Registration Smashes Records at Springbrook Splash

The Knoxville Track Club returned to Springbrook Pool to present the third year of Springbrook Splash in Alcoa.  Formerly the Carter Mill 10K, this summer tradition has grown from its reboot in 2020 to one of KTC’s fastest growing races in 2023!  This year’s event saw over 400 participants making a mad dash from the pool and back!

The Springbrook Splash course route begins near the pool entrance and follows the Maryville-Alcoa Greenway toward Clayton-Bradley Academy and back again.  Runners enjoy views of the Alcoa Duck Pond, Little River, and the Chilhowee Mountain ridgeline in the distance.  The finish line is set directly in front of Springbrook Pool with runners ready to jump in and cool off after a healthy dose of watermelon and popsicles!

This race brings individuals and groups of runners from near and far for a unique event for every level of runner.  A few special groups participating at Springbrook include the Run for God group out of LaFollette for the second year in a row as well as the Fit4Mom group from west Knoxville.  Congrats to these groups who came out to run the race and cheer on their friends and family!

10K Male Overall Winners: 1^st Place was Alex Widmer in a time of 35:34, 2^nd Place was Stewart Ellington in 36:24, and 3^rd Place was Justin Weinmeister in 36:33.  10K Female Overall Winners: 1^st Place was Katie Baksa in a time of 35:55, 2^nd Place was Peighton Meske in 37:01, and 3^rd Place was Kathy Wolski in 39:48.  It should be noted that Katie and Peighton finished in the top 10 overall, hitting 2^nd and 5^th place respectively!  This is yet another record smashed in 2023!  The past two years, no female runners finished top 10!  10K Masters Winners were Sam Plemons and Jennifer Weston while 10K Grandmaster Winners were William Hicks and Marsha Morton.  10K Senior Grandmaster winners were Ken Shelton and Jennifer Singh.

In the 5K distance, the 5K Male Overall Winners were: 1^st Place was John Yarbro in a time of 16:52, 2^nd Place was Cole Buckner in 18:17, and 3^rd Place was Christopher Martin in 21:05.  5K Female Overall Winners were: 1^st Place was Jennie Tillery in a time of 21:28, 2^nd Place was Michelle Derenski in 22:05, and 3^rd Place was Abby Turnbull in 22:53.  5K Masters Winners were Erin Bankes and Jennifer McKelvey.  5K Grandmaster Winners were Andrew Sauter and Maria Prado.  5K Senior Grandmaster winners were Brian Buchner and Debbie Gronstrom.  Congratulations to these winners and to all our race participants!

The Springbrook Splash Kids Mile, where 29 youngsters ran a 1-mile loop route around the Alcoa Duck Pond.  Again, these kiddos broke the record for participants in 2023!  For many of these young athletes, this was their very first race!  It is so exciting and such a privilege to watch these young runners and their families come across the finish line together with smiling faces!  The KTC seeks to make communities healthier, and having families at races fulfills this mission for our club!  Congratulations to these kiddos for participating!

We appreciate each volunteer who helped make this a successful event from start to finish.  Many volunteers pulled double-duty and volunteered before or after the race AND ran the race.  Wow, these hard-working runners truly represent the heart of a KTC member and the Volunteer Spirit!  Thank you!  A special thanks goes to three groups of high schoolers – including the Alcoa High School Cross Country Team, Central High School Swim Team, and Ulster Project of East Tennessee.  The Ulster Project group included a group of teenagers from America and Northern Ireland that participate in service projects together, including our thirsty runners at Springbrook Splash!  From water stops to course monitors to food prep – these young people did an incredible job at every post!  Thank you for joining us and helping out!

A couple of special thanks are needed to individuals that gave a little extra at Springbrook: A special thanks goes to Maryville College Senior Connor Cowart for singing our national anthem so beautifully to begin the race for his second year in a row!  Thank you!  Another special thanks goes to our volunteer bicycle lead, Lauren Crisp, who led the Kids Mile and the 10K Race.  Lauren frequently steps up to bike to lead many KTC races throughout the year, including the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon, to keep runners on course.  KTC appreciates you, Lauren!

And lastly, KTC would like to say a big thank you to the City of Alcoa, Alcoa Police Department, Alcoa Fire Department, Alcoa City Schools, Blount County Parks & Rec, and Alcoa First United Methodist Church for their partnership and support of this race.  And no race would be possible without the ongoing support and commitment of our business sponsors.  This years’ sponsors include Harper Auto Wash, Tennessee Sports Medicine Group, Dick’s House of Sports, and RunKnox.  Our photographer for the event was Todd Temple with T2 Graphic Design, and he captured the race and atmosphere beautifully.  Thank you, Todd!  Please check out those race pictures on the Springbrook Splash RunSignUp page!  Thank you, runners, volunteers, and sponsors, for your support in Alcoa this year!

We look forward to this fun race next year, so if you missed out, be sure and mark your calendar for July 2024!