22-year-old Homewood man wins 2020 Vulcan Run 10K
A 22-year-old Homewood man captured first place in the 46th annual Vulcan Run 10K this morning in Homewood.
Andy Smith, a 2016 graduate of Homewood High School and 2020 graduate of Auburn University, raced across the finish line in the parking lot at Brookwood Village with a time of 32 minutes, 5 seconds in the 6.2-mile run — a pace of 5 minutes and 10 seconds per mile.
Fellow Homewood resident Alan Ash, 29, came in less than a minute later to grab second place with a time of 33:01. Josh Evans, 24, of Montevallo came in third at 33:33.
The top female finisher was Erica Speegle, 40, of north Shelby County, and she came in fifth overall with a time of 34:15. The second-place female finisher was Carmen Hussar, 43, of Homewood at 36:22, followed by Ivy Kibet, 30, of Columbus, Georgia, at 36:48.
There were 524 people who registered for this year’s Vulcan Run and 433 who completed the course, according to official race results.
This was the first year the race has not been held in Birmingham, which is not yet allowing road races due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been 1,000 to 1,200 runners in the race in recent years, said Hunter Bridwell, president of the Birmingham Track Club, which organized the race.
Bridwell said the club is thankful Homewood allowed the race to take place. “It’s different, but these are different times,” he said.
The race began in the eastern parking lot of Brookwood Village near Macy’s, proceeded briefly along Lakeshore Drive and then, slightly after the 1-mile mark at Old Montgomery Highway, shifted onto the Shades Creek Greenway Trail. Runners stayed on that trail, also known as the Lakeshore Trail, until almost reaching the Green Springs trailhead near the Homewood Soccer Park, then turned around and returned along the trail to where they started. Temperatures were in the 60s.
Because of COVID-19, the race started in waves to keep everyone from gathering at the starting line at the same time. Times were determined with tracking chips in the runners’ bibs. Also, runners were encouraged to stay socially distanced from others and wear face masks both before and after the race. Some did, and some didn’t.
McDonald’s provided grab-and-go food bags for runners after the race.