Siskiyou Out Back - Race Results

The 11th running of the Siskiyou Out Back 15k and 50k races took place today in Southern Oregon. Starting and finishing at scenic Mt. Ashland Ski Area, the course followed the historic Pacific Crest Trail. Part of the Oregon Trail Ultramarathon Series, the 2008 50k race was won by Max King (Bend, OR), fresh off his participation in the US Olympic Trials. 50k runner-up Erik Skaggs (Ashland, OR) was the winner of the Granite Man Mountain Run held in nearby Jacksonville, Oregon in early June. The woman's 50k winner was perennial favorite Kami Semick (Bend, OR) who also finished 6th overall in 4:11:53.

For complete 50k & 15k results visit: http://www.siskiyououtback.com/results.cgi?year=2008

Post race comments from Race Director Marilyn Bailey:

"The race went really, really well. We had no serious injuries, nobody got lost (even briefly, as far as I know), and nobody seemed too terribly upset about it being smokey. I think the worst disaster was that one of the aid station porta-potties was set up in the wrong place - by 4 miles! But really, we could hardly have asked for a smoother race.

And it was VERY exciting,of course, to have not only the 50K women's course record fall due to a superb run by Kami Semick of Bend, but the men's, too, by the first THREE male finishers: Max King, Eric Skaggs, and Hal Koerner. Both records fell by a substantial amount - it's probably going to be awhile before these new records are surpassed!

The 15K was super exciting as well, although course records didn't fall. The men's record-holder, Trevor Hanlon, was at the line, but it just wasn't his day and he wound up dropping. He cheered on the other front-runners and encouraged them to "go for it" but nobody got under his mark. On the women's side, Laura Raber of Eagle Point had a go at the women's record with an excellent race, but didn't get to the standing record from 2004 of 1:08:02. Nonetheless, it was great, fast racing by all.

While everyone - no matter the distance - was beat by the time they finished, it really seemed that they all had a great time. Our volunteers were the best, as usual, with super assistance to make it all a really quality event for everyone!"