Central Oregon, Central US, and Central Southwest

Vegas wasn't the only thing going on lately. During the past few weeks several other Rogue Valley Runners took it upon themselves to travel to races far from home.

John Leuthold

John Leuthold made the trip to Eugene to battle it out in a large masters' field at the Pre's Trail Cross-Country Challenge. John took the lead early in the Five Kilometer Masters/Seniors Race and won in a commanding 17:02; 22 seconds ahead of his closet rival.

Joe Griffin

Joe Griffin made his way a little further north to Corvallis and the Peavy Arboretum for the MacDonald Forest 15 Kilometer Trail Run. Joe placed 17th out of 275 runners in 1:06:05. That time placed Joe third in the masters division.

New Rogue Valley Runner store employee, Kyle Skaggs, travelled further than anyone else this past weekend. Kyle jumped a plane to Springfield, MO for the Dogwood Canyon 50 Kilometer Trail Race. Kyle tied for first with his good friend Tony Krupicka in 3:48:58. They happily split the $1000 in prize money.

Here a photo of Kyle (wearing green and looking down) and Tony (wearing black) from Travis Liles Blog report of the race.


And though it wasn't a race Jenn Shelton, after her win at the World of Hurt 50 Kilometer Trail Race, celebrated at the equinoctial epicenter of geology; The Grand Canyon. Here's a good picture of her performing the infamous Grand Canyon Leap as she traveled from the Colorado River and back.



Nice work everybody!

Hurtin' in Las Vegas

Morning sun on the first climb.

Hal Koerner wins again.

Hal Koerner makes it look easy on his way to victory.

Jenn Shelton cheers as she leads Jurek and Torrence over the first climb.

Carly Varner is all smiles on her way to prize money.

Far from the bright lit, sky-scraping, air-conditioned casinos is a place called Bootleg Canyon. You can see The Las Vegas Strip from Bootleg, but as this band of Rogue Valley Runners experienced first hand, it's a far cry from the plush hotel rooms that await most visitors when they arrive in southern Nevada's Sin City.

The objective was a race called the World of Hurt. The race lived up to it's name. Thirty-four miles of rocky, volcanic, technical single track. For those who were smarter, a 25 Kilometer loop was offered. The Mojave Desert heat added to the difficulty of the event. Temperatures would reach 85 degrees, and without any vegetation higher than your knees, shade would become a long lost dream.

In the women's 34-mile event, Jenn Shelton and Carly Varner, both from Ashland, would tackle the course with success. In fact, they would be the only lady finishers for the distance. That earned them $500 and $300 respectively in prize money.

In the men's 34-mile race a small, but competitive field gathered. Ashland's Hal Koerner, RVR store owner and last year's World of Hurt winner, would attempt to defend his title. Trying to unseat the thrown sitter were last year's runner-up, Josh Brimhall, Seattle's Scott Jurek, Colorado's Justin Ricks and Ashland resident and RVR employee Ian Torrence.

After the dust had cleared Koerner retained his crown, earned $500 in prize money and watched as most of the competition fell to the wayside during the second lap of the race. Jurek would continue to hang in for third place.

Scott Jurek leads Ian Torrence on a rocky section during the first lap.

Maria Clementi runs the 25K.

The Group. (standing l to r) Race Director Eric Herdman, Josh Brimhall, Scott Jurek, Hillary Noel, Hal Koerner, Carly Varner, Jenn Shelton (kneeling l to r) Maria Clementi, Ian Torrence

Full race results can be found here.

A special thanks to Tarl and Carrie Norman for most of the photography.

Mt. McLoughlin VS. Team RVR

Early Wednesday morning...I mean real early, a hardy crew of Rogue Valley Runners ventured north in hopes of summiting nearby Mt. McLoughlin. Rising high out of the verdent landscape below McLoughlin tops out at over 9,000 feet. In hopes of getting a few flat warm up miles Team RVR parked just off Highway 140 at a trailhead offering direct access to the Pacific Crest Trail. Fueled with coffee, Mountain Dew, and hope the team did eventually summit and the view from the top was fabulous. Presented below are several key photographs which capture the spirit of the endeavor as well as some good lookin' Ashlanders.


Danceparty!...Jenn and Kyle break it down on the summit


Man, Kyle's hair looks good...and he knows it


PCT...the "T" got confused

Going the Distance in October

A number of Rogue Valley runners went the distance this month. Here's a recap of some of this month's major marathons, and we'll throw in an ultra just for good measure.

More than 7,800 runners braved the rain at the Portland Marathon (10/5/08).
Here's a list of the local finishers:

1012 DANA BANDY ASHLAND, OR 3:38:12
1217 CHAD WIKANDER ASHLAND, OR 3:42:44
1279 DANA DUVIVIER ASHLAND, OR 3:43:49
1477 JOSHUA WIESEN ASHLAND, OR 3:47:45
2104 DESIREE BARNES ASHLAND, OR 3:59:00
2124 JEFFREY PROULX ASHLAND, OR 3:59:17
2255 STAN POTOCKI ASHLAND, OR 4:01:53
2442 MICHAEL SOTOS ASHLAND, OR 4:06:04
3061 ALINA SQUIRES ASHLAND, OR 4:17:54
3077 KAROLINA WYSZYNSKA, ASHLAND, OR 4:18:26
4397 TOM PELSOR ASHLAND, OR 4:46:01
4648 ROBIN DAWSON ASHLAND, OR 4:53:05
5039 TESSA BENEDICKTUS, ASHLAND, OR 5:03:26
5564 CAMILLE SIDERS ASHLAND, OR 5:26:50
5565 LORI FLEUTER ASHLAND, OR 5:26:50
6296 AUDREY THOMPSON ASHLAND, OR 6:05:59
6372 JANA CAROLE ASHLAND, OR 6:10:13
6373 MICHELLE ZUNDEL ASHLAND, OR 6:10:13
6883 KRISTIN JULBER ASHLAND, OR 6:41:18
7163 DONNA MARKLE ASHLAND, OR 6:59:08
7430 SARAH BRECKENRIDGE,ASHLAND, OR 7:20:22
7431 TONI RICHMOND ASHLAND, OR 7:20:22

450 DANIEL HOUGH TALENT, OR 3:22:03
943 FREEBORN MONDELLO TALENT, OR 3:36:37
1427 CHRISTI WATTS TALENT, OR 3:46:40
1544 ANDRE ANDERSON TALENT, OR 3:48:52
5361 LINDA MURPHY TALENT, OR 5:17:10
5506 JOHANNA HOBART-CRANE TALENT, OR 5:24:17
5950 ERIN OXENDINE TALENT, OR 5:44:45
6482 ALI LIVELY TALENT, OR 6:15:29
7477 DANI PISORS TALENT, OR 7:23:59
7478 ERIN DICKEY TALENT, OR 7:23:59

6746 VICKIE HELFRICH PHOENIX, OR 6:32:55

128 SCOTT STEMPLE MEDFORD, OR 3:04:06
344 KEITH MINOR MEDFORD, OR 3:18:06
505 STEVE WYATT MEDFORD, OR 3:24:28
510 GEORGE JOHNSTON MEDFORD, OR 3:24:36
1185 JENNIFER NIDALMIA MEDFORD, OR 3:41:51
1372 JARED LEEPER MEDFORD, OR 3:45:42
1745 DAVID JORDAN MEDFORD, OR 3:52:58
1971 RYAN RACKLEY MEDFORD, OR 3:57:09
2419 THOMAS BELL MEDFORD, OR 4:05:42
2942 RON GASSMAN MEDFORD, OR 4:15:28
2986 JASON SLAUGHTER MEDFORD, OR 4:16:13
3076 MICHELLE CHRISTIAN MEDFORD, OR 4:18:26
3829 KEVIN TULLY MEDFORD, OR 4:33:53
3879 NATHAN HARP MEDFORD, OR 4:34:56
3888 DUSTIN CLARK MEDFORD, OR 4:35:09
4018 EDUARDO LEDESMA MEDFORD, OR 4:38:11
4115 DEAN LEWIS MEDFORD, OR 4:40:21
4802 TED ADAMS MEDFORD, OR 4:56:37
5083 SARAH DEMULDER MEDFORD, OR 5:04:59
5462 NANCY FADLING MEDFORD, OR 5:21:56
5470 DALE MEADOR MEDFORD, OR 5:22:10
5493 MIVEN DONATO MEDFORD, OR 5:23:12
5572 HENRY BARRUETA MEDFORD, OR 5:27:07
5724 DANICA CRUMLEY MEDFORD, OR 5:33:30
5744 NATHAN GAOIRAN MEDFORD, OR 5:34:39
5925 INGRID MATHEWSON MEDFORD, OR 5:43:21
6446 RHONDA COLLINS MEDFORD, OR 6:13:42
6447 TERESA GALLAGHER-HILL MEDFORD, OR 6:13:43
6448 TARA BEHNKE MEDFORD, OR 6:13:43
6573 MOLLY CLARK MEDFORD, OR 6:20:34
6708 CHRISTIE SANDERS MEDFORD, OR 6:30:27
6763 LINDA JACKSON MEDFORD, OR 6:34:26
6823 LORNA BOLTON MEDFORD, OR 6:38:00
6824 CLAUDIA VIETS MEDFORD, OR 6:38:00
6902 CHRISTINA SAUNDERS MEDFORD, OR 6:42:50
6903 ROBIN MCMILLIN MEDFORD, OR 6:42:50
7156 DIANE SANDLER MEDFORD, OR 6:58:27
7201 LINDA VANBUSKIRK MEDFORD, OR 7:03:00
7203 STEPHANIE SMITH MEDFORD, OR 7:03:01
7479 HEATHER AYERS MEDFORD, OR 7:23:59
7658 SARA ENRIQUEZ MEDFORD, OR 8:09:23
7659 MARIANNE ROBISON MEDFORD, OR 8403 8:09:24
7746 LINDA DUFFY MEDFORD, OR 8:15:17

50 JC CALLANS EAGLE POINT, OR 2:53:35
2076 LANCE COOPER EAGLE POINT, OR 3:58:35
2523 JENNIFER CALLANS EAGLE POINT, OR 4:07:52
6799 MICHAEL GOHDE EAGLE POINT, OR 6:36:35
7021 ANNE MURPHY EAGLE POINT, OR 6:50:14
7022 JANE LEONARDO EAGLE POINT, OR 6:50:15

1954 RUSS SMITH CENTRAL POINT, OR 3:56:48
3348 JIM COOL CENTRAL POINT, OR 4:24:35
5630 JANET GROUT CENTRAL POINT, OR 5:29:30
6593 CHELSEA BROESDER CENTRAL POINT, OR 6:21:53
7142 ALICE CUSHMAN CENTRAL POINT, OR 6:57:18
7717 VALERIE MCMEEKIN CENTRAL POINT, OR 8:12:49
7771 LOIS SHANKS CENTRAL POINT, OR 8:20:38

3817 DAWN KERWIN ROGUE RIVER, OR 4:33:44


It was another warm one at this year's Chicago Marathon (10/12/08). Temperatures reached into the low 80's as more than 31,400 runners made their way through downtown Chicago.
Local finishers were:
205 IAN TORRENCE ASHLAND, OR 2:50:36
8787 MARIA CLEMENTI ASHLAND, OR 4:13:01


In Utah, more than 5,000 runners encountered rare wind and rain at the St. George Marathon (10/4/08). Local finishers were:

47 NEIL OLSEN CENTRAL POINT, OR 2:52:54
195 JIM BRENDLE CENTRAL POINT, OR 3:06:59
2827 JOHN LOTTS CENTRAL POINT, OR 4:16:43
3099 CHRISTOPHER FOSTER MEDFORD, OR 4:24:48
3227 MAUREEN MITCHELL CENTRAL POINT, OR 4:27:59
4181 DAVID DEVILLENENUE CENTRAL POINT, OR 5:02:33

The Twin Cities Marathon (10/4/08) went off in Minnesota. Our lone local finisher was:
7603 NANCY WILSON MEDFORD, OR 5:30:40

Now for a little Ultramarathon news:



The Dick Collins Firetrails 50 mile trail race was held on Saturday (10/11/08) in the Berkeley/Oakland hills of California. Southern Oregon and the Rogue Valley Runners were well represented on this course that gained more than 7,800 feet. Hal Koerner, the owner of Rogue Valley Runners, continued his winning ways (after his victory at the Angeles Crest 100 Mile three weeks ago) with a winning time of six hours and 43 minutes. Rogue Valley Runners employee Chris Rennaker had a strong sixth place showing, and Siskiyou Outback 50 Kilometer co-race director John Price finished in 10th place and first in his age group (50+). Ashland's Aaron Brian, a newbie at this distance, finished with a strong 8:58. On the women's side, Carly Varner finished with a personal best 9:11. Jody Waters finished in 9:22 and Erin Keller in 9:59.

Cross Country Comes to Ashland!

Thirty-two high school teams from Southern Oregon and Northern California will converge on Lithia Park (a stone's throw from downtown Ashland) this Saturday (October 11th) for one heck of a cross country meet. The highly-anticipated State of Jefferson Cross-Country Invitational will pit the best local high school running talents against one another. Junior Varsity races will start at 11:15am. Varsity races begin at 12:45pm. The shaded five-kilometer course will run throughout Lithia Park's wood chipped, dirt and paved trails. Come out a support your favorite local teams!

Wagner Glade Trail Work Redux

Work continues on the new Wagner Glade Trail. See a write up on the trail work in this Mailtribune article. All the downed logs have been removed and another 1/3 mile of tread has been laid down in the last two weeks. However, roughly 2/3 miles of tread still needs completion on the highest portion of the trail.

The view from Wagner Glade Gap and the terminus of the Wagner Glade Trail.

Here are few more opportunities for you to assist in the trail work going on in the region. The events are sponsored by the Ashland Woodlands and Trails Association.

October 11th: Time Warp Trail, a 3 mile downhill bike trail up by Mt. Ashland. Work with other downhill cyclist on key eroded areas. Meet at Ashland Ranger Station on Washington St. at 9am. See the following link for background information.

October 25th: Wagner Glade Trail in Ashland’s Watershed. Meet at Ashland Parks Department office in Lithia Park at 8:30. We will carpool into the gated watershed approximately ten miles then walk from there. We are reclaiming a trail that hasn’t been used for almost 40 years. See the following link for more information.

November 15th: Either Ostrich Peak Trail or the Pacific Crest Trail. Meet at the Ashland Ranger Station at 8:30. Check the AWTA website for further information.

December 6th: Ostrich Peak Trail. Meet at Ashland Parks Department Office in Lithia Park at 8:30. Check the AWTA website for further information.

Questions regarding the trail work mentioned above can be directed to Rob Cain at robrcain@yahoo.com.

Kyle Skaggs is happy to be putting time in on a trail he'll no doubt be running on in a few weeks.