David Laney Completes the Double

Having won the Ashland Hill Climb on Saturday, David Laney made the 6 hour drive north for a repeat performance on Sunday, winning the Timberline Mountain Run.

Thanks to everyone for coming out for a great race and kudos to Bryan and his crew for putting on such  great race!!


I will have the complete rankings for the series up as soon as I can.

Timberline Mountain Run Start

A cool morning with scattered clouds and a breeze greeted runners in this mornings Timberline Mountain Run. After winning the Ashland Hill Climb Run yesterday in Ashland (a 6 hr drive south of here), David Laney was among the first off the line.

Ashland Hill Climb a Big Success!

David Laney and Becka Kem overcame any issues with what little lingering smoke there was to win the Men's and Women's open at the Ashland Hill Climb.

As he does every year, Torsten put on a fantastic event., It was up in the air (literally) if the race would be held. Several large forest fires close to Ashland had pushed the air quality index well into the unhealthy zone by Thursday. Fortunately, cooler weather and a bit of rain, as well as a shift in the wind cleared the smoke by race morning. It was a nail biter for Torsten who ultimately had to make the call on Friday to hold or cancel, just part of the behind the scenes trials and tribulations that race directors face. So many thanks to Torsten and his whole crew for persevering and getting it done!!

My only tribulations involved the SD card in my fancy new camera which got zapped and I have no pictures of the event.

Now with two races in the series completed, I will be tallying rankings in the next day or so and posting them here. Today I'm up at Mt Hood for the Timberline Trail Run. A few intrepid souls who ran Ashland yesterday came up for the race today.

Package Pickup Time for Ashland

Time to pick up your race packet at Rogue Valley Runners. Smoke has really started to clear out and things are looking up for tomorrow's race!

Timberline Mountain Run on Sunday

After tomorrow's Ashland Hill Climb, the second event in the weekend double is the Timberline Mountain Run. I'll be packing up here Saturday and hauling up to Mt. Hood for Sundays race. See you there!

http://www.timberlinetrail.com/

Race is on !

Looks like the race is going to happen!! Please see the official site for details. The race director reserves the right to cancel at the last minutehttp://www.mtashlandrun.com/.

Preliminary Race Report: Granite Man

Beautiful weather and a great course greeted runners at Sunday's Granite Man 10 mile Mountain Race.

A Fast Start, David Laney takes out the pack around Applegate Lake

David Laney, 24, of Ashland handily won the men's open division in a time of 1:11:19. Along with the overall prize money from the race organization, David took home an extra $100 and a pair of shoes thanks to La Sportiva. If you have not heard of David before, you will likely hear more of him the future. In April, David won the Eugene Marathon. If you live near Ashland and shop at Rogue Valley Runners, you will probably see David in the store helping customers make the best choices in running gear.

David Laney Takes the Win

David will be competing in the rest of the ORMS series and also plans on going to the USATF Mountain Running Championships in Cranmore, NH in July.

David Laney at the USATF / La Sportiva Tent

Justin Ricks of Team La Sportiva, finished a strong third overall and first in the men's 30-34 division with a time of 1:13:39.

Justin Ricks Finishes Strong

Don Gallogly, also of Team La Sportiva came in 9th overall with a time of 1:23:10 to take first in the 40-45 men's division.

Don at the Tent

Jenn Shelton of Ashland took the women's overall win in a time 1:23:45. Jenn had remembered to renew her USATF membership just the night before the race. Remember you need to be a USATF member to qualify for the additional prize money.

Jenn Shelton Takes the Win

Jenn stopped by the tent to collect her $100 check and certificate for La Sportiva shoes which she has been wanting to try. We will miss Jenn as she is due to move to Colorado soon.

Jenn's in a good mood after taking the win, the cash, and the shoes!

Thanks to everyone who made the race a great event. I will have complete results and the current ORMS rankings up as soon as I can get everything organized. Ashland is coming up, better hit the hills!

Granite Man Countdown

Just 5 days until the first race in this year's Oregon Mountain Running Series! You still have time to register online (until midnight on 5/30) for $25. Race day registration will be available for an additional $15, but why wait.

Weather is looking great with ehe rain clearing out by Thursday. By Sunday, it will be sunny and warm so prepare accordingly. I am nursing a hamstring strain and will not be racing but will be there to witness the race and festivities and try out my new digital camera. There will be an OMRS tent setup near the registration area, so please stop by. I'll be handing out raffle tickets and checking on USATF eligibility. Bring your USATF card if you have it. If not please go online to the USATF website and look yourself up, then print the page with your info and USATF #. This will make it a lot easier for me come race time.

The top placing male and female USATF eligible runners will win $100 each as well as certificates for La Sportiva shoes! There will also be a raffle for another shoe certificate. You will need to be there to win.

Smith Rock Pulled from OMRS

The race at Smith Rock tomorrow (April 27th) will not be part of the ORMS after all. The change is completely my fault. As La Sportiva is one of our sponsors, this conflicts with Smith Rock having Altra as their shoe sponsor. Todd has worked very hard to put together a great race and gathered a strong set of sponsors and I do not want to cause any harm to his efforts.

For those who are already signed up to go to Smith Rock, I will be contacting the highest finishing USATF eligible runners to make amends for my error.

Again I apologize to Todd and everyone else as this was my mistake in not properly communicating with Todd, the race director at Smith Rock. This is my first year organizing the ORMS series and I figured there would be a few hiccups.

I have communicated with all the other race directors All the other races on the schedule remain as planned.

Anyone with questions or comments, please email me at ryerex@robert-yerex.com

Robert Yerex

Smith Rock Ascent Countdown!

The first race of the 2013 Oregon Mountain Running Series is fast approaching. The Smith Rock Ascent, a new race, looks to be an excellent opportunity for early season competition. Registration is open thru April 25th. For details, see Smith Rock Ascent.

Robert Yerex
USATF Oregon
MUT Coordinator

Registration for Ashland Opens April 20th, Will Fill Fast!

The third race in the Oregon Mountain Running Series is the venerable Mt Ashland Hillclimb Run. Registration opens tomorrow, April 20th and will fill up fast so you best set your alarm and get on it early!

Robert Yerex
USATF Oregon
MUT Coordination

Max King Sets Record at Way Too Cool

Oregon based ultra runner Max King again shows why he's among the best. For the story in the Auburn Journal click through at Auburn Journal

Oregon Mountain Running Series for 2013

I am putting the finishing touches on the plans for this summer's race series and will post the schedule by early next week. There will be at least 5 races, and possibly 6. La Sportiva has again been very generous in their support. Look for details soon!