Kingsport's Bays Mountain Park is truly a world class urban park; there are few other city parks anywhere in the United States that contain so much nature and so much beauty. First, here are some photographs of that beauty, mainly featuring the lake that used to be the water source for Kingsport.
Bays Mountain Park is contigious with Laurel Run Park in Hawkins County, thus providing area residents with a really large natural park.
Some of the Park's wildlife, whitetail deer roaming free.
And North American wolves in the wolf enclosure, near which the race started.
This is a map of the course route, covering much of Bays Mountain Park.
Here are some photographs of the race start.
Instructions from race director Mark Skelton.
And they're off. The wolf enclosure is to the left of the runners.
Here are three photographs taken by Amy Skelton of the start.
Next we move to the fire tower at about 4 miles, the high point of the course and overlooking the Holston River far below.
The first water stop was located just below the fire tower.
The first male runner.
The first female runner.
Next we move to the scenic dam that creates the lake, and over which the runners pass, about 1/4 mile from the finish.
Here's a panoramic 180 plus degree view from the dam, looking north, and consisting of eight photographs "stitched" together.
Here's the first male runner crossing the dam, Eric Grossman; he also finished the race in first place. The photographs are in chronological order as the runners cross the dam.
Here's Anne Lundbald, the first female runner crossing the dam; she also finished the race as the first female runner.
This and several other later shots are directly across the lake as runners wind around the Lakeshore Trail toward the dam.
The remainder of the photographs were taken just before the finish line by Amy Skelton and include the first 30 finishers. This is the first male finisher, Eric Grossman.
This is the first female finisher, Anne Lundbald.
Finally, here is race director Mark Skelton as he carries results from the finish line to the museum where the post-race luncheon and awards ceremony took place.
