Runners head up hill after the Pick Your Poison 10K start at Abersham Park. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Ashley Ackerman of Davidson won a hilly 10-kilometer race through the new Abersham Park in northeast Davidson by two minutes, while 15-year-old Patrick Hunter of Harrisburg won a simultaneous 5K run at the park on Saturday. The inaugural Pick your Poison 5K and 10K raceswere the first races of their kind at the area’s newest park, off Grey and Shearers roads.

Last year, Mecklenburg County bought the land, which once was slated to be a development of luxury homes, and it’s now part of the Mecklenburg County park system. The races were part of the Running for Our Communities series, and raised money for the parks system.

Ackerman, 34, clocked 37:28 over the 10K/6.2 mile course, which covered three laps around the hilliest part of the Abersham park. Second place went to Franklin Keathley, 30, of Stanley in 39:48, while Andrew Fletcher, 38, of Davidson, was third in 40:06.

Mooresville’s Valerie Wrenholt, 36, won the women’s division in the 10K, in 42:07. Thirty runners completed the 10K.

In the 5K, 118 runners competed on a course that followed greeway trails and paths between Abersham and nearby Fisher Farm Park, off Shearers Road.

Hunter, a rising sophomore at Cannon School, took the 5K race in 17:21. Charles Willimon, 31, of Cornelius, was the second man to finish, in 19:57, while William Walker, 63, of Winston-Salem finished third (21:03).

Rebecca Lovan, 29, of Charlotte, won the women’s division in 22:43, leading a top three that included Rebecca Bocker, 34, of Huntersville (23:23) and Maggie Liu, 31, of Cornelius (23:45).

FULL RESULTS, PICK YOUR POISON RACES

Below are top finishers provided by Davidson Timing. Download a PDF of full results at http://davidsontiming.com/2012/04/pick-your-poison-5k-and-10k/

10K – women
Finish order, bib number, name, time, age, town

1  	89  	Valerie Wrenholt 	43:07	36	Mooresville
2 	62 	Jadi Clark		46:10 	25	Mooresville
3 	63 	Molly Dedmon		51:38 	24	Charlotte
4 	82 	Stephanie Murphy	52:08	31	Charlotte
5 	78 	Harriet May 		52:14	25	Charlotte

10k – men
Finish order, bib number, name, time, age, town

1 	59 	Ashley Ackerman	        38:28	34	Davidson
2 	211 	Franklin Keathley	40:48 	30 	Stanley
3 	67 	Andrew Fletcher 	41:06	38 	Davidson
4 	75 	Ryan Huff 		41:26 	27 	Charlotte
5 	61 	Bobby Aswell Jr		41:35 	49	Cornelius

5K- women
Finish order, bib number, name, time, age, town

1 	214 	Rebecca Lovan 		22:43 	29 	Charlotte
2 	95 	Rebecca Bocker 	        23:23	34 	Huntersville
3 	149 	Maggie Liu 		23:45 	31	Cornelius
4 	137 	Elizabeth Hindal 	23:47 	52	Charlotte
5 	215 	Mary Jane Gallagher 	24:01 	33	Charlotte

5K – Men
Finish order, bib number, name, time, age, town

1 	142 	Patrick Hunter		17:21	15	Harrisburg
2 	201 	Charles Willimon 	19:57 	31	Cornelius
3 	193 	William Walker 		21:03 	63 	Winston-Salem
4 	119 	Kevin Donaghy 		21:05 	37	Huntersville
5 	189     Glenn Tingen 		21:07 	36 	Concord

PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net, ©2012 Davidson News LLC

Bobby Aswell of Cornelius was fifth in the 10K.

Women's 10K winner Valerie Wrenholt

Patrick Hunter opens up a lead early in the Pick Your Poison 5K.

Rebecca Lovan won the women's 5K

Patrick Hunter crosses the finish line in the 5K

Ashley Ackerman wins the 10K

Runners zip off the starting line in the 5K, including eventual winner Patrick Hunter (orange shirt)

5K runners followed a path along the trees early in the 5K