ALERT: Sticks & Stones 15K Registration will open Friday May 16th @ 8:00pm !!

Registration info click HERE or the link on the sidebar- see you in October !! 

Turning up the heat at the Gristmill Grinder 2025!!

The twenty first running of the Gristmill Grinder was a scorcher, literally the hottest weather ever for the race! Course record #1. Another course record—gnats were thick. I’ve never seen them like that at Babcock. I wore safety glasses just to keep them out of my eyes. (I wasn’t the only one) Course record #2. Despite these things there was quite a gathering of Babcock Trail fans coming together! Registration for the half-marathon and the 5K had been strong this year and smiles were abundant as folks picked up their race packets and milled around prerace. Several days for trail work had set the stage for us—Here we go again!

The first section for the half marathon is road and downhill so most folks will start out fast to be up front of the pack when you hit the first single track section. The runners were off in a flash and up front was Dan Nehnevaj followed closely by James Talbert and Jenny Simpson. Jenny’s husband Jason was just a step behind. This order would stay the same throughout the whole race with Dan Nehnevaj finishing first overall with a time of 1:37:25.3 !! Just 11 minutes back from Dan was James Talbert with a time of 1:48:40.3 followed by Jenny and Jason Simpson with times of 1:52:43.9 and 1:52:44.5 respectively. The second overall woman was Nadya Suntay with a time of 2:14:00.1 followed by Ashley Perham at 2:16:24.9. The heat was taking it’s toll but runners were streaming in among cheers and fist bumps—congratulations to you all! Our 5K had an amazing turnout as well, almost 40 people to Run & Walk to the Gristmill and back. All downhill then all uphill including a mom pushing a stroller on the course!

So to wrap it up—Even with the heat and the bugs we had another GREAT DAY at Babcock! It was a special treat to have Jenny & Jason Simpson join us this year. Jenny is a 3 time Olympic runner and a Bronze Medalist. She and Jason are doing a RUN USA tour and running 50 races in 50 states in a year. Babcock was their WV Race! You can follow them on IG at jennyandjasonrunusa

Thank you ALL for coming to the park and a tip of the hat and respect to the volunteers that came to support the race. You Are Awesome !!

For complete results and Finish Line photos GO HERE

Sticks & Stone 15K at Babcock will be October 1th, 2025!! It’s an easier version of the Grinder and is a point to point race starting at Camp Washington Carver and finishing at Mann’s Creek Gorge Overlook. Registration will open on May 16th, come run Babcock in Fall Colors with us!!