by Ricky Scott
The 4th running of the Crooked Road 24 Hour Ultra was held November 22 and 23, 2014. Held on a certified .950423 course at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the day started with temps in the 20s with our largest field ever at 120 starters. As the day wore on, the temps rose into the upper 40s and there was quite the battle in both the men’s and women’s race. However, as day turned into night and the temps dropped into the 30s, the race narrowed down to Charlie Engle and David Emch for the men and Emily Clay and Cindy Barbour for the women. Pressing on though the night with our fantastic volunteers supporting those going all night, six runners broke through 100 miles, our most 100 mile finishers ever. Two of the six were women and it marked the first time any woman had broken the 100 mile barrier. Emily Clay won for the ladies (2nd overall) and Charlie Engle won for the men. Not only did both set new Virginia age group records, but during the entire event 10 new Virginia state records were set.