Banks Finishes Strong in Hawaii

OCEAN CITY- Local trainer and runner Corrine Banks turned in a strong performance at a prestigious world championship race in Hawaii last weekend, finishing in the top 100 among the nearly 700 competitors from all over the world including a top three in her age group.

Banks, a single mom who works as a personal trainer, fitness instructor and nutritional consultant among other things at WOC Fitness in West Ocean City, competes in regional and national events from 5K to 10K races to trail races and from half marathons and full marathons to iron man competitions. She recently won a regional trail competition, which qualified her for the national championships in Oregon.

Banks was highly successful at nationals, finishing third in her age group among the hundreds of competitors from all over the country, which qualified her for the prestigious Xterra Trail Running World Championship in Hawaii last Sunday. The Xterra World Championship featured the top trail runners from all over the world competing in a 13.1-mile half marathon over a grueling off-road course.

Banks flew to Hawaii late last week after some late training that included being bitten by a dog just over a week before the competition. The dog bite and the grueling trail course up and down steep cliffs and through rain forests and across beaches did little to deter Banks, who finished 85th overall among the 687 competitors in the race. Banks, who finished the course in 1:56:35, including a 8:32 mile pace, came in 11th among the 230 women in the competition and was third in the female 30-34 age group.