The race was held in memory of the late county manager and race director, Rick French, who passed away on Christmas Eve 2022. Mr. French’s son, Parker, offered pre-race remarks about his father and his love of running. Kaylee Sherrill sang the National Anthem.
Runners traveled to Alexander County from the following states: North Carolina (15), Virginia (4), South Carolina (3), Maryland (2), Pennsylvania (2), West Virginia (2), and Ohio (2).
The first-place male in the 24-hour race was Steve Campbell, age 51 of Richmond, Virginia. He completed 503 laps for a total of 125.2324 miles. The first-place female was Kelley Fejes, age 49 of Columbia, South Carolina. She completed 405 laps for a total of 100.8332 miles.

In addition to Campbell and Fejes, two (2) others achieved the 100+ mile milestone, including Whitney Richman, age 42 of Midlothian, Virginia, with 403 laps (100.3353 miles); and Sally Van Nuland, age 47 of Greensboro, with 402 laps (100.0863 miles).
Scott Horton, age 62 of Fulton, Maryland, was the top finisher in the 12-hour event with 251 laps (62.4917 miles). Ni Gorsuch, age 45 of Greensboro, was the top female with 160 laps (39.8353 miles).
Jay Talbot, age 32 of Columbia, South Carolina, was the top finisher in the 6-hour race with 148 laps (36.8477 miles). Kimberly Durst, age 40 of Goldsboro, was the top female with 121 laps (30.1255 miles).
Alexander County resident Shawn Pennell competed in the 24-hour race, finishing 8th overall with 242 laps (60.251 miles).
View the final results at https://my.raceresult.com/237610/results#0_014FC7.

View photos and videos on Google Photos at https://bit.ly/2023-AC-6-12-24-Hour-race-photos or on Facebook at https://bit.ly/2023-AC-6-12-24-Hour-FB-photos.
Alexander County Government staff and the AC 6/12/24 Hour team would like to express their appreciation to those who competed in the event and to those who volunteered their time to make the event a success. The team extends a special thanks to Alexander County Schools and Alexander Central High School for providing an excellent venue for the event.