John Preston of Woodhaven celebrates the winter wonderland conditions of the Running Fit Trail Half Marathon.
HELL (4/24/05) -- Bare-legged in a blizzard, Matt King, 26, of Ann Arbor, finished the Running Fit Trail Marathon covered with mud, blood and snow.

"I slipped around mile 23 and scraped my knee," said King, who won the men's marathon in 3:11:05. Next came Gale Fisher, 36, of Battle Creek (3:30:44) and Vince Rucci, 28, of Stowe (3:41:22).

King's fall in the slop didn't douse his spirits. "I got so excited, I really hammered it to the finish," he said. "You expect a few bumps and bruises at a race like this."

No one expected a snowstorm with 25-mph winds April 24. Yet the marathon and half-marathon, held at Pinckney Recreation Area near Hell, drew more than 700 runners.

Women's marathon champ Connie Gardner, 41, of Medina, Ohio, took the weather in stride.

"A few weeks ago, I ran a 100-mile ultra in cold rain. That was harder than this," said Gardner, who finished in 3:48:06. Next came Emily Farrer, 24, of Ann Arbor (4:07:11).

"When we get nice weather, I'll really be able to fly," she said.

Jodi Mullet, 33, of Ann Arbor, who finished third (4:16:30), was also unperturbed by the snowstorm.

"It was beautiful, but mucky," Mullet said. "There were lots of muddy spots. The snow was amazing. It really came down hard at the end."

Ian Forsyth, 33, of Ann Arbor, won the half-marathon in 1:24:22. "It was of fun, but slippery," he said. "There were lot of downed trees on the trail too."

Trailing Forsyth were Mike Decker, 28, of Traverse City (1:27:28) and Patrick Lencioni, 39, of Ann Arbor (1:28:06).

"The course was up and down, up and down the whole way," said Decker. "I'm going to be hurting tomorrow."

Also hurting -- and elated -- was women's half-marathon winner Amy Bork, 28, of Monroe. "My knee is bleeding and my legs are turning blue," she said. "But I won!"

Bork, like King, ran the race in shorts. "I don't like racing in sweatpants or tights," she said. Her 1:50:28 edged Melissa Hughes, 24, of Mt. Pleasant (1:51:41) and Sara Williams, 33, of Augusta (1:53:46).

Ana Trivax, 12, of Commerce Township, had a good day as well. She ran the half-marathon in 2:27:22.

"Ana would have run faster," said her father, Dwayne Trivax, who ran with her (sort of). "But she kept waiting up for me."

"This is the last bit of winter wonderland till the heat sets in," said half- marathon finisher Gianna Lete, 36, of Ann Arbor. At least, she hoped.

For complete race results, go to www.trailmarathon.com. MR