RUN Wenatchee

Red Devil 25K men’s winner Jeff Browning of Bend, Ore., and 25K women’s winner Sarah Parker of Cashmere pose with their winning hardware.

By Steve Maher
RunWenatchee.com

CASHMERE — Accomplished Oregon trail runner Jeff Browning won Saturday’s Red Devil 25K Trail Run but not without a late charge from Wenatchee’s Caleb Ambrose.

“You came on strong,” Browning told Ambrose, a few minutes after the two had crossed the finish line at the Sandcreek Trailhead in the Wenatchee National Forest south of Cashmere.

Browning, a Bend, Ore., runner who has captured several national and world ultra races, finished in 2 hours, 1 minute and 34 seconds, setting a new Red Devil 25K course record. Ambrose was runner-up in 2:05:25, and Chelan’s Cyrus Desmarais was third in 2:07:07. Last year, Desmarais and his twin brother, Niles, hit the finish first together in 2:06:36. Niles was fifth this year.

Cashmere’s Sarah Parker took home the women’s 25K title in 2:29:16, besting Tove Pashkowski of Fernie, B.C. (2:46:10) and Magda Karakula of Penticton, B.C. (2:47:07). For Parker, it was her second straight strong showing. On April 29, she placed second in the Horse Lake Half-Marathon Trail Run in the Wenatchee Foothills.

The top three women’s 25K finishers, left to right: Tove Pashkowski, of Fernie, B.C. (second place), Sarah Parker, of Cashmere (first place), and Magda Karakula, of Penticton, B.C. (third place).

Browning, Ambrose, Cyrus Desmarais, Niles Desmarais, and Wenatchee’s Steven Gnam (who ended up taking fourth place) were part of a group of seven or eight runners who hung together during the first part of the race as runners climbed more than 3,000 feet in the Cascades. About four-fifths of the way up, Browning and Cyrus Desmarais created a gap between themselves and the others. Later, during the decline as racers headed down Red Hill Trail toward Devil’s Gulch Trail, Browning broke away from Desmarais. Then, with about three miles to go, Ambrose surged past Desmarais into second place.

“I took it a little too fast,” said Cyrus Desmarais afterwards, before turning to Ambrose and saying, “You crushed it that second half.” Ambrose said he felt good except for painful calves the last mile-and-a-half.

Browning, who has raced all over the world, told race director Joel Rhyner that Red Devil is “great training” for the legendary Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run held in California each year. Browning was third in the 2016 Western States race.

He said he was impressed with the Red Devil event put on by RunWenatchee.

“It’s all single-track. You get a mix of long climbs, long descents and the rolling stuff, and beautiful views. It’s fun. It’s one of the better trail races I’ve done,” he said.

“It’s a sweet trail. It’s a little bit of everything.”

Meanwhile, in the Red Devil men’s 10K, East Wenatchee’s Phil Hochwalt raced to the victory in 44:06, holding off Cashmere’s Barry Hodges, who was clocked in 44:39. Wenatchee’s Mike Parrish was third in 47:24. A year ago, in the same race, Hochwalt took second.

East Wenatchee’s Chuch Bassett captured the women’s 10K in 52:12, followed by East Wenatchee’s Marisol Woodward (54:18) and East Wenatchee’s Molly Wankum (54:46). Bassett also won the April 29 Horse Lake 5-Mile Trail Run near Wenatchee.

The 10K, which also starts and ends at the Sandcreek Trailhead, features about 1,000 feet of elevation gain.

For complete 25K results, please click here.

For complete 10K results, please click here.

Red Devil Trail Runs
Saturday, May 20
Wenatchee National Forest
Cashmere
25K Men
1. Jeff Browning, Bend, 2:01:34
2. Caleb Ambrose, Wenatchee, 2:05:25
3. Cyrus Desmarais, Chelan, 2:07:07
4. Steven Gnam, Wenatchee, 2:14:05
5. Niles Desmarais, Chelan, 2:15:35

25K Women
1. Sarah Parker, Cashmere, 2:29:16
2. Tove Pashkowski, Fernie, B.C., 2:46:10
3. Magda Karakula, Penticton, B.C., 2:47:07
4. Britt King, Penticton, B.C., 2:53:48
5. Brynne Dykes, Bellingham, 2:54:06

10K Men
1. Phil Hochwalt, East Wenatchee, 44:06
2. Barry Hodges, Cashmere, 44:39
3. Mike Parrish, Wenatchee, 47:24
4. Chris Strohm, Wenatchee, 47:47
5. Eric Estrada, Wenatchee, 49:44

10K Women
1. Chuch Bassett, East Wenatchee, 52:12
2. Marisol Woodward, East Wenatchee, 54:18
3. Molly Wankum, Wenatchee, 54:46
4. Carly Morrison, Wenatchee, 57:11
5. Nicole Ballard, East Wenatchee, 58:49