This Week In Running (Week of June 13 & 14)

Welcome back to another edition of This Week In Running, where today we preview just a handful of the races/events taking place on the weekend of Saturday June 13 and Sunday, June 14, 2009. We previously mentioned that TWIR was working on some new features for its weekly TWIR post. Today we will start with one that we hope becomes a fixture – results from last weeks events (depending, of course, on the availability of race results at the time of posting).

Results
We begin with the results of the Kettle Moraine 100 Endurance Runs, which took place last Saturday in La Grange, Wisconsin. Can you say bye-bye course record ? Eric Clifton’s course record of 15:57:09 set in 1999 was shattered by 29 year old Zach Gingerich. Gingerich led comfortably from the get-go en route to a 15:17:31 finish time. His closest competitor finished over 2 hours later. The battle for second place was much, much closer then the fight for first, with Scott Klopfenstein (17:34:18) edging out Josh Miller (17:38:31) by a mere 4 minutes. David Ruttum (18:20:55) came in 4th place and Kyle Amos (18:34:01) rounded out the top 5. On the women’s side, it wasn’t close either. 45 year old Jenny Chow dominated the women’s field with a 20:26:54 finish. Julie Treder (23:21:12) came in 2nd, Kathleen Yarger (23:57:53) third, and Deb Johnson (24:34:48) fourth.

The results of the San Diego 100 Mile Endurance Run (run entirely on fire roads and single track trail with only a 50% completion rate) are in, and what a race it was. The top 3 men finished within 8 minutes of each other, with Ben Hian (18:15:45) taking first. Hian was followed by Tom Nielsen (18:21:35) and Keys 100 winner Brian Krogmann (18:23:27). The women’s side was close as well, with Suzanna Bon (19:31:19 – new course record!) taking first, followed by Jane Larkindale (21:04:57) and Angela Shartel (21:17:55).

Upcoming Races
The PCTR Lake Merritt Half Day (6 and 12 Hour Events) takes place on Saturday, June 13 at 7:00 A.M. in Lakeside Park, Lake Merritt, Oakland, California. The course is a 3.1 mile loop around Lake Merritt, the nation’s largest urban saltwater lake (155 acres) and the nation’s oldest wildlife preserve. 70% of this “flat” course is dirt, with the other 30% being asphalt path. The 6-hour run will cost you $60, but, if you enter the 12-hour you get the second 6-hours at half price ($90 total). Patagonia Capilene shirts (12 Hour), Dri-release shirts (6-Hour) and plenty of goodies from Zombie Runner will be given to all runners.
The 4th Annual Hawthorn Half Day Relay and Ultra (Saturday, June 13 in Terre Haute, Indiana) is described as “something different in running.” Runners get 12 hours to run as many miles as they can, with awards for reaching the different milage goals and for the top teams and individuals. The course consists of a 5k loop that takes runners around lakes and through woods. For relay teams, “you get to set up camp in one beautiful location. No rushing from point to point, here you get to relax, shower, and maybe even grill some food.” For individuals, “you get an all day cheering section and an aid station that is never far”.

The Lake Youngs Ultra (Saturday, June 13 in Renton, Washington) will give give a free pair of Brooks running shoes to the male and female winners…..if they break the course record. The men’s course record is held by Brett Winegar (2:58:39) and the women’s course record is held by Monica Ochs (3:40:03). The course is an unpaved regional trail loop (9.6 loop run 3 times for a total of 28.8 miles) around Lake Youngs, with rolling hills (mostly). It is very fast (less than 900 feet elevation gain per loop), 40 meters of pavement, an aid station at the end of each loop, and the now famous BBQ at the finish.

The Bethel Hill Moonlight Boogie (Saturday, June 13 at 6:00 PM in Ellerbe, North Carolina) offers both a 50-miler and a “Boogie Marathon”. The course for the 50-miler consists of 5 repeated 6-mile loops, and a 4-mile out-and-back. Rural, paved roads with several long hills and a few smaller ones – it isn’t mountainous, but it isn’t flat either. The course for the “Boogie Marathon” is the same as the 50-mile course, but with fewer repeats and a short out-and-back at the start. You have to love the “Marathoners Beware” warning issued by the race directors :

“This is not your normal marathon. This is rural, not a city marathon. The course is not certified. You will be in the middle of nowhere all the time with no porta-potties, no splits, no mile markers, no spectators, and late in the run possibly even no other runners. There are only 6 houses on the course and they have dogs. Aid stops are over 5 miles apart, so you will need to carry a water bottle. If you decide to quit, there are no pick-up vans, so you will either have to walk to the aid station or hitch a ride with somebody. The race will start at 6 pm and the temperature will probably be about 85 degrees with little shade. Darkness comes about 9 pm and there are no street lights. You will need a light for the reasons cited in the waiver. If you need to be catered to every couple of miles along the course or worry about running in the dark, perhaps you should not come. We really have seen everything listed in the waiver except the polecats and they are there too. The drop out rate among veteran 50-milers is usually 40% or so. Think long and hard before you enter this event. If Lao-tzu were to give advice about this event he would say, “Come with no expectations and you will not be disappointed.”

Also taking place this weekend, the Laurel Highl
ands Ultras (Saturday, June 13) (see iRF’s partial LHU race report from 2007) and the Holcomb Valley 33 and 15 Mile Trail Runs (Sunday, June 14). You can head on over to those web-sites for more detailed information about each event.

That will wrap things up for this week. Remember, you can directly participate in TWIR by suggesting races/events to be included in an edition of TWIR. We don’t include each and every possible race/event in TWIR posts (there just isn’t enough time in our broadcast schedule), but if you know of one that you want included, let us know and we will throw it in. Happy running !

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Anthony Portera a contributing author to iRunFar.com.
All posts by Anthony Portera