by Clay Shaw
Covington, VA, Jackson River Scenic Trail Marathon, June 5, 2021—Esayas Nida of Greensboro, NC easily won the men’s field for the Jackson River Scenic Trail Marathon in 2:45:03.
Nida, a native of Ethiopia, “Land of Runners,” works as a surgical technologist at ARMC, Burlington, NC. Jordan Webb of Charlotte, NC was second in 2:52:15. Nida and Webb were the only runners of the 122 finishers under the three-hour mark. Forrester Safford of Culpeper, VA was third in 3:00:59. John Calabrese of Richardsville, VA was top master in 3:17:46, and was sixth overall.
Samantha Muller of Charleston, WV was the top woman in 3:16:23. Melissa Conjack of Sarver, PA was second in 3:18:20. Emily Chappelear of Burnsville, NC was third in 3:19:51 and top master.
There were notable performances by 60-year-olds as Frederic Levy, 60, Gastonia, NC was eighth man overall in 3:25:50. Vicki Bentley-Condit, 63, of Berkeley Springs, WV was seventh in the women’s field in 4:16:42.
The companion half marathon had 105 total finishers. Alex Minor of Huntington, WV had a great race with Will Shaffer of Knoxville, TN. Minor won the men’s division in 1:13:21; Shaffer ran 1:13:31. Rachel Rabbitt of Alexandria, VA topped the women in 1:30:13.
Your photographers/reporters had a long day at the office, very socially distanced, but did finish. We did enjoy the course and organization. Small, good marathons that happened in 2020 and 2021 should get our support.
Top Men
- 2:45:03 Esayas Nida, 27, Greensboro, NC
- 2:52:15 Jordan Webb, 34, Charlotte, NC
- 3:00:59 Forrester Safford, 39, Culpeper, VA
- 3:03:21 Walt Kitson, 22, Midlothian, VA
- 3:16:44 Steve Reilly, 35, Washington, DC
- 3:17:46 John Calabrese, 41, Richardsville, VA
- 3:18:21 Kentaro Onishi, 39, Pittsburgh, PA
- 3:25:50 Frederic Levy, 60, Gastonia, NC
- 3:27:23 Steven Gross, 57, New York, NY
- 3:28:44 Joshua Jacaruso, 29, Alexandria, VA
Top Women
- 3:16:23 Samantha Muller, 24, Charleston, WV
- 3:18:20 Melissa Conjack, 34, Sarver, PA
- 3:19:51 Emily Chappelear, 42, Burnsville, NC
- 3:23:34 Anna Armfield, 22, Raleigh, NC
- 3:27:25 Sarah Thompson, 33, Capon Bridge, WV
- 4:02:08 Amanda Germer, 27, Wynnewood, PA
- 4:16:42 Vicki Bentley-Condit, 63, Berkeley Springs, WV
- 4:18:44 Katie McDonald, 22, Jonesville, VA
- 4:19:19 Annamaria Kendrat, 22, Leesburg, VA
- 4:28:58 Bailey Miller, 24, Cumberland Gap, TN
Melissa Conjack of Sarver, PA was second among women in 3:18:20. Kentaro Onishi of Pittsburgh was seventh among the men in 3:18:21. (Photo by Karen Mitchell) 
Jordan Webb of Charlotte, NC was second overall in 2:52:15. (Photo by Karen Mitchell) 
Amanda Germer of Wynnewood, PA runs through a sunny spot on the Jackson River Trail on way to sixth overall in 4:02:08. (Photo by Karen Mitchell) 
Sarah Thompson of Capon Bridge, WV was fifth overall in 3:27:25. (Photo by Karen Mitchell) 
Walt Kitson of Midlothian, VA was fourth overall in 3:03:27. (Photo by Karen Mitchell) 
Emily Chappelear of Burnsville, NC was top master and third overall in 3:19:51. (Photo by Karen Mitchell) 
Esayas Nida of Greensboro, NC won the Jackson River Scenic Trail Marathon in 2:45:03. (Photo by Karen Mitchell) 
John Calabrese of Richardsville, VA was the top master and sixth overall in 3:17:46. (Photo by Karen Mitchell) 
Race instructions at the start of the Jackson River Scenic Trail Marathon. We were drawn to this event because it happened in 2020, and the trail is very much like our York Marathon in PA. (Photo by Clay Shaw) 
Alexis Davidson of Brooklyn, NY race walks marathons nearly every weekend. Davidson did marathon #445 at the Jackson River Scenic Trail Marathon. (Photo by Clay Shaw) 
Running photographers Karen Mitchell and Clay Shaw, smiles prior to the Jackson River Scenic Trail Marathon. Karen did marathon #124, Clay #207. 
Anna Armfield of Raleigh, NC was fourth overall among women in 3:23:34. (Photo by Karen Mitchell) 
The Jackson River Scenic Trail Marathon was one of the first races held in 2020. It’s scenic, rural, and easy to social distance. (Photo by Clay Shaw) 
Emily Sizemore of Ashland, KY running the Jackson River Scenic Trail Marathon. (Photo by Clay Shaw) 
Half marathoners Alex Minor #652 of Huntington, WV and Will Shaffer #681 of Knoxville, TN had quite a race up-front. Minor won in 1:13:21 and Shaffer was close behind in 1:13:31. (Photo by Clay Shaw) 
The Jackson River Scenic Trail Marathon offered shade (for awhile, depending on how fast you were), social distancing, and as the name states, scenic. (Photo by Clay Shaw)
Categories: Race Coverage
Runner's Gazette 
Thank you so much for sharing this. I know this course well and it’s so beautiful and breathtaking scenic Trail. It runs along Jackson River. I came to run in 2020 that was the only marathon active that weekend. This year 2021 I came back to run with my running buddy jordan webb. We enjoyed every minute of the race. Even though this wasn’t my fastest time for marathon distance, I’m so happy for finishing the first place. Three weeks ago from that weekend I ran a marathon called Tobacco Road Marathon, I finished 2:36:54 (tobaccoroadmarathon.com)
After that I wasn’t sure I could win the race with in a month window. I’m so happy to see this and I’m greatly appreciate runners gazette for shared this news. Thank you!
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Congratulations, Esayas! And thanks for your comment. So glad to get a photo of you while I was “running” the event. (Not easy to get a decent shot with an iPhone!)
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