Saturday, August 30, 2008

Sunrise to Summit - Results

Once again, the good folks at the Mt. Bachelor Ski Education Foundation pulled off an excellent set of races to the 9000' summit of Mt. Bachelor. Starting in Bend, the Bend to Bachelor duathon featured a road bike leg out Century Drive to Sunrise Lodge followed by a run to the summit. While the cyclists made their way out Century Drive, the Sunrise to Summit running race started at Sunrise Lodge climbing 3 miles and 2500 vertical feet to the top of a cool wind-swept Mt. Bachelor.

The women's race was won by Lisa Nye (Bend, OR) in 39:45 - a time good enough to earn her 4th place overall. Finishing 2nd for women and 6th overall was Katie Caba in 41:22 followed by Jen Sventek in 43:29.

The men's race was won by Richard Bolt (Portland, OR) in 36:47. Richard was followed by Thomas Ferrell (Portland, OR) in 37:45 and Ian Torrance (Ashland, OR) in 39:13. Richard, Thomas and Ian also competed earlier this month in the Mt. Ashland Hillclimb Run; another rare uphill only mountain/trail race in Southern Oregon.

Complete results can be found at:
http://www.mbsef.org/events/sunrise2summit/

Race photos can be found at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/RichardABolt/

147 runners completed the Sunrise to Summit including 9 runners over 60 years old and 7 runners under 12 proving that mountain running can be a approachable challenge for all ages. This was also the 3rd race in the inaugural La Sportiva USATF Oregon Mountain Running Series. The 4th and final race of the series will be the NW Mountain Running Championships held on September 21 at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Where's Waldo 100K Ultramarathon - Results

With unfortunate cancellation of this years Western States 100, the 2008 edition of the Where's Waldo 100k Trail Ultramarathon became the premier long distance off-road running race on the West Coast. Serving as the USATF National 100k Trail Championship for both open and masters athletes, Where's Waldo attracted an all star field including ultrarunning legends Eric Clifton (Winchester, CA) and Roy Pirrung (Kohler, WI) as well as 2007 Masters 100 km Trail Champions Mark Lantz (Gold River, CA) and Meghan Arbogast (Corvallis, OR) , 2007 Western States Endurance Run Champion Hal Koerner (Ashland, OR), 2005 100 mile Trail Champion Sean Andrish (Leesburg, VA), 2002 50 mile Trail Champion Nate McDowell (Los Alamos, NM), former Waldo champions Krissy Moehl (Bend, OR) and Jeff Browning (Terrebonne, OR) as well as Ian Torrence (Ashland, OR).

At the end of a very long and very hot race it was Neil Olsen (Central Point, OR) who became the national open and masters champion crossing the finish line in a course record of 10:06:54. On the women's side Prudence L'Heureux (Bend, OR) held off Krissy Moehl (Bend, OR) and defending champion and course record holder Meghan Arbogast (Corvallis, OR) to win in 11:12:36. Finishing 15th overall, Meghan was the female master's national champion with a time of 12:03:45. As the hot afternoon turned to evening, skies turned overcast threatening thunderstorms, but producing only a rainbow to welcome home the weary runners.

Other award winners included Nate McDowell (Los Alamos, NM) who earned the The Find Waldo Award. The Wet Waldo Award went to Randy Benthin (Colton, OR) for swimming in six lakes and finishing in 15:07:30. The Show Us Your Waldo Award went to Rob Cain (Ashland, OR) for his Waldo impersonation. Rob ran all 62 miles in a red and white striped very non-technical, very non-wicking, cotton t-shirt with matching hat and dark rimmed "waldo" glasses. He may not have been comfortable, but Rob was most definitely a "found" waldo.

First run in 2002, the race begins and ends at Willamette Pass Ski Area, 70 miles southeast of Eugene, Oregon on Highway 58 at an elevation of 5120'. The course is on 97% single-track trail with more than 11,000' of elevation gain and equal amount of loss. There are 3 major climbs of more than 2000' each and 2 minor climbs of more than 1000' each. High point is 7818' at the top of Maiden Peak. Low point is at Gold Lake, about 4900'. 37 of the 83 finishers registered USATF members competed in the National Championship including 60+ runners David Kamp (60) finishing in 15:20:40, Kent Holder (69) in 15:59:17, Eb Englemann (66) in 16:28:54 and Roy Pirrung (60) in 14:43:44. While Oregonians dominated most of the awards, runners from 12 states finished the race.

Sanctioned by USA Track & Field as the 2008 USA 100k Trail Championships, this race is supported by presenting sponsors Sunsweet and the City of Oakridge. The Where's Waldo 100k Ultramarathon is also a benefit for the Willamette Pass Ski Patrol. The $6000 in prize money awarded to the top 5 open men and women and the top 3 masters men and women was made possible by Sunsweet and Rogue Valley Runners. Special thanks to co-race directors Craig Thornley, Curt Ringstad and their many dedicated volunteers.

Pictures can be found at:
Complete results can be found at:
http://www.wpsp.org/ww100k/stats/2008/results.php

A first hand account of the race from Rogue Valley Runners:
http://roguevalleyrunners.blogspot.com/

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Oregon Runners Named to the USA 100k Team

Kami Semik (Bend, OR - pictured left) and Meghan Arbogast (Bend, OR) have been named to the 2008 US National 100 Kilometer Team. The team will compete in the 100k World Championships to be held in Italy on November 8. Kami was an automatic selectee to the team based on her 9th place finish at the 2007 100k World Championships. Meghan was selected by the USATF Mountain, Ultra & Trail Running Council based on her 100k performances in 2008 including the Coburg Run in the Country (8:23:38). The 100k World Championship is sanctioned by the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU).

Also running on the 2008 US National 100 Kilometer Team will be:
Howard Nippert (CO) (automatic qualifier placing in the top 10 (8th) at the 2007 IAU World Cup 100K - 6:49:31)
Michael Wardian (VA) (automatic qualifier 1st place 2008 National 100K Championships – 6:56:57)
Greg Crowther (WA) (2007 IAU World Cup - 6:52:52)
Chad Ricklefs (CO) (2007 IAU World Cup - 7:01:10­)
Steve Stowers (CA) (2nd place 2008 National 100K Championships - 7:14:34; 2008 Jed Smith Ultra Classic 50 Mile, Sacramento , CA - 5:39:46)
Adam Lint (PA) (3rd place 2008 National 100K Championships - 7:19:06, 2nd place 2008 USATF 50 Mile Trail Championships – 6:59:36)
Carolyn Smith (WI) (automatic qualifier 1st place 2008 National 100K Championships – 8:25:26; also 8:16:17 at the 2007 IAU World Cup 100K )
Devon Crosby-Helms (WA) (2007 IAU World Cup – 8:06:20)
Julie Udchadon (AK) (2007 IAU World Cup – 8:14:04)
Connie Gardner (OH (2007 IAU World Cup – 8:15:14)

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Oregon Mountain Running Series Scoring Update 2

Two races have been completed in the inaugural La Sportiva USATF Oregon Mountain Running Series with 2 races remaining to be run. Last weekend's Mt. Ashland Hillclimb Run doubled the number of USATF members having competed in the series. While all the races in the series are open to all runners, only USATF members score in the series. The top USATF man and woman in each race will receive a free pair of La Sportiva trail running shoes. Runners who complete all 4 races in the series receive a special "mountain goat" award. Scoring after race #2:

Men 39 and under
Richard Bolt - Portland, OR - 189.51 points (2 races)
Ian Torrence - Ashland, OR - 181.91 points (2 races)
Hal Koerner - Ashland, OR - 89.71 points (1 race)
Scott Jurek - Seattle, WA - 89.47 points (1 race)
Aaron Coe - Portland, OR - 84.40 points (1 race)

Men 40 to 49
Bob Julian - Medford, OR - 88.79 points (1 race)
David Jordan - Medford, OR - 79.20 points (1 race)

Men 50 to 59 - No USATF finishers
Men 60+ No USATF finishers

Women 39 and under - No USATF finishers
Women 40 to 49 - No USATF finishers
Women 50 to 59 - No USATF finishers
Women 60+ No USATF finishers

SCORING: Runners score points based on their time as a percentage of the winner's overall time, making every second count! For example, a winning time of 41:08 gets 100.00 points; a time of 42:21 is worth 97.13, and 1:20:32 gets 51.08 (the winning time being just about 50 percent of that runner's time. Women's scoring is based on 100.00 points for the first female finisher. A runner's top 3 of 4 races are totaled to determine overall series scoring.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Mt. Ashland Hillclimb Run - Results

First run in 1978, the 5600' of vertical climb of the Mt. Ashland Hillclimb Run has always been challenge for race participants. After 30 years of erosion and weathering by wind, rain and snow, the summit didn't feel any closer to runners of the 2008 race. 1 hour and 53 minutes after leaving the 1900' start line, local favorite Eric Skaggs was the first runner to the finish circle at 7533' above sea level. Eric was followed not so closely by Zach Violett (Bend, OR) - 1:57:23 and Richard Bolt (Portland, OR) - 2:00:30. On the women's side, 2007 race winner Evelyn Dong (Bend, OR) repeated as champion in a time of 2:08:40, smashing the record set by Dolores Bergman of 2:13.39 in 2004. Evelyn's time was fast enough to put her in 11th place overall and was nearly 10 minutes faster than her 2007 time of 2:17:24.

As usual, the race organizers did a fantastic job of providing cool temperatures and an overcast sky for most of the race only bringing in the sun when runners reached the summit. This was particularly helpful since the view from the summit of Mt. Ashland provides a panorama of northern California and southern Oregon. The race organizers kept the sun shinning for the post race festivities held in the parking lot of the Mt. Ashland Ski Area which included plenty of food, refreshments, raffle prizes and live music.

Official results are available at:
http://www.mtashlandrun.com/results.html

You can find more first-hand accounts and pictures from the race at:
http://roguevalleyrunners.blogspot.com/

Here is a very unofficial list of results:

1. Eric Skaggs - 1:53:01
2. Zach Violett - 1:57:23
3. Richard Bolt - 2:00:30
4. Matt Barnhart - 2:03:48
5. John Leuthold - 2:04:38
6. Hal Koerner - 2:05:59
7. Brayton Osgood - 2:06:02
8. Ian Torrence - 2:06:22
9. Thomas Ferrell - 2:06:30
10. Bob Julian - 2:07:17
11. Evelyn Dong - 2:08:40
12. Adam Seibert - 2:09:45
13. Colin Mahood - 2:12:10
14. Todd Ragsdale - 2:12:30
15. Jeremy Eisen - 2:13:52
16. Aaron Coe - 2:13:54
17. Jason Tedrow - 2:14:36
18. Joe Griffin - 2:15:50
19. Greg Mueller - 2:15:56
20. Chris Rennaker - 2:17:10

The 3rd race in the La Sportiva USATF Oregon Mountain Running Series will be the Sunrise to Summit 3 miles race up Mt. Bachelor near Bend on August 30. Complete race info at:
http://www.mbsef.org/events/sunrise2summit/