Registration open for Caumsett Park 50k

The Caumsett Park 50k will once again serve are the 2010 USA 50 km Road Championships. The women's course record is held by Bend, Oregon's Kami Semick (3:29:20). The men's course record of 2:55:05 was set last year by Michael Wardian. The race will be SUNDAY, MARCH 7, 2010 at 8:30 AM in Llyod Neck, Long Island, New York. For more information about the race and to register online go to: http://www.glirc.org/index.php

2009 Trail Runner Trophy Series Winners Announced

A press release from our friends at Trail Runner magazine:

The Sixth Annual Trail Runner Trophy Series, presented by GORE-TEX, awarded points to 27,140 runners for participating in 113* trail races throughout the U.S. and Canada. You can read about the male and female winners of each category in the February/March issue Trail Runner magazine.

Winners in the Non-Marathon Division (races less than 26 miles) are 51-year-old Brenda Gutmann, 51, Borden, Indiana, and 42-year-old Phil Oreste, of Mill Valley, California. Winners of the Marathon-and-Longer Division (races 26 miles and longer) are 45-year-old Sue Lucas of Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada, and 44-year-old Glen Redpath of New York, New York.

Many participants traveled great distances by car and air in an attempt to snag this year’s new prize, the Trail Fiend Award, which goes to the man and woman who run the most Trophy Series races. The female winner was Brenda Gutmann, who ran 17 races, and 38-year-old Brian McKinney of Woodland, California, who ran an amazing 24 races. Both receive complimentary spots at the all-inclusive Get Your Running Legs On Trail Running Week at Nipika Mountain Lodge in British Columbia, Canada in May 2010. (Registration for the camp is available at www.nipika.com).

Winners of the random prize drawing are 32-year-old Kim Maxwell, 32, of Rainelle West Virginia, and Nathan Echols, 42 of Long Valley, New Jersey. These winners plus the top-three placers in the Marathon-and-Longer Division and age-group winners in the Non-Marathon Division (listed below) will each receive a prize package containing gifts from Trophy Series sponsors Injinji, Julbo, Pro-Tec Athletics, Nuun, Zombie Runner, Kahtoola, Amphipod, Moeben, GoMotion, Wicked Fast Nutrition and Trigger Point Therapy.

All participants can find their ranking, points total and other Trophy Series information on Trail Runne’s website, www.trailrunnermag.com.

Non-Marathon Division

10-19 Age Group
Andy O’Grady, 19, Littleton, Colorado, 100 points
Codie Barron, 19, Chelsea, Michigan, 85.1 points

20-29 Age Group
Dennis Flanagan, Breckenridge, Colorado, 182.5 points
Caitlin Smith, Oakland, California, 114.8 points

30-39 Age Group
CJ Hitz, 36, Findlay, Ohio, 501 points
Joan Matthews, 31, Owen Sound, Ontario, 262.9 points

40-49 Age Group
Phil Oreste, 42, Mill Valley, California, 574.6 points
Carla Stoner, 47, West Des Moines, Iowa, 417 points

50 and Over Age Group
George Aitkin, 57, Cambridge, Ontario, 155 points
Brenda Gutmann, 51, Borden, Indiana, 547.2 points

Marathon and Longer Division

Top-Three Male
Glen Redpath, 44, New York, New York, 1209.6 points
Patrick McGlade, 20, Richmond, Virginia, 1054 points
Zach Gingerich, 29, Aurora, Illinois, 800 points

Top-Three Female
Sue Lucas, 45, Dauphin, Manitoba, 1321.6 points
Iris Cooper, 50, Toronto, Ontario, 948 points
Jenny Chow, 45, Long Valley, New Jersey, 900 points

(*123 races originally signed up for the Trophy Series, but we were only able to collect results from 113, so only these were counted in the final results. For a list of which races submitted results, click here). Trail Runner magazine is an official publication partner of USA Track & Field

Things to do in Georgia when you need to get dirty

It's true, there is such a thing as trail running in Georgia. Here is a note from Tim at Dirty Spokes Productions:

Wanted to touch base to see if The Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team would be interested in any of our 2010 events... we put on the following events and would love to have your crew join us (if you are out this way):

XTERRA Georgia Trail Running Race Series (6 Races), XTERRA Alabama Trail Running Race Series (3 Races), XTERRA North Carolina Trail Running Race Series (TBA), Dirty Spokes Trail Running Race Series (6 Races), Dirty Spokes Off Road Duathlon Series (4 Races), Georgia State Trail Running Championships (1 Race), Dirty Spokes 40K Trail Running Ekiden (Team Relay), Dirty Spokes 12-6 Hour Mountain Bike Race... Let me know if we can do anything for you and your crew!

Please check us out on the web: www.dirtyspokes.com
Thanks,
Tim Schroer

The next time your travels take you to Georgia I hope you will check out his races.

Bend wins bids to host 2 USATF Trail Champs

The following is a press release from Visit Bend (The Visitors Bureau of Bend, Oregon). I plan to run in both races and am slated to be the USATF Championship Liaison for the 50k race.

BEND WINS BID TO HOST USA TRACK & FIELD’S 2010 50K TRAIL RUNNING AND HALF MARATHON TRAIL RUNNING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Combined, these two events are expected to draw more than 500 racers to Bend from out of the area

(BEND, Ore.)—On the heels of the successful completion of the 2009 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships, Bend has been awarded two additional national championship events for 2010 by USA Track & Field, the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. Both the Half Marathon and 50k Trail Running National Championships will be contested in Bend in 2010, joining a list of premiere national championship events that includes the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships, USA Cycling Elite, Junior & U23 Road National Championships, and the XTERRA Trail Running National Championships.

The Half Marathon Trail National Championship will take place in Summer 2010. Event organizers will work with the USFS to identify a location that can accommodate the championships. The 50k Trail Running National Championship is currently scheduled for September 2010. Dave Thomason from Superfit Productions and FootZone will serve as race director for both events.

“Bend is quickly gaining a much deserved reputation as a venue for major national championship competitions, due in large part to the support of local businesses and the enthusiasm of the entire community,” said Doug LaPlaca, president and CEO of Visit Bend, which managed the bid process. “Both of the USATF national championships fall outside of our high tourism season, and therefore will provide local businesses with a solid economic boost at a typically slower time of year.”

Bend has been recognized by the editors of Outside magazine as America’s Top Trail Running Town, an honor that helped attract the attention of XTERRA and USATF officials. Bend is also home to a number of elite endurance trail runners, including World 100k Champion Kami Semick (pictured above), Trail Marathon National Champion Max King, Jeff Browning and Sean Meissner.

About Visit Bend:
Visit Bend is a non-membership, non-profit economic development organization dedicated to promoting tourism on behalf of the City of Bend. For more information or to order a complimentary Official Visitor Guide to Bend, contact Visit Bend at 800-949-6086 or visit www.visitbend.com.

About USA Track & Field:
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States. USATF is a volunteer-driven, not-for-profit organization with a staff of professional program administrators at the National Office in Indianapolis. www.usatf.org.

Contact:
Doug LaPlaca, Visit Bend, 541-382-8048, doug@visitbend.com
Justin Yax, DVA Advertising/PR, 541-389-2411, justin@dvaadv.com

2010 Mountain Running Wall Calendar

Our mountain running friends in Slovenia have published a 2010 mountain running wall calendar designed by World Champion Jonathan Wyatt (NZL). Slovenia is home to the famous Smarna Gora mountain race which will be celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2010. Also, the 2010 World Mountain Running Championships will take place on September 5 in Kamnik, Slovenia.

Mountain Running Survey

Here is an interesting survey for mountain (trail) runners. Note that Teva, the title sponsor for the US Mountain Running Team from 2002 to 2009 will not be sponsoring the team in 2010 and is pulling out of the running shoe market. In light of that recent news, this survey is outdated but interesting to anyone looking for sponsors or looking to be a sponsor of mountain / trial running.

I am an assistant professor in the Department of Recreation and Sport Management. I request your participation in a study that deals with your participation in trail running. There are no direct benefits or compensation to you for participating in the study. Your cooperation is extremely important and is greatly appreciated. The questionnaire asks you about your perceptions toward trail running and the sponsors of the 2009 (and prior) US Mountain Running Teams. The results of this study are expected to yield insight to effectively evaluating sponsorship of non-elite sporting events.

Please complete this questionnaire, which should take about 10-15 minutes. There are no known physical or psychological risks associated with completing this survey; however some questions may be considered sensitive. As such, your assistance is entirely voluntary and you may withdraw from completing the survey at any time. You may be assured of complete confidentiality. Individual responses will not be reported. The published results will not refer to any individual and all discussions will be based on group data.

For questions about your rights as a research participant contact the IRB at 850-644-8673. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact the individual at the addresses below. Thank you for your assistance with this research.

The link is: http://www.survey.coe.fsu.edu/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=7l3M5p2

Yu Kyoum Kim, Ph. D.

Assistant Professor

Department of Sport and Recreation Management

The Florida State University

Tully Gym 1034

Tallahassee, FL 32306

(850) 644 – 7174

FAX: 850-644-0975

Oregon's Max King wins the XTERRA Trail Running World Champs (again)

Max King (Bend, OR) jetted from the USA Track & Field Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, IN directly to sunny Hawaii to defend is XTERRA World Trail Running Championship. Jet-lag didn't seem to be an issue as Max took home the title at the $2000 cash prize for first place. Max held off USATF Mountain Runner of the Year Joe Gray (Lakewood, WA) and last years runner-up Ben Bruce (Eugene, OR) to win the race by almost 3 minutes. Other top notables in the men's field were top Mt. Washington finisher John Tribbia (Boulder, CO) and former US Mountain Running Team member (and top master) Andy Ames (Boulder, CO). On the ladies side, Fiona Docherty (Boulder, CO) took top honors and finished 8th overall followed by Cynthia Anderson (Kailua, HI) and Heather Fuhr (Encinitas, CA). You can find complete race results here.

Max King pictured above after winning the USA Trail Marathon Championships in Ashland, OR on November 7, 2009.

Uli Steidl Wins North Face Endurance Challenge

German native and former World Junior Mountain Running Champion Uli Steidl (Shoreline, WA) held off a stable of elite trail runners including USATF Ultra Runner of the Year Michael Wardian (Arlington, VA) to win the North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Mile race. The top woman finishing 13th overall was Caitlin Smith (Oakland, CA).

Tim Monaco (Bend, OR) and Jaime Vanacore (Petaluma, CA) won the 50k race. Sam Volkman (San Francisco, CA) and Allie Bigelow (Martinez, CA) won the half marathon race. Jared Fischer (Gilbert, CA) and Jenny Wong (Oakland, CA) won the 10k race.

You can find complete results here.

Staff Named for 2010 U.S. Mountain Running Team

The 2010 U.S. Mountain Running Team will travel to Kamnik, Slovenia, to compete in the 26th World Mountain Running Championships on September 5. A seasoned staff that collectively has more than 30 years experience in team management will accompany the team at next year’s events.

“We are pleased to announce our team staff that will be on hand to help our team members reach their goals and perform to the best of their abilities in Slovenia this September. For the first time our national team will receive financial support from our national governing body. We will work with Jim Estes and the National Office staff to develop additional funding sources with the goal of fully funding our U.S. National Team in 2010,”
said USATF’s Mountain Ultra Trail Running Council Chairperson Nancy Hobbs.

Richard Bolt, Portland, OR, has been named Team Leader for the eighth consecutive year. Prior to 2003 Bolt was an athlete member of the team in 1999 and 2002. He was the third U.S. finisher at the 1999 World Trophy and at the 1999 Challenge Stellina Race in Susa, Italy. Bolt has been a top finisher in the USATF New England mountain running circuit from 1996 through 2005 as well a regular top ten finisher at the prestigious Mt. Washington Hill Climb. Bolt also competed in the 1992, 1994, and 1998 U.S. Olympic Trials and was an All-American Nordic skier. Bolt is a former member of USATF’s New England Board of Governors, and now represents Mountain Ultra Trail on the USATF Oregon long distance running committee and just received the 2008 USATF Scott Hamilton Award from the Men’s Long Distance Running Committee for his volunteer service. Bolt serves as the men’s mountain rep to the USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Council. “I'm very excited about joining the team staff again in 2010. With USATF at the core of the new team funding structure, we are poised to build on the medal-winning performances of the past several years,” said Bolt. Email: richard dot bolt at usmrt dot com

Paul Kirsch, Madison, NH, has been named Team Manager of the Junior Team taking over the reins from Dave Dunham who has worked with the team the past four years. Kirsch was named the 2009 USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Running Contributor of the Year. He was the race director for NACAC/USA Mountain Running Championships where one of his duties was to coordinate housing and transportation for elite athletes (more than 30 in total from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico). Kirsch serves as the USATF-NE Mountain Ultra Trail Chairperson. He provides website design and maintenance for the US Mountain Running Team website & blog (usmrt.com). “I am really pleased to be managing the junior teams in 2010. Dave Dunham has done a tremendous job in recruiting athletes and providing them support the past few years. I look forward to taking up where Dave left off so we can continue the great success the junior athletes have experienced,” said Kirsch. Email: pkirsch at roadrunner dot com

Ellen Miller, Vail, CO, will be the women’s manager for the fifth year. She is an accomplished athlete and coach with an extensive background in high altitude mountaineering. Miller has successfully summitted Mt. Everest two times. She was named Colorado Sportswoman of the Year 2002. She competed on the Fila Skyrunning Team and qualified for events in Europe and Tibet and also competed internationally as a professional adventure racer. She was the 2005 USATF Masters Marathon Trail Running Champion, is a Level 2 USATF Coach, and founded the “Mountain Divas,” a women’s sports program in Vail which she presently directs. “I am very excited and honored to be working with the U.S. Women's Mountain Running Team for the fifth consecutive year. During the past few years, our women's team has proven that we belong on the podium at the World Championships. As our qualifying races continue to attract the top female mountain runners in the USA, I have high hopes that our team will once again be World Champions,” said Miller. Email alpineellen at gmail dot com

The Mount Washington Road Race in Gorham, NH, boasting nearly 5,000 feet of elevation gain over 7.6 miles, will host the selection race for the 2010 team on June 19. The event will serve as the 2010 USA Mountain Running Championships. For results from the 2009 World Mountain Running Championships, information on the 2010 mountain running selection race, and to follow the progress of our mountain running program visit the websites listed below:

US Mountain Running Team - www.usmrt.com
World Mountain Running Association - www.wmra.info
USA Track & Field - www.usatf.org
USA Mountain Running Championships - www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com
American Trail Running Association - www.trailrunner.com

2010 USA National Championships announced for Mountain, Ultra & Trail Running

The USA Track & Field's Mountain, Ultra & Trail Running Sport Council awarded 2010 National Championships to the following races:

3/7/2010 - USA 50km Road Champs - Caumsett, Long Island, NY
4/7/2010 - USA 100km Road Champs - Madison, WI
6/12/2010 - USA 1/2 Marathon Trail Champs - Bend, OR
6/19/2010 - USA Mountain Champs - Gorham, NH
7/31/2010 - USA 100M Trail Champs - Burning River, OH
7/31/2010 - USA 50M Trail Champs - White River, WA
7/31/2010 - USA 15km Trail Champs - Spokane, WA
8/25/2010 - USA 10km Trail Champs - Laurel Springs, NC
9/25/2010 - USA 50km Trail Champs - Bend, OR
10/16/2010 - USA 50M Road Champs - State College/Boalsburg, PA
11/6/2010 - USA Marathon Trail Champs - Ashland, OR

New for 2010 there will be a USATF Trail Championship Grand Prix series made up of the four sub-ultra races: 10k, Half-Marathon, 15k and Marathon. Stay tuned for info on awards and how the series scoring will work.