White, Townsend first two-time champions of grueling Lion’s Chase 5k race

Above, Ben White, of Corbin, and Ashley Townsend, of London, were the winners of the 2015 Lion’s Chase Race held this past Saturday. It’s the second time both have won the race.

Wet treacherous conditions and a more challenging course were no obstacles for Ben White and Ashley Townsend, the first repeat winners of The Lion’s Chase — the nation’s premier obstacle course 5k race.

White, 26, a 2006 graduate of Corbin High School where he was a standout in track and cross-country, finished the course 33:58 — roughly two and a half minutes faster than last year when he finished second. White won the race in 2013.

“The last couple of months I trained pretty extensively for the race. I did a lot of hills and definitely prepared more this year than last year,” White said.

“I knew I was in better shape. When I finished, I felt like I made it through the obstacles better and faster than in previous years.”
White’s time was a course record. As overall winner of The Lion’s Chase, he took home The Lion’s Sword as the ultimate trophy.
“The sword is awesome,” White said. “Right now, my wife said it could stay as a centerpiece on the coffee table, but I’m going to hang it up somewhere in my office.”

Ashley Townsend, a 30-year-old Zumba instructor who lives in London, was the top overall female for the second straight year.

She said it was a last minute decision to even enter the race again this year.

“I’m very competitive. I just get in my head … what if I don’t win. I will look bad. I stress out a lot over this stuff,” Townsend said.

“I went there to win. That’s just how I am. I like to challenge myself, but I was shaking I was so nervous. I didn’t know if I could do that again. It was very tough, but I was determined.”

Townsend finished the race in 43:23, over three minutes faster than the next closest female finisher. And she improved over last year’s time (46:17) by nearly three minutes.

“I love the race. It’s something I look forward to,” she said. “I love to push myself.”

Jeff Sparks, a youth minister at Central Baptist Church in Corbin and the founder of The Lion’s Chase, said he’s proud of the way the race has grown every year. This time around, 511 people finished the race, over 100 more participants than last year.

“Overall, it was a great run. Everybody had a blast,” Sparks said. “I think people are really enjoying the course. I got a lot of positive comments.”

This year’s race was the fourth consecutive year for the event. The Lion’s Chase consists of 43 obstacles spread out over 3.1 miles (5K) and covers hilly and forested terrain on a beautiful farm in rural Whitley County just south of the entrance to Cumberland Falls State Resort Park on US 25.

“I think Ben and Ashley have set the bar pretty high and I think that’s great because it gives everybody something to chase,” Sparks said. “There is always somebody out there that can do bigger and better. That’s what makes it fun.”

Sparks said he’s not actually surprised by the faster times in this year’s race because of the removal of a couple of problematic obstacles that caused bottlenecks last year. One, which required runners to leap across floating platforms strung across a pond, often took several minutes to negotiate.

“The obstacles we replaced them with didn’t take as long,” Sparks said.

Still, he said he’s crafted the course so that no one could finish in 30 minutes or less.

And if that ever happens?

“I’ll just shake their hand,” Sparks said with a laugh. “They would get a lot of respect from me, I can tell you that.”

For most who run the race, it’s not as much about competing as it is surviving.

Kari Karich, 31, of Lexington, said The Lion’s Chase was her first obstacle course race ever.

“It’s the most difficult thing I’ve ever tried,” she said. “Rain made everything slippery. I fell because it was slippery.”

“But, I will for sure do it again.”

A deluge of ran soaked the course the night before the race. For many, that made it more fun and challenging.

Nick Edge, 19, of Lexington has done obstacle course races in the past.

“This race is definitely in my top three favorites,” he said. “It kicked my butt.”

His brother, 17-year-old Braxton Edge, had fun as well.

“Carrying the sand bags and logs up the hill and the rope climbs were definitely challenging,” he said. “The rain made it 10 times hard, but that’s what makes it fun.”

A full list of finishers with times, along with photographs of the race, can be found online at www.lionschase.com.