Gray, Deprey and King County Parks Win at Cougar Mountain

On Saturday Joseph Gray won his battle with a tough 5.14 mile course at the SCOTT Cougar Mountain Trail Series race # 1 and set a course record in the process. Mona Deprey, 45, won her battle with the youngsters on the same course, as she held off three runners at least 10 years younger than her with all four runners finishing within 28 seconds of each other. The biggest winner on the day however, as reported by the Northwest Trail Runs website, may have been King County Parks with the race raising $3700 for them.

Gray of Lakewood, who broke the course record of 30:58 set in 2011 by Peter Samuels with a time of 30:19, looked smooth and relaxed from the start. He was followed by Lance Thompson of the Seattle Running Club in 31:07. Thompson’s time ranks him as the 3^rd fastest ever over the challenging course and beats his previous best at 5 miles on Cougar Mountain by 90 seconds. Dominic Smargiassi rounded out the Top 3 with a time of 31:19. The first masters runner on the day was Michael Smith in 31:52.

“It’s a great series and close to home. It will help me get ready for some of the more technical trails I will face in some of the bigger international races,” Gray remarked about the SCOTT Cougar Mountain Trail Series and its tough course.

The women’s winner, Deprey, who ran 39:03 had just a moment to catch her breath after crossing the finish line as Ellie Hendrickson, who is only 15, was right on her heels at 39:09. Amanda Reich finished 3rd only three seconds later in 39:12. Rounding out a very competitive and close Top 4 on the women’s side was Iliana Sach in 39:31.

The first race of the 5 race series had 250 finishers on Saturday and will move to 8 miles on June 16^th. Runners or walkers looking to take to the trails and support King County Parks and Recreation can sign up online at Ultra SignUp or mail in their entry.

Full Results

(Note:  Joseph Gray will look to defend his North American Central American Caribbean Mountain Running title in 2012 when the championships are held at Cypress Mountain just outside of Vancouver, BC on July 21. The Championships rotate between the US, Canada and Mexico)