Watkins crushes course record at Grindstone 100

SWOOPE, Va. – On the heels of her record-breaking win at The Ring earlier this year, Robin Watkins continued her winning ways at the Grindstone 100 this weekend in Swoope, Va., decisively breaking the course record to claim victory among women and 14th overall in the field.

Watkins, 31, of Washington, D.C., ran a blazing 22:53:13, cutting several minutes off Sandi Nypaver’s 23:05:28 course record, set in 2010.

Megan Stegemiller, 25, of Springfield, Va., also turned in a stellar performance as she continues to build an already impressive catalog of 100-mile finishes. She ran a 23:35:41 to take second in the women’s field and 19th overall, knocking almost 5 hours off her previous course best – and 14 hours off her first Grindstone finish in 2011.

In the men’s field, Jordan Chang, of Blacksburg, Va., was the top VHTRC finisher and 4th overall with a time of 20:05:37. The other VHTRC’er to make the top 10 was Brad Hinton, 37, of Stephens City, Va., who clocked a 21:51:16.

Their finishes were all the more impressive considering the wild fall weather that hit the Grindstone course after the race’s one-year hiatus thanks to the 2013 federal government shut-down.

As the race returned, runners were treated to a few hours of rain shortly after the 6 p.m. Friday start, a gorgeous day of fall running during the day on Saturday, then a wild Saturday night of high winds and temperatures in the low 30s at elevation.

Full final results can be viewed here.