2008 Massanutten 100 – Women's Race Preview
May 13, 2008 by Bryon Powell · 4 Comments
While women’s field at this year’s Massanutten 100 does not have the numbers the men’s field does (20 ladies in the race versus 140 lads), it promises to be an interesting race in its own way. With so many very talented men in the race, someone is going to end up nailing a fast time for the win. The tiny women’s field means it’s actually much more wide open. A speedster could run away from the field, a long shot could nail it, or slow and steady could win the race. Be prepared to follow this weekend’s action with iRunFar’s 2008 MMT 100 Women’s Racecard. [Get your Men's MMT Racecard here.]
- #8 - Janine Baker - Ran a 9:54 at Mountain Masochist and 9:58 at Collegiate Peaks last year. Has speed at shorter distances. Living in Colorado should help her cause.
- #20 - Kari Brown - Kari was second at last year’s MMT with a time of 30:30, but gets the nod for her 5:07 Seneca Greenway 50k performance this March.
- #111 - Kerry Owens - From 2004 through 2006, Kerry’s MMT times improved from 29:09 to 28:41 to 26:39 – times good enough for second, third, and third place finishes respectively. Owens has many solid finishes at numerous rugged 100 mile racers. She is tough, experienced, and knows a thing or two about running MMT. A lock for the podium.
- #127 – Eva Rosvold – Eva ran solid times at Bull Run Run (8:43) and JFK (8:17) last year and won the Bel Monte 50 miler this March. Rosvold has two 100 mile finishes to her credit: 26:34 at Kettle Moraine ’04 and 28:41 at Bighorn ’07.
- #140 - Amy Sproston - The speedster in the women’s race. If Amy runs smart and stays upright, the race is hers to lose. So far this year Amy’s won the inaugural Coyote Two Moons 100k and has been second at the Holiday Lake and Promised Land 50ks. Last spring, she won both Bull Run Run 50 miler and the Seneca Greenway 50k. Sproston has a lone 100 mile finish – a 31:21 at Bighorn ’07. She can trim 6+ hours off that if she’s on this weekend.
- #148 – Laurel Valley – Try searching for results for someone named “Laurel Valley” and you’ll come to the point where all you need to know is she ran a 7:04 50 mile back in 2002 and 4:09 50k a year later. Good enough for me to wrap this up and go for a run.
Also worth mentioning for Top 5 contention are Susan Donnelly (#39), Challen Edwards (#41), Lisa Fleming (#47), Jen Foster (#48), Ruthann Helfrick (#67); Inga Olsen (#110). The course is so tough, the field so small, and the competition so open, it may be a good to put bet down on one of these ladies to place. Admittedly, the lack of heat or rain in this weekend’s forecast helps out the more predictable front runners. Bad conditions at MMT = a rocky, chaotic nightmare. A very long nightmare.
And to answer your question, yes, I did try to pare down the “worth mentioning” list, but all the women gave me reason to think they could run a solid enough MMT to go Top 5. To give you perspective, last year the fifth place woman at MMT ran 33:41 with 31:21 taking third. For the record, I think both spots will require significantly faster times this year..
How do you think the women’s race will shake out after all is said and run this weekend?
Related articles:
- 2009 Massanutten 100 – Women's Race Preview We enjoyed predicting last year’s women’s MMT field so much that we’re doing it again. This year’s field features three more ladies than last year (23 vs. 20), and much...
- 2008 Massanutten 100 – Men's Race Preview Race fans get ready, ’cause there’s sure to be some spectacular racing in Virginia’s Massanutten Mountains this weekend! I was excited when the initial field was drawn up in December...
- 2009 Massanutten 100 – Men's Race Preview This year’s MMT 100 men’s race is so competitive and so chock full of friends that we’ve put off writing this preview for well over a week. This year’s race...
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Bryon Powell is the Editor-in-Chief of iRunFar.com, which he founded five years ago. Also the author of Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons and a contributing editor at Trail Runner magazine, he's quickly approaching 10 years as an ultrarunner and 20 years as a trail runner. These days he calls Park City, Utah and its trails home.
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For the record (and since I’m not pacing anyone in this race), I’ll take a stab:
(1) Sproston
(2) Owens
(3) Rosvold
Just in time to make today’s TWIR post – great work.
Tony,
You know that’s what I was shooting for . ;-)
TrailGoat! Awesome reports. BTW check out an interview I posted on the 8 site.
Anywho, although this race may not have the mutants, I have a feeling it will be a more interesting race. A dog fight no less. Each runner seems to have a different way of running a 100. This could be like one of those welter-weight blood bath fights (ala: Arturo Gatti). Like Brennen said. The smell of beers can be a great motivator.
For the women, Owens is tough. I saw her attacking a very similar course in my neck of the woods two years ago (ala: Superior Sawtooth). She seems to be more favorable on these types of courses.
I wish I were out there in the midst of it all that’s for sure. Hopefully next year. If it’s any consolation I am back to healthy since start of April and racing Superior 50km this weekend. (Last 15 miles of the 100mile race course) Just brutal (:
My prediction:
Andrish
Sproston
followed closely by:
Walker
Owens
The youngsters/first timers, although look great on 50km paper, means very little in 100. They will either go bonkers in the beginning for thinking the pace is too slow and try to go fast, or do as I did in my 1st 100 last year and enter the world of unknown (past 50miles) and piss away 5-10 minutes at each aid station for no apparent reason.
fun stuff nonetheless.
Glad to hear the training is going well.