RUN Wenatchee

By Steve Maher
RunWenatchee.com

CASHMERE — Wenatchee’s Sarah Barkley and Laura Valaas will be among the favorites in Sunday’s Red Devil Challenge Women’s 25K Trail Run near Cashmere.

Barkley, a pro triathlete who captured last year’s Red Devil Women’s 10K Trail Run title, is moving up this year to the longer distance. Valaas, a former U.S. Ski Team member, was second in the May 1 Horse Lake Women’s Half-Marathon Trail Run race near Wenatchee.

Matt Murphy leads a small pack of runners, including Kea Paton and Marisol Galeana, through the forest during the 2014 Red Devil Challenge Trail Runs near Cashmere.

The two will be running on single-track trails in the Wenatchee National Forest south of Cashmere. The 15.5-mile course includes about 3,000 feet of elevation gain.

The sixth-annual Red Devil Trail Runs event has attracted a field of about 200 trail runners from around the state and the West. As of Thursday, 49.3 percent of the participants were coming from outside the Wenatchee Valley, including trail runners from as far away as California, Idaho, Oregon, Alaska and British Columbia.

“Red Devil continues to grow in stature among trail runners from around the country,” said race director Joel Rhyner of Wenatchee. “The courses are challenging and the views are incredible. Additionally, we work hard to make sure all the trail runners are fully supported.”

The event is put on by RunWenatchee and is staged from the Sandcreek Trailhead, located about 10 miles south of Cashmere. It is the second event in the four-event Wenatchee Valley Trail Run Series. Horse Lake was the first. The final two are the Dark Side Festival Trail Run on Sept. 24 at Mission Ridge Ski & Board Resort and the Oktoberfest Trail Runs on Oct. 15 at Leavenworth Ski Hill.

In the men’s 25K race, Craig Vander Hart of Wenatchee and Emerson Peek of Peshastin are expected to be in front of the pack. Vander Hart was second in the Horse Lake Men’s Half-Marathon Trail Run on May 1 in the Wenatchee Foothills. Peek captured the Horse Lake men’s 12K that same day.

Cory Feil, the men’s 5-Mile winner at Horse Lake, is entered in Sunday’s Red Devil 10K.

Packet pickup and late registrations for Red Devil will be held from 4 to 6 p.m., Saturday, at Pybus Public Market in Wenatchee; and again from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Sunday at the Sandcreek. Online registration closes at midnight Friday at https://reddevil.eventbrite.com.

For more on the event: https://www.runwenatchee.com/event/red-devil-challenge-25k-and-10k-trail-runs/

Red Devil Trail Runs
Past Winners

2015
Men’s 25K: Anthony Skierkiewicz, Wenatchee, 2:06:23
Women’s 25K: Jody Chinchen, Ellensburg, 2:26:09
Men’s 10K: Doug Wood, Wenatchee, 45:57
Women’s 10K: Sarah Barkley, Wenatchee, 50:52

2014
Men’s 25K: Peter Harrison, Seattle, 1:56:43
Women’s 25K: Marlene Farrell, Leavenworth, 2:14:18
Men’s 10K: Terence Lee, Seattle, 48:40
Women’s 10K: Kea Paton, Cashmere, 51:54

2013
Men’s 25K: Chad McBride, Wenatchee, 2:09:05
Women’s 25K: Marlene Farrell, Leavenworth, 2:11:41
Men’s 10K: Justin Pulliam, Wenatchee, 54:06
Women’s 10K: Elizabeth Ryen, Leavenworth, 56:20

2012
Men’s 25K: Caleb Ambrose, Wenatchee, 2:01.35
Women’s 25K: Marlene Farrell, Leavenworth, 2:18:52

2011
Men’s 23K: Marcell McArthur, Wenatchee, 1:49:57
Women’s 23K: Marlene Farrell, Leavenworth, 2:07:58