USATF Mountain and Ultra Runners of the Year

Nancy Hobbs has announced the Runners of the Year.  Some are clear winners and maybe some are surprises.  YOUR comments welcome!

#     #     #     #     #

For Release: November 22, 2009
USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Council Announces Runners of the Year

 

The Mountain/Ultra/Trail Running (MUT) Council of long distance running has named the 2009 USATF Mountain Runners of the year, Ultra Runners of the Year, and Contributor of the Year. The following individuals will be recognized at the USATF National Convention in Indianapolis, on Saturday, December 5, at an awards breakfast.

Mountain men open: Joseph Gray, 25, Lakewood, WA, wins his second consecutive USATF Mountain Runner of the Year title. He started out the mountain season in Vail, CO, on the weekend of June 6 running an uphill half marathon (Saturday) and a 10km trail race (Sunday) finishing in third and second respectively. Later that month he finished third at Mount Washington Road Race and won the USA Mountain Running Championships at Cranmore earning a spot on his second Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team.  He was the second U.S. finisher at the World Mountain Championships in Madesimo-Campodolcino, Italy, finishing in 16th place. Gray spent much of the summer in Europe racing and was fifteenth overall in the WMRA Grand Prix standings with only two WMRA Grand Prix race finishes (out of seven) to his credit.

Mountain men master: Dave Dunham, 45, Bradford, MA, took home the gold in the 45-49 at the US Mountain Championships at Mt Cranmore.  He was also the USATF New England champion (45-49) at Northfield Mountain and was the masters USATF NE Mountain running series champion.   Mountain results included: 1st 45-49 at Wachusett Mountain, 1st  40-49 at Pack Monadnock, 1st 45-49 at Northfield Mountain (USATF NE championship), 1st 45-49 at Mt Washington, 1st 45-49 at Mt Cranmore (US National championship), 1st 40-49 at Loon Mountain, 1st 40-49 at Mt Ascutney.  In addition Dave continued to volunteer at the Association and National level.  He was the official scorekeeper for the USATF NE Mountain series, directed multiple trail/mountain races, and served as the manager for the junior runners on the US Mountain team. Dunham was the USATF Mountain Runner of the Year in 2000.

Mountain women open: Brandy Erholtz, 32, Bailey, CO, is a repeat winner in this category having also won in 2008. In June, she finished first at the Native Eyewear Spring Runoff 10k in Vail, first at the Mount Washington Road Race, and finished second at the US Mountain Running Championships and was a member of the gold-medal winning Team USA at the NACAC Mountain Running Championships. She earned an at-large spot on her second Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team and was the top American woman finisher in Italy at the World Mountain Running Championships finishing 10th to lead the U.S. Women to a bronze-medal finish. She finished second at the USA 10km Trail Running Championships. She finished fifth at the Cheyenne Canon Mountain Race, first at the Barr Mountain Trail Race where she set a new women’s course record, and won the VAC Vail Mountain Winter Uphill Snowshoe. She was first at the Montrose 10k uphill road race setting a course record and in international competition in Switzerland raced to a third-place finish at Thyon-Dixence, and fifth place at Sierre-Zinal, (top US finisher at both of these events).

Mountain women master: Laura Haefeli, 42, Del Norte, CO, was the 2004 and 2005 open mountain runner of the year and has earned masters’ recognition for the second consecutive year.  She finished third overall at the Cheyenne Canon Mountain Race, was second in the Native Eyewear Spring Runoff 10k in Vail, and was the USA National Mountain Running Masters champion and a member of the gold-medal US Team at the NACAC Mountain Running championships.

Ultra men open: Michael Wardian, 35, Arlington, VA, wins his second consecutive Ted Corbitt Memorial USATF Ultra Runner of the Year Award in 2009. Wardian finished ninth at the 2008 (November 2008) IAU World Cup 100km in Tarquina, Italy, and at the 2009 IAU World Cup 100km in, Torhout, Beligum, he finished in sixth position and was the first US finisher.  Wardian earned a bronze medal at the IAU 50km World Championships in Gibraltar and was the first US Finisher.  He was the US 50km Road National Champion, and the US 50 Mile Trail Champion. Wardian showed his prowess in shorter distance competition with his finish at the US Cross Country National Championships in 46th place overall.  At the Marathon Des Sables-Sahara Desert, Morocco, Wardian finished in eighth place overall which was the highest finish ever by a U.S. competitor.  He was fifteenth overall at Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, just eight days after finishing sixth overall in the IAU World Cup 100km. He posted a third place finish at The North Face Endurance Challenge-50 Miler, Washington, DC and ran eight marathons in 2009 and set a PR in the marathon in 2009 of 2:21:09.

Ultra men master: Roy Pirrung, 61, Sheboygan, WI, is a repeat winner in this category having won this award in 2007 and 2008. Pirrung’s results included in November 2008, first 60-64 finisher and a pending 60-64 American record in the open race held concurrently with the IAU World Cup 100km in Italy, and at the 24 Hour Championships in McKinney, TX, a fifth place overall, first 60-64. In 2009 Pirrung won his age group at the following events, the USA 50km Road Championships, the Mad City 50km, the Door County Fall 50-mile, and the Ice Age Trail 50-mile. He finished second in his age group at both the USA 50 Mile Trail Championships and the USA 100km Trail Championships. The Door County 50 was Pirrung’s 150th Ultra race. Pirrung serves as the vice-chairperson of the USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Running Council and is active in his local USATF association.

Ultra women open: Kami Semick, 43, Bend, OR, is the Ruth Anderson USATF Ultra Runner of the Year 2009 having posted an outstanding year on the road and trails. She was the USA 50km Road Champion, and the USA 50 Mile Trail Champion.  At the IAU World 50km Road Championships Semick finished first overall. Semick won the individual gold medal at the IAU World Cup 100km to lead Team USA to a gold-medal performance. She also won the American River 50 mile and the Miwok 100k. In addition in 2008 at the IAU World Cup 100km Semick earned a silver medal to lead Team USA to a silver-medal podium appearance.

Ultra women master: Anita Ortiz, 45, Eagle, CO, won the Moab Red Hot 50k,  was first at 12 hours of Moab (team race), finished second at the Miwok 100km, turned in an outstanding first place finish (setting a “rookie” record) at Western States 100 Miler. She won the Pikes Peak Marathon and finished first at the San Juan Solstice 50 mile. Ortiz was a two-time USATF Mountain Runner of the Year (2002 and 2003) and two-time USATF Masters Mountian Runner of the Year (2004 and 2007).

Contributor of the Year – Paul Kirsch. Kirsch was the race director for NACAC/USA Mountain Running Champs 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). He headed up the USATF-NE Mountain Running Circuit which saw increased participation this year, and he was the Co-Race Director for the Loon Mountain Race.  He also coordinated housing and transportation for elite athletes for the Mount Washington Race.  He successfully recruited the Rhode Island 6 Hour Ultra to be USATF-NE Ultra Championships and attended as volunteer liaison from the mountain ultra trail council of USATF NE. Kirsch is President of the White Mountain Milers Running Club. He served as race director for the Inov-8 Summer Series in North Conway, NH, and the USSSA Snowshoe Race (National Champs Qualifier).  He provided timing/results and course setup for a number of races in New England near his home in Madison, NH.

In order to be considered for the USATF Mountain and Ultra running awards an athlete must show top results in U.S. competitions for 2009 (November 1, 2008 through October 31, 2009) to include mountain races (these may be on paved/gravel surfaces as long as there is significant elevation loss or gain) and trail races of varying lengths, as well as road races for the ultra category (distances beyond the marathon). International results are also considered. The nominee must be an ambassador for the sport.  Nominee must be a USATF member for 2009, and to be considered for the masters’ category athlete must be a minimum of 40 years of age. For a list of past winners in the other categories, please visit www.usatf.org.

Trailrun Worldmasters – Dortmund Germany

I meant to give an update before the race was over, but so it goes. I arrived at the Frankfurt airport to meet Mike Smith (male overall winner from Transrockies), his girlfriend Leea, and David (Gore marketer) who was kind enough to drive us to Dortmund (2hrs north). Everyone passed out in the car while with the exception of David. We spent the day resting and in the evening met a few folks from Plan B, the organization that was putting on the event. The next day, I slept and then Mike and I got to go interview with the local newspaper and pick up our race stuff.

On November 6th, we had our first race of three, a 5.1k. I was so nervous for this race (super crazy anxiety dream the night before, that’s how nervous I was), especially as they had me starting #5, right behind Mike (a 2:19 marathoner!). Anyhow I rolled with it, but 20:12 was the best I could manage, which put me in fourth place. The course was a bit like running through a construction site and my descriptions really won’t give it justice. There was a rope for the first steep, short climb a couple minutes into the race. We had a pasta party that followed and again sleep was on the agenda. At 2 am, my body decided sleep was not on the agenda and I spent 3 hours wide-awake. I tried not to stress and just knew it was my body trying to adjust to the time change.

Start of the 5k

50K World Trophy Championships

Jess and I headed to Bradley International Airport Wednesday night to catch our flight. We were greeted with what the associate called, “Bad news and worse news”. First, our connector flight to Philly was 5 hours delayed and wouldn’t be here until 9pm. OK, we can wait. The worse news is the flight from Philly leaves for Spain at 7pm. The only solution was to drive to Boston in rush hour traffic and catch a British Airways flight to London. We made it and got to Malaga Spain the next day. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to inform anyone about the schedule change, so, although we were close, we were still a 2 hour car ride from Gibraltar with no car. We ended up paying 150 Euro to get to customs and another 10 do get to the Europa Retreat Center once we were in Gibraltar. We finally made it late Thursday night, extremely stressed and tired. We were taken to our room where we proceeded to sleep 13 hours straight.

Southern Oregon hosts 2009 USA Track & Field Trail Marathon Championships

PRESS RELEASE:

Runners can expect much more than the standard marathon “bonk” at this year’s USA Track & Field Trail Marathon Championships. Runners will face an initial eight-mile, 3,200-foot ascent through the steep Siskiyou Mountains that shadow the southern Oregon town of Ashland. The trails and fire roads do flatten out for twelve miles in the middle of the race but maintaining pace may become difficult at the oxygen deprived 5,000 foot level. The final six miles and 3,000 feet of descent will test even the strongest of quads as runners descend on technical single track to the race’s finish at Ashland’s town center, Lithia Park.

Off to Germany…

I am off for a race in Germany, the first ever Windstopper Trailrun Worldmasters. So first things first, those who were seeking more information on Germany can find an english version here. Here is what I know, I will be flying from SFO to Frankfurt on November 3rd. I’ll be picked up from the airport and taken to Dortmund where I’ll take part in a three day staged race. On November 6th, I will do my shortest race since high school, less than a 5k! Day 2, I’ve got 35k and climbing (ummm, yes I do think this will be my favorite day… yup pretty sure in fact). And day 3, a 20k followed by some good German beer, I assume.

Surprise, surprise, I am nervous, anxious, looking forward to enjoying what I love to do in a new place. I really have no clue what to expect. I don’t really know many folks that will be there. Luminita Zaituc will be racing. And two people from Transrockies will be there as well. It is going to be an experience. Bring on the adventure, 11 hour flight, and my favorite, running!  More to come once I am in Germany…

SF Nike Women’s Marathon

Photo courtesy of SFGate

Photo courtesy of SFGate

Did yesterday really happen? Here is my recollection. Waking up, eating, putting on my gear (and yes I wore a pair of my trail shoes, La Sportiva Skylites). Next I arrived at the start, nervous, excited, typical prior race feelings. Then we started running. I kept a fast, but comfortable pace. When I arrived at mile one in 6 minutes I realized I needed to settle in a bit more. There I was leading the race, the pace car in front of me, motorcycles by my side, and the nicest woman ever biking near by. She kept being blown away by my climbing. Hills yes SF has them, but they are not like running up a mountain. And I explained that I loved to run up mountains. Before I knew it I was at mile 10. I was in disbelief that I was still leading. A couple 1/2 marathoners cruised past and I was sad when they turned off to finish. Where was everyone else I thought? I came through the half way mark on target for a 2:51. I just kept breathing and enjoyed the encouragement from people I knew, people I didn’t know, and seeing all the other women out there running, smiling, and achieving their goals. As I came into mile 17 I saw Rick Gaston. I was so excited to see a fellow trail runner and grabbing a water at the same time turned into a bad mix. I fell. All these times running on trails with roots and rocks and I fall running on a road, go figure. I jumped back up and started running, everyone cheered. It took a bit to get back into a groove, but I did. I slowed down a bit in those last 8/9 miles, but just tried to stay consistent. My legs are not trained for the faster leg turnover and I think they were a bit confused. At around mile 20, I started to realize I might win. Honestly I got a bit freaked out, but once again I just settled in and enjoyed calculating my finish time in my head. I knew if I just stayed at my current pace I would run under 3 hours. Before I knew it there was mile 25 and I thought holy shit this is really happening. I am really going to finish first and all those people are going crazy for me. Part of me wanted to cry, smile, and laugh all at the same time. I crossed through the banner in 2:58 and I was greeted by Joan Benoit Samuelson ,Kara Goucher, my boy, Ed, and a crew of paparazzi. I got my knees cleaned up and then got to spend time with a few other top finishers. Everyone was so nice and down to earth, got to love that! I got to celebrate in the afternoon with friends. I have to say it was a good day. Every time I run I am blown away by how much I love it. By how much potential there is in all of us. By the strength of consistency, trust, and acceptance. And thanks everyone for the super kind words and enthusiasm!!!! Hope all the other women felt that out there yesterday too!

SFGate
In Entertainment
Examiner

Blisters – Don’t treat them, prevent them!

NEW on our Mountainrunning Blog – A series of 5 presentations on common running injuries, written by Dr Jeremy Rodgers.

First is “Blister proofing Your Feet”. These eight suggestions are great advice for runners (and hikers and climbers) from an experienced sports medicine professional.

Golden Hills Trail Marathon and Firetrails 50

The Golden Hills Trail Marathon and Dick Collins Firetrails 50 are classic Bay Area trail races in the awesome trails of the East Bay hills.  Race directors Ann Trason and Carl Andersen do a fantastic job organizing this event. One of my favorite aspects is the post-race BBQ party with burgers and hot dogs to order, soups, and a dessert table with pies, gelato, cookies, and other sweets. All the participants seemed to be very happy to enjoy a great picnic with fellow runners and family on a gorgeous fall day – the weather was perfect with foggy conditions at the beginning yielding to sunny skies and pleasant temperatures in the upper 50s and low 60s.

2009 Oregon Mountain Running Series Final Scoring

The second annual La Sportiva / USATF-Oregon Mountain Running Series is complete and the final scoring compiled. Ashland’s Ian Torrence (pictured) leads the points total thanks to his speedy legs and attendance at 4 of the 5 races. Taking the masters title was new USATF member Donald Gallogly (Corvallis, OR) who was the only other runner to also complete 4 races. Just to review, the series races were:

May 2 – Larison Rock Hillclimb (Oakridge)
June 6 – Graniteman Mountain Run (Jacksonville)
August 1 – Mt. Ashland Hillclimb (Ashland)
August 16 – Great Northwest Mountain Run (Mt. Hood)
September 5 – Sunrise to Summit (Mt. Bachelor)

Thanks to the generosity of our title sponsor La Sportiva, every USATF member who scored points in the series (listed below) will get a FREE pair of trail running shoes! For collecting the highest points total, Ian Torrance will also receive a mystery prize from my swag bag. Congrats also to our other age group / gender winners Jenn Shelton (Open Female), Chuck Whiteley (50-59 Male), Susanna Beck (Masters Female) and Dusty Miller (60-69 Male).

Name	Age Group	Sex	City	TOTAL
Ian Torrence	0 – 39 (Open)	M	Ashland, OR	349.12
DON GALLOGLY	40 – 49	M	Corvallis, OR	314.64
Erik Skaggs	0 – 39 (Open)	M	Ashland, OR	296.40
Jenn Shelton	0 – 39 (Open)	F	Ashland, OR	154.89
Chuck Whiteley	50 – 59	M	Medford, OR	119.69
Max King	0 – 39 (Open)	M	Bend, OR	100.00
Joe Gray	0 – 39 (Open)	M	Lakewood, WA	100.00
Hal Koerner	0 – 39 (Open)	M	Ashland, OR	90.11
Richard Bolt	0 – 39 (Open)	M	Portland, OR	90.00
Susanna Beck	40 – 49	F	Eugene, OR	77.49
Bill Montgomery	40 – 49	M	Eugene, OR	72.60
Megan Arbogast	40 – 49	F	Corvallis, OR	72.27
Mike Davis	40 – 49	M	Talent, OR	67.64
Scott Abrams	50 – 59	M	La Pine, OR	67.42
Tyler Jones	0 – 39 (Open)	M	Bend, OR	60.62
Dusty Miller	60 – 69	M	Mt. Shasta, CA	54.50
Nick Campbell	40 – 49	M	Sunriver, OR	53.91

Did you miss all the racing action?  You can still check out race photos by clicking the following links:

Larison Rock Hillclimb (Oakridge)
Graniteman Mountain Run (Jacksonville)
Mt. Ashland Hillclimb (Ashland)
Great Northwest Mountain Run (Mt. Hood)
Sunrise to Summit (Mt. Bachelor) – ooops, I wasn’t there.

Stay tuned for information about next years series.  Most races in the series should be back next year.  In addition, we’re working to bring a selection race for the US Mountain Running Team to Oregon with the goal of having prize money and making it part of the 2010 Oregon Mountain Running Series.

Thanks to all the hard work of the race directors for putting these unique and scenic races together.  Also thank you to all the runners without whom we’d be sitting around watching grass grow……or something.

Making Dreams Come True

Earlier this year I wrote that I wanted to chase a bear until it chased me back.

This almost happened.  I chased (actually, quietly stalked) this bear to get a good picture along the Snake River below the Tetons.  What I didn’t know was that there was another bear hidden in the trees 30 feet away from where I was stalking!  He started snorting and breaking all sorts of large branches, which I took as a sign to get the heck out of there!  I think he saw me the whole time I was sneaking up on his mate.

This is not something I typically tell everyone about, but after a lot of races, and sometimes before, I go in search of wildlife.  Earlier this year I mentioned to Buzz a quick list of animals I wanted to see or come in contact with this year, and after another racing season is winding down, I realized that I got to see most all of the animals I mentioned.