a bit....”

North Tazewell, Va. native Justin Belcher finished second with a time of 20:47. Athens resident Vaughn Campbell came in third at 21:51. The 13-year-old Athens Middle School student also found the layout challenging.

“It’s a hard race,” Campbell said. “It seems really long. It seems like you’re about to finish and it goes on for an extra mile.”

Leslie Pence won the women’s 5K, completing the course in 21:52. The 16-year-old from Cleveland, N.C. won the race two years earlier and longed for another trophy.

“I wanted another sheep. I like the sheep,” Pence said. “My mom is running the half marathon and we did this two years ago and we really enjoyed it so we decided to come back.”

Cedar Bluff, Va. resident Evan Ferrell came in second at 22:40. Ferrell, 16, is a senior at Richlands High School and she felt good after her first Varmint experience.

“It was the first time I’ve done it. I didn’t know what to expect,” Ferrell said. “I expected (the course) to be a little harder than it was. I felt O.K. at the end of it.”

Vonda Wilson brought her years of experience to the event and left with a third-place finish and a time of 24:08. It was a personal best for the 38-year-old athletics secretary at Bluefield State College.

“I would have liked to have won today, but I’m so happy with a new (personal record) out here,” Wilson said. “It’s a very tough course, a lot of hills out here. I think it’s pretty good for such a tough course. This is probably one of the toughest courses we run.”

— Contact Jed Lockett

at jlockett@bdtonline.com

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