CLARION CO., Pa. – The Clarion Summer Fest’s Gingerbread Timing professionally-timed 11-mile sprint was held on Saturday, June 3, on Rail 66.
Lance Henninger, 21, of DuBois, was the fastest rider off the starting line.
Henninger bested a field of 50 riders and posted a winning time of 26:01. He averaged 26.5 MPH over the 11.5 mile course that began at the Rail 66 trailhead at the Farmington Township Park in Leeper and ended at Northwest Hardwoods, just south of Marienville in Forest County.
Brian Frank, of Clarion, was second overall with a time of 27:11 (25.4 MPH) and last year’s winner, Mark Stouffer, of Tyrone, finished in third place overall in a time of 28:02 (24.7 MPH).
The top three women finishers were Kelly Gebler from Erie, in a time of 35:23 (19.5 MPH), Mindy Callaghan from Westminster, MD, in 35:40 (19.4 MPH) and Marissa McFarland of Oil City in 37:00 (18.7 MPH).
Local cyclists Jeff Menhold, Jonathan Lander, Dan Clark, Hansel Lucas, Kelly Harriger, Pat Linnan and Jake Alexander all took home either first, second, or third place awards within their various age groups.
Rail 66 Country Trail hosted the event and Janney Montgomery Scott of Clarion sponsored the race and provided refreshments to riders at the finish line.
The event was organized in conjunction with the Clarion Outdoor Festival and it attracted cyclists from Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York and Massachusetts.
An overall list of cyclists and a breakdown of the award winners, both overall and by age groups, is available online at rail66tt.com, where you can click on “Results” to review cyclist finishing times, average mph and other statistics.
More information on Clarion Summer Fest can be found at www.clarionpa.com/calendar/clarions-big-outdoor-festival and visitpago.com/events/clarion-summer-fest.