Mightymite men’s title up for grabs; Brainard looking for ninth title
The 39th edition of the Mightymite Triathlon returns to Forrest City on Saturday being renewed for two more years by the Forrest City Advertising and Promotions Committee.
That in turn, makes the 2020 and 2021 Mightymite triathlons significant, due to the Covid pandemic which tested the measure of both races and how well the race would perform with a set of new sanctions and a modified course.
The answer was simple. Quite well. The past two fields have been smaller than in previous races, but the feel and the excitement of race day continued to persist.
The 2020 Mightymite was significant because for the first time in nine years, the Mightymite's overall men's division saw a new champion crowned, when Phillip Young won the race, ending the nineyear title reign by Jeff Fejfar, who opted out of and did not run the race for the first time since 2011.
Young, from Memphis, who finished third in the 2019 race, took advantage of the heightened opportunity. Returning last year for 2021 edition and eyeing a second straight win, Young slipped and finished fifth in the men's division, giving way to last year's men's champion, Timothy Linn.
To date, Linn has not registered for this year's Mightymite and his race presence remains questionable, leaving the door once again open for Young.
Of the top 10 men finishers from last year's race, Young and Miles Fortas are the only signees, so far this year, for the race. Dale Sanford, who finished fourth a year ago, said by text that he would not be running the race on Saturday, but will have some of his team athletes in the race.
As of Thursday, Danny Mellow, a top 10 finisher for the last two Mightymite's has not registerd for Saturday's race yet, but could make his presence felt late. Jon Dixon, another twotime top 10 finisher not yet listed on this year's participant list nor has Jason Leake, third a year ago, Will Moore, sixth last year, as well as seventh and eighth place finishers from a year ago, Yancey Potter and Chris Watts.
Last year's Mightymite women's division found a repeat overall winner in Ashley Bradford, who has two Mightymite championships, but so far has not signed up for Saturday's race for a chance to defend her 2021 women's title. Bradford ran second to Brainard in the 2020 race, before last year's win.
Collierville's Lesley Brainard, a longtime Mightymite participant in the women's division, returns to the race this Saturday, looking for her ninth overall title, which would tie her for the most overall Mightymite titles with Fejfar.
Brainard, who won her first Mightymite title in 2001, did not run a year ago after cruising to the 2020 title. Brainard has the most women's titles, two ahead of Marda Kaiser-Rehnelt's seven titles, who has not run the race in several years.
As of Thursday, only three women from last year's top 10 have entered Saturday's race. Brainard, Amy Johnson and Leslie Breedan, the fifth-place finisher in 2020 and eighth last year.
Jeanine Watts, another one of the longtime women's participants in the Mightymite, and seventh place finisher a year ago, will not be running this year's race.
"Unfortunately, I am going to miss the Mightymite for the first time in 15 years," Watts said via text. "We will be out of town on vacation."
Forrest City's Jennifer Horton, sixth place a year ago, will also be absent from this year's race.
"I won't be at Saturday's Mightymite," Horton said via text. "I'm doing the gravel ride in Steamboat, Colorado and I'm training and trying to get ready for it. I will miss seeing everyone at Mightymite."
Gravel Rides are an increasingly popular form of cycling that combines elements of road and mountain biking and consisting mostly of distance riding over unpaved roads. This can include dirt roads, old towpath trails, or gravel roads and non-technical trails.
Since the first Mightymite in 1984, there has been 19 different winners in the men's side of the race, seven of those multiple winners, and 12 being one time only winners. The men's Mightymite course record, set by Vic Perini in 1994 still stands.
The women's side of the race mirrors the men's with 19 different champions in 38 Mightymites. There have been 11 one-time women winners and eight multiple women champions.
For the most part, the Mightymite has always been comprised of more Tennessee participants than most of the states sending runners. Arkansas is a close second for the overall number of triathletes while Mississippi is a distant third.
On Thursday, the race recorded its 100th participant for Saturday's race and Start2Finish Events is hoping to top out around the 110 mark.