'Blood, Sweat and Beers' carries on in 40th Ultimate Runner at Hanes Park

It's been 40 straight years of ‘Blood, Sweat and Beers', so a 30-minute delay for a small thunderstorm was not going to slow down the pace of Saturday's Ultimate Runner at Hanes Park.

On and off the track that is named for Bob Sosnik, a field of 115 runners competed in the five events that make up the unique road race.

When the 5K was over and the beer was flowing at the after party at Joymongers, there were smiles everywhere that masked the pain of competing in the grueling race.

"I think it's all about experience and you have to run it a few times to sort of figure out where to expend that energy," said Sam Scott, the winner of the men's portion who runs for the North Carolina club track team.

Scott, who turned 22 on Sunday and will be a senior in Chapel Hill, ran at Forsyth Country Day, and he was competing in his second Ultimate Runner. A couple of years ago his inexperience was evident as Wil Zahorodny won.

This time, however, Scott held off the 36-year-old Zahorodny who finished a close second.

"Every race is different in these five events, so you have to figure all of that out," said Scott, who won the mile, 400 and 800 heat and finished second in the 100-meter dash.

Those first four events are in heats and the entire field then runs a 5K, and while Zahorodny finished second in the 5K, it was Scott who was right behind him in third place that was good enough to win the overall title.

"I had a feeling that he would be a little more experienced," said Zahorodny, who was trying to win his seventh Ultimate Runner. "I'm still around the same times I've had in past years, so that's a good feeling and I kind of surprised myself. I started questioning myself earlier this year when I was doing some speedwork, but it's fun to get back out here."

Zahorodny was trying to tie Keith Mathis, who has the most wins among the males with seven Ultimate Runner titles. Mathis was among the many past champions who came to Saturday's race to watch the 40-year mark of the race.

For Scott, it was his first title and he said the community aspect of this race as well as the variety is what he loves about it.

"This is a lot of fun and I wasn't anticipating winning three of the events, but it all just came together for me today," Scott said.

With several friends and his family watching, Scott was glad he put his name among the past winners. As for being on the UNC club track team, he was asked about why he isn't on the scholarship track team.

"I wish I was on that track team, but I'm just not fast enough as those guys, but the club team is a great environment and it's been a blast," said Scott, who is the club track team president.

Early in the races a thunderstorm came through that delayed the action. But race director Sandy Wetherhold, track announcer David Daggett, finish-line guru Bill Walker and starter Perry Macheras made up for the lost time sort of like pilots do sometimes in the air during flights.

The races were done before dark thanks to the many volunteers of the Twin City Track Club.

First timer wins women's race

Jacqueline Fitzgerald, 29, who is a law student living in Winston-Salem had never ran a track race until Saturday but she didn't let that inexperience stop her from winning.

Fitzgerald, who won the mile in the women's portion in 5:23, had no idea what to expect, which may have been a good thing.

"I'd love to tell you about my strategy, but I didn't have any," she said. "I was just trying to beat my dad's mile time when he was in the eighth grade and I accomplished that."

Fitzgerald, a graduate of Army, is in Winston-Salem for the next three years getting her law degree. While her husband is stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, she's been running in her spare time and joined the Twin City Track Club.

"I had heard a lot of great things from Twin City Track Club members about this race, and I really liked the multiple events and you can hang out with other runners, so it was a lot of fun," Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald beat 16-year-old Kate Beeler by just 11 points to win the title with nine-time champion Molly Nunn third.

While Fitzgerald only won the mile, she was consistent enough in the other four events to win the overall title.

"I was real excited to see what I could do in the mile, and then from there I just wanted to see how far I could push myself," Fitzgerald said. "This was my first track race ever, so I didn't have a reference point."

Nunn, 42, who had a baby girl six months ago, was back in the Ultimate Runner again and ended up winning the 5K.

Fitzgerald said she heard about Nunn, a former Wake Forest runner, exploits in this race.

"I would say (Nunn) is still in a league of her own," Fitzgerald said.

As a first timer in the Ultimate Runner and also winning it, she was asked about coming back next year to defend her title. Fitzgerald took up running after she graduated from Army.

"I don't see why I won't come back since I'll be here in school another two years," she said.

Wetherhold is honored

During prerace festivities Wetherhold was honored by Er Ralston of the Twin City Track Club with a plaque. Wetherhold, 77, is retiring as the race director after the 40 years of racing.

It's not surprising that Wetherhold, who lives in Gainesville, Florida, fought back tears after receiving the plague.

Also at the post-race celebration Nunn gave Wetherhold a giant beer mug to thank Wetherhold for creating the race and making it happen all these years.

"There are so many families who have come through here all these years who have created great memories," Nunn said. "And that includes my family."

Short laps

• One of the cool things about the Ultimate Runner is the different ages that compete. The youngest runner in the field was 7-year-old girl Jordan Hall, and the oldest two runners were JB Tillery and Joel Tull.

• Four long streaks continued in the Ultimate Runner with Dan Besse completing the race for the 35th team. Others who maintained their streaks were Bill Gibbs (32), David Shannon (24) and Neil Amato (23).

• The Bob Sosnik track will undergo a complete renovation starting on Monday. The City of Winston-Salem said it hopes to have the track completed and open again in early August.

• One of the pre-race activities to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the race was a lap for anyone who has ever done the race before. About 100 or so took part in the lap and they were given a race bib as a souvenir.

• After the rainstorm there were several big puddles on the track, but several Twin City Track Club members helped push the water off the track. Among those helping was Kyle Armentrout, who will take over for Wetherhold next year as the race director.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.