Records Tumble at Siskiyou OutBack

SOB's Start/Finish Line

Skaggs leads King early in the race.

A week out from the Olympic Trials held in Eugene, Oregon, Max King traveled south for some long distance training, or, ah, er, um, racing. But he wasn't alone. In the wind tunnel he formed high along the Pacific Crest Trail near the Oregon/California border, several other runners took advantage of a fast field to post some of the most spectacular racing S.O.B. has ever seen.
King pauses for refreshments.

King, 28, set a new course record in 3:42:36. King ran the first half of the race with Ashlander, Erik Skaggs, who also bettered the old course record, set by Erik Solof in 2005, by posting a 3:47:23. Hal Koerner, also of Ashland and the owner of Rogue Valley Runners, turned in a fantastic third place finish, also under the old course record, by crossing the finishing tape below Mount Ashland's summit in 3:58:46.
Erik Skaggs, "Where's the ice!"

Women's winner Kami Semick.

In the women's race, Kami Semik,42, of Bend, Oregon, lopped a huge chunk of time off (almost 13 minutes) Meghan Arbogast's course record by finishing sixth overall in 4:11:53. Darla Brader, also of Bend, and Jenn Shelton, of Ashland battled it out for second. Brader out distanced Shelton by six minutes by the end.
Jenn Shelton leads Brian McGuire.

In the 15K, Chris McIssac, from Olympia, WA, finished first in under an hour in 59:42. Laura Raber, from Eagle Point, OR finished first in the ladies race and 11th overall in 1:14:10.

Todd Ragsdale follows Eric Poole en route to strong 50K finishes.

Though the smoke from the California fires produced a red-orange sunrise and temperatures in the Rogue Valley reached 100 degrees: runners, race staff and volunteers kept their cool. 116 runners finished the 50K and 149 finished the 15K edition. Congratulations to all!
Follow the Train!
"Too Fast" Aria Hemphill in the 15K.

An excellent write up of the event can be found at this Mail Tribune website.

Full results for both the 50K and 15K can be found at the SOB website.

Thanks to Chris Rennaker for the photos.

Siskiyou OutBack 15 Kilometer and 50 Kilometer Trail Run

Eric Poole runs along the SOB course. Photo taken by Denise Barata.

Rogue Valley Runners wants to wish all those running in and volunteering at the Siskiyou OutBack 15K and 50K this weekend a hearty good luck! Have fun on those trails!

Take a look at this excellent pre-race write-up (with photos) in this morning's Mail Tribune.

TITUS VAN RIJN INVITATIONAL ONE-HOUR DISTANCE CLASSIC AND OTHER NEWS

What kind of invitational is it? Just an informal one-hour track run held at your local track during the month of June. How far can you run in one hour? Here's a list of records (World, American and Titus Van Rijn Invite):

ONE-HOUR TRACK RECORDS
World, women: 18,517 meters (~11.5 miles)
Dire Tune (Eth), Ostrava, Czeh Republic 6/11/08
World, men: 21,285m (~13.2 miles)
Haile Gebrselassie (Eth), Ostrava, Czech Republic 6/27/07

U.S., women: 17,273m (~10.7 miles)
Nancy Conz, Amherst, MA 6/25/81
U.S., men: 20,547m (~12.8 miles)
Bill Rodgers (GBTC), Boston, MA 8/9/77

TVR, women: 12,800m (~7.96 miles)
Kate Jennings (WA), Winthrop, WA 6/2/2007
TVR, men: 18,115m (~11.25 miles)
Greg Crowther (WA), Seattle, WA 5/27/2006

More locally, here's how it panned out here in Ashland at the Southern Oregon University Stadium Track on 6/22/08:
Trevor Palmer, 24, Central Point, OR - 17,300 meters
JJ Moses, 25, Rogue River, OR - 16,495 meters
Bob Julian, 40, Medford, OR - 16,495 meters
John Leuthold, 40, Phoenix, OR - 15,800 meters
Neil Olsen, 40, Central Point - 15,036 meters
Ian Torrence, 35, Ashland, OR - 15,036 meters
Maria Clementi, 26, Ashland, OR - 10,460 meters

We'd be remiss if we didn't talk about some of the local races that have occurred in southern Oregon in the past few weeks. We'll work from most recent...

The Longest Day Run

An awesome, flat and fast run on the longest day (6/21/08) of the year along the Bear Creek Greenway. Held in the evening at Railroad Park in Medford, OR. Rogue River's JJ Moses started from the back of the chase pack and picked his way through the field to out-distance himself from some of the area's talented high school runners in 16:22. Phoenix's John Leuthold runs away with the master's race finishing 3rd overall in 16:48. Visitng from out of town, Danielle Jordan wins the women's race in 19:36. Susan Holt, like Leuthold, finishes third overall in 20:28 and wins the ladies' masters race. Go HERE for full results.

Evans Valley Duathlon

One June 14th, a group of southern Oregonians and RVR favorites took their running talents and added the bicycle for this event in individual and relay format. A great inspirational story and full results can be found HERE.

Granite Man Mountain Race

June 7th, 2008. Held at Applegate Lake (west of Ashland and Medford deep in the Siskiyou Mountains). Roughly 11.5 miles of single track running and racing. 1,500 feet of gain in the first two miles to the summit of Collins Mountain. Followed by a sweet ridge line run with views of Grayback Mountain (still snow covered) and the Carberry Valley. Then a knee jarring descent back to the lake. The last four miles sweep along the lake shore on the Da-Ku-Be-Te-De Trail. Being part of the new USATF Oregon Mountain Running Series brought out some deeper competition than last year's first running of the event.

Erik Skaggs, of Ashland, fought off surges from Portland's Richard Bolt to win in a new course record in 1:14:04. Jenn Shelton, also from Ashland, won the women's race handedly in 1:28:47 (also a new course record). A full race report can be found on La Sportiva's mountain running website, here. Full results can be found HERE. Photos of the race are HERE.

Good enough on race reports. How about what's coming up?

Five Rogue Valley Favorites are headed to northern California and theWestern States 100 Miler this weekend. Billed as the most prestigious 100 mile ultramarathon in the country, 400 runners will be pitted against altitude, snow, temperatures in the upper 90's, river crossings, sunburn, blisters, dehydration, cramps, spasms, the biggest "bonks" of their life and 100 miles of the roughest, rockiest and dustiest trails they've ever seen.

Let's give it up for Rogue Valley Runner's owner, Mr. Hal Koerner, last year's Western States winner and defending champion, Ashland's Jenn Shelton, who ran her last 100 mile race (Rocky Raccoon 100 Miler in TX) in 14:57, and Central Point's Neil Olsen, vying for the master's record at Western States this year. Rob Cain, has spent quality vacation time heat training in the Grand Canyon (AZ), Mt. Diablo (CA) and along the Rogue River Trail (OR) in preparation for the race. Tom Pelsor, from Yreka, CA, is merely using Western States as his first race of four in order to complete the Grand Slam of Ultramarathoning. Watch how they progress through the day(s) on the Western States Run Webcast, which will post up-to-the-hour updates on all of the runners. Follow them on race day, this Saturday, June 28th-29th, 2008. Good luck you all!

Phew! And now, like Jon Stewart says, for your "Moment of Zen"...
Mount McLoughlin from Howard Prairie Lake (photo taken by Ian Torrence).

Tar N' Trail T-Shirts

Okay, okay we know. It's June and the Tar N' Trail happened in March. But some of you never got a TNT shirt (our fault). Well, we finally have the remaining shirts here, logo'ed and ready for you. So, for those of you who didn't get shirts on race day, please stop by and pick yours up. Thanks everyone!

Lithia Loop Trail Marathon Announcement

Well folks, it's "a go!" With word from the US Forest Service and the City of Ashland, Rogue Valley Runners finds itself with another great course for the masses. Set for November 8th, 2008...A very challenging 26.2 mile (trail and fireroad) loop through the Ashland watershed. The course travels uphill on our infamous 2060 road from downtown Ashland to Horn Gap where it'll crest and roll on to Four Corners and back downhill to Ashland on the Caterpillar, Alice in Wonderland and BTI Trails. We'll be limited to the first 100 entrants. Stay tuned for more information and race applications. Meanwhile, here's a course map to whet your appetite:

RVR in the News and Forest Park 50K

Photo courtesy of the Ashland Daily Tidings.

A great write up about Hal Koerner and Rogue Valley Runners in today's Ashland Daily Tidings.

Check it out here!

This past weekend several RVR runners traveled north to Portland to run in the Forest Park 50 Kilometer Trail Run. So they did run...through rain, mud and misdirection (course markings were vandalized). Congratulations to both Chris Rennaker (who finished third overall in 4:29:28) and Carly Varner (finished 7th woman, 24th overall in 5:48:46).

Rennaker kicks it!

Flying Varner!

Photos courtesy of Glenn Tachiyama

Full Belly 5K

This past weekend 45 runners lined up to support Access, Inc., a organization that distributes food to those in need throughout the Rogue Valley. Fifteen more people ran the Full Belly this year than last. The course started and finished on the Southern Oregon University track, sped through the local neighborhoods and along the bike trail.

The top three (from left to right) John Leuthold, JJ Moses, Todd Ragsdale.

Finish line refreshments.

Many of the runners agreed that the five kilometer course was a touch short...maybe a quarter mile to 500 meters? But here are the results as they fell:

1. JJ Moses 14:14
2. John Leuthold 14:55
3. Todd Ragsdale 15:04
4. Ian Torrence 15:13
5. Max Hammer 15:31
6. Guy Hakanson 15:37
7. Tommy Hooper 15:39
8. Brian McGuire 15:52
9. Bryon DeVore 16:17
10. Aaron Brian 16:36
11. Ken Loftus 16:47
12. Jon Theiring 16:54
13. Freeborn Mondello 18:06
14. Becky Hacker 18:13
15. Sarah Wilson 18:21
16. Michael Sotos 18:30
17. Dolores Christenson 19:11
18. Tomas Rosa 19:33
19. Neil Buettner 19:54
20. Ben Schumacher 20:00
21. Joseph Nelson 20:15
22. Nina Rudd 20:27
23. Maria Clementi 20:28
24. Joe Vaile 20:40
25. Peter McCarville 21:47
26. Rachel Gussin 22:33
27. Emily Dezendorf 23:13
28. Ashley Nunes 23:14
29. Greg Smith 23:33
30. Ali Bickford 23:38
31. Marya Jansen-Gruber 24:04
32. Joelle Alderson 24:43
33. Shelley Calhoun 25:44
34. Joel Calhoun 25:44
35. Timothy Cartwright 26:02
36. Aaron Harleman 26:28
37. Lynn Sullivan 30:46
38. Melissa Merryman 34:46
39. Kaitlyn Bergantino 34:46
40. Jem Rojo 34:51
41. Stephanie Kramer 34:54
42. Kathleen McNeill 40:18
43. Victoria Nickles 40:18
44. Marlys Cartwright 42:44
45. Robert Jansen 42:44

Lots of Racing Going On! Let's Re-Cap...

The past couple of weeks have brought on an onslaught of race results. Lets try and catch-up with some of our local runners!

The start of Bridge the Gap 5K and 10K.

Bridge the Gap 5K and 10K. The race started at Railroad Park in Medford and ran an out and back course on the Bear Creek Bike Path. 115 runners finished the five kilometer race. Justin Loftus won the race in 17:35, while Todd Ragsdale and Brian Mcguire rounded out the top three. In the women's race, Lianna Jenkins crossed the line first in 20:11. She was followed closely by Laura Raber. Sera Judkins finished third.

In the ten kilometer race, Neil Olsen set a blistering early pace and held it to finish first in 34:39. John Leuthold finished second in 35:28. The ladies race was much tighter. Kierra Huggins won in 42:44, only 12 seconds ahead of a quick closing Susan Holt. 57 runners finished the 10K distance.

The Mail Tribune's Photo Gallery has some excellent photos of the race. You can find them here.

Eugene Marathon: A little farther from home and to the north, the second running of the Eugene Marathon was taking place. The Rogue Valley's top finishers were Adam Seibert in 2:51:00 and Dorsey Dobry in 3:17:08. We'd be remiss, however, not to mention a Rogue Valley Runners Wednesday night regular, Maria Clementi, who finished in 3:43:52, her first marathon...not a bad debut. Congratulations to all our Rogue Valley finishers!

Miwok 100 Kilometer Trail Race: Not to be outdone by the marathon distance, several locals traveled south to the Marin Headlands, just north of San Francisco to challenge themselves on 62 miles of trails and fire roads that weave along the coast. Rob Cain, from Ashland, finished in 10:56:54, first in the 50 and over age bracket. John Price was our second local in 11:04:15. Other Rogue Vallley favorites included Anne Crispino-Taylor, Erin Keller and Tom Pelsor.

Miwok's course profile.

This past weekend race results continued to flow in.

MacDonald Forest 50K. Neil Olsen, from Central Point, finished fourth overall in 4:16:47. Here's what he had to say about the competition and his race.

"The course was dry, and the weather was mild and perfect. But Todd wasn't very tired, Dan looked great, and I either haven't been training enough, or too much.

I didn't want them to gap me too badly, hoping to catch them if they slowed, so I went out significantly faster than usual. I covered the first 8 miles in under 7 min pace, and that was even with the first good hill climb. My GPS watch showed 5:30/mi pace for some of the down-hill sections. There were more steep uphill sections in the "maze" single-track than I remember. So I was ~8 min behind them at 16.5 miles when I left the maze and hit the gravel road up dimple hill. I ran that well, but at the aid station at the top they told me I was now 12 min behind Dan and ~5 behind Todd. I was getting hot-spots on my insteps, so I duct-taped, changed shoes, and refueled. Even including all that, my split over that mile was 7:48. I later found out Scott was 2 min behind me at that point. I tried to bomb the down-hill, but my stomach was complaining about getting 2 s-caps at once. My brother and sister were at the aid station at mile 23, which was a boost, but Scott caught me at about mile 25, 2/3 the way up the "horse trail" which is the last steep climb. I tried to stick with him for awhile, but my hamstrings were doing the thing where they hint at cramping with each step, threatening to cramp more. I caught him back on the gravel road, but shortly after the last aid station on the last gradual uphill he left me behind for good and finished almost 4 min ahead of me. After I threw-up I felt better, and I cruised in about 18 min ahead of the 5th place finisher.

Dan Olmstead finished about 3:56, which if you consider this year's course being 0.2 mi longer than last years, is about the same pace as Todd's record. With 6,700' elevation gain, I'm going to have to learn how to levitate up hills to go faster than that. Todd was about 4:01. Scott was about 4:13. I didn't ask him whether he had run hard the day before, which he has done some years. I was 4:16, which was 11 min slower than last year :-( . Now I wish I started keeping a training log sooner so I could go back and check for differences. William Emerson's masters record may have been in a year when the course was muddier or harder, but I was 7 min faster than it this year."

Neil Olsen smiles at the MacDonald Forest 50K. photo courtesy of Jasmine Nahorniak

Other locals included: Aaron Brian, from Ashland, who finished his first ultramarathon in 5:59:43. Congrats Aaron! Ben Benjamin and Jinny Brown also finished MacDonald Forest.

Tough As Nails: More locally, over on Roxy Anne Peak, 66 runners tackled either the 5K or 10 mile trail races. Lots of new course records were set. Erik Skaggs won and broke the one hour barrier in the ten mile race, the first person to ever do so. His time, 56:21. John Leuthold, Todd Ragsdale, Chris Rennaker and Jeremy Eisen provided an ample chase pack. Maggie Donovan set a new course record in winning the women's race in 1:15:51. In the 5K race Joe Griffin won and set a new 5K record in 18:19. Laura Raber won the women's race in 19:53, also a new course record.

Tough as Nails photos by Andy Atkinson can be found on the Mail Tribune Photo Gallery, by going here.

Quicksilver 50 Mile and 50 Kilometer Endurance Runs: Ashlanders, Eric Poole and Ian Torrence, traveled south of San Jose, CA for the Quicksilver, an ultramarathon race that's been around since 1984.

Looking across of some of the scenery on the Quicksilver course.

Eric Poole on his way to a strong finish at the Quicksilver 50K. photo courtesy of Chihping Fu

In the largest field ever assembled for Quicksilver, Eric placed fourth out of 96 runners in the 50 kilometer race in 4:17:31. Ian placed third out of 80 runners in the 50 mile race in 7:19:18.

Altitude profile of the Quicksilver course.

Races Waiting For You!!! The Siskiyou OutBack and The Full Belly

Just a note to those aspiring to challenge themselves in some quality races in the near future.

The Siskiyou OutBack 50 and 15 Kilometer Trail Runs are quickly sneaking up on us. The tenth anniversary of the race will be held on July 12th. That's really not that too long from now...especially with how fast these races are filling. The races start up on Mount Ashland and take an awesome stroll along the Pacific Crest Trail and back. The quota for the 50K race will probably meet it's limit in a week or so. BUT for those who are a little more sane, but still want to experience the fun, the 15K version of the race has plenty of room! The race web site is here. To register for the 15K you must do so on Active.com. The race directors can be contacted at: sob@siskiyououtback.com

Here's another great opportunity to head out and support something important while working up a sweat. The Full Belly 5K Run takes place on Saturday May 17th at 8:30am at the Southern Oregon University Raider Stadium. The race will benefit Access, Inc, an organization that feeds the hungry locally in Jackson County. Every dollar donated to Access can provide six pounds of food, helping local people in need. Entries can be found at Rogue Valley Runners or at the SOU Involvement Center on SOU's campus. For information contact: Cerissa at (541) 552-6454 or at vista@sou.edu

Now, let's get out there and support our local running scene!

Taking That Leap

Well we have some bad news and we have some good news.

I just hate saying that, but I couldn't find any better words to describe the departure of one of our longest standing employees. Darcy, whom many of you know, moved up here from the bay area in 2006 is moving back to her old stomping grounds later next week.
She let us know that she wanted to follow some of her lifelong goals and pick up on a lot of what she left off on when she came up here. Notablely, her passion for triathalons and personal training. Anyone who knows her knows that she loves both areas of fitness and the comereaderie that comes with it. She has been a wealth of knowledge for our customers and those she met in Ashland. She will undoubtably continue to inspire people wherever she goes.



We are sad to see her leaving, but we know she'll be back to visit the area this summer. So Please stop by this week to bid her a fond farewell, and to see what she'll be up to, or just to wish her luck at her next Ironman.

Thanks for everthing Darcy, we're gonna miss you!

Catching up!

Well I thought this was rather appropriate considering the time that has past since the Joe King post. And congratulations again Joe, there are a miniscule amount of folks that can claim to be a world record holder at anything.

We made it through pear "32" in one piece, placing 3 or was that 4 Rogue Valley Runners in the top ten. Eric Skaggs took home top honors as the 1st Rogue Valley resident in 55:36 good enough for 4th place overall while Neil Olsen just took it all in stride to capture 7th place with a smoking 56:08. Hal Koerner and John Leuthold dug deep to finish in 57:00 with Hal crossing the line just behind John but in front of the chip time. How does that work? We may never know. Everyone will be glad to know that it hasn't stopped John from trash talking or from filing an appeal with the race management. Sorry John, but we had to out you.



Store employees Chris Rennaker (102:24), Ixel Sanchez(1:10:32), Ian Torrence (59:26), and Carly Varner (1:24:55) also completed the ten mile run with some 990 other folks. I must give a shout out to Jerry and Zellah Swartsley for putting on a 1st rate event. It was amazing to see so many people running and walking as well as supporting those on the course. We should have more events like the pear in the valley. A testament to their legacy for sure.

I want to go on the record, for those who haven't made in to the store since the middle of March, by saying that we have not moved down the street. I have watched people walk right by our door and into our second entrance, 1 door down wondering what happened to all the shoes. Well people, we have expanded 1,800 square feet and now have our store primed for running season. With the addition of Nike as well as a number of other vendors we needed to have more room and better dressing rooms for all out running/walking guys and gals. Alas we also have more space for shoe fitting and treadmill acessments. So please drop by and check out the new digs.








There are a few over due posts for later in the week so check back soon and don't forget to keep those feet floating!!!!!!

Pear's Here!

Here's an article in this morning's Mail Tribune about the race and it's top competitors. Two RVR'ers get mentioned!

See the full article HERE.

Joe King Goes to Boston

Joe King at this weekend's USATF Master's Championships.

Central Point's very own Joe King traveled to Boston, Mass last weekend to compete in the USA Track and Field Master's Championships. He had two races on his plate: the one mile and the 800 meters.

Joe finished the mile run on Saturday in 6:56.28. On Sunday he came back stronger in the 800 meters by finishing in 3:07.66.

So what's amazing about that? Well, Joe's 81 years young folks, and his 800 meter time was not only an American Record, but it was also a World Record. Joe broke Rune Bergman's (of Sweden) 1995 time of 3:08.88.

Congratulations Joe! You are an inspiration to us all!

TNT Revisited-Views of the day

Here are some views captured by film at this year's inaugural Tar N' Trail 6 Mile Race. Thanks to all who participated. A special, heart-felt thanks goes to all the special volunteers that came out and made this event possible. Without them many of the runners may have found themselves....lost. Look for more events in the future from Rogue Valley Runners! Results can be found here. Great professional photos of the race can be found in the photo gallery section (these photos were taken by Andy Atkinson of Rogue Photography) in the Mail Tribune's Outdoors.com web site.

"Off they go!"

Glen Tucker came all the way from Hurricane, Utah to experience the Bird Song Trail switchbacks.

Aaron Reed found them to his liking.

Amois Williams is satisfied with a job well done.

Alison Kling brings it home with smiles.

Kouba Sayre and Brooke Bauer covered the course together.

Jill Parsons wins the women's race.

Zachariah Christensen (#21) and Todd Ward (#90) chase each other to the finish chute.

Bob Julian crosses the line in third...proving that he can indeed run fast on the trails.

Brian McQuire crosses the finish tape.

The Rogue Valley Runners' Boys: (l to r) Joe Griffin, Todd Ragsdale, Neil Olsen, John Leuthold, Erik Skaggs

Tar N' Trail Results

Here are the results for this morning's race. Congratulations to all runners. You all did great! I know I may have butchered some of your names or ages. Please post corrections on the Comment link below. Let me know and I will correct.

A story and photos will be posted soon. Please return to this site for further updates in a day or two.

Results are written like this:
Place, Bib #, Name, Sex, Age, Time

Tar N’ Trail 6 Mile Race
Ashland, OR
March 15, 2008

Place Bib Name Sex Age Time
1 2 Erik Skaggs M 25 35:35
2 84 Glen Tucker M 28 36:26
3 6 Bob Julian M 39 37:35
4 3 John Leuthold M 40 38:53
5 5 Todd Ragsdale M 38 39:11
6 63 Aaron Reed M 25 39:46
7 123 Ryland Karlovich M 17 40:48
8 124 Wilder Schaaf M 15 41:59
9 7 Joe Griffin M 47 42:23
10 40 Neil Olsen M 40 42:24
11 103 Brian McGuire M 49 42:55
12 8 Aaron Brian M 36 43:40
13 32 Guy Hakanson M 20 44:11
14 33 Bryan Hakanson M 21 44:44
15 132 Rob Cain M 54 45:11
16 59 Jeff Olson M 38 45:34
17 82 John Theiring M 33 46:07
18 108 Craig Sewell M 35 46:21
19 28 David Engstrom M 43 47:09
20 130 Bryon Devore M 38 47:33
21 128 Scott Hajieck M 53 47:48
22 113 Jill Parsons F 38 47:48
23 97 Mike Davis M 48 48:15
24 52 River Menanno M 21 48:47
25 89 Brandy Walton F 34 48:51
26 31 Charnna Gilmore F 40 48:54
27 25 Chad Elbert M 36 48:55
28 49 Dave Marshall M 43 49:09
29 98 Jason Snee M 39 49:19
30 71 Molly Schreiner F 23 49:23
31 118 Eddie Towsend M 23 49:47
32 115 Laura Raber F 29 50:23
33 106 Jason Slaughter M 30 50:24
34 16 Max Bennett M 44 50:31
35 44 Luke Frechette M 29 51:20
36 9 Maria Clementi F 26 51:23
37 121 Pier Rasmussen M 13 51:45
38 36 Douglas Hecox M 36 51:47
39 29 Hannah Ewing F 15 51:49
40 18 Mindy Blair F 28 52:09
41 38 Charles Hodge M 57 52:09
42 19 John Bott M 49 52:09
43 122 Pat Martinez M 40 52:23
44 22 Chris Combs M 29 53:11
45 86 Terry Tucker M 63 53:46
46 12 Tom Ahle M 58 53:52
47 53 Scott Moore M 50 54:05
48 95 Cynthia Wright F 47 54:26
49 76 Aysha Staha F 30 54:27
50 14 Desiree Barnes F 25 54:39
51 10 Lisa Bach F 41 55:09
52 39 Jim Holdermann M 38 55:17
53 41 Liz Holt F 26 55:25
54 40 Adam Holt M 28 55:46
55 56 Tony Nichols M 43 56:06
56 54 Joseph Nelson M 26 56:09
57 104 Rob Shull M 54 56:34
58 105 Beth Lori F 27 56:38
59 70 Kara Schnoes F 23 57:13
60 91 Ben Wewerka M 31 57:14
61 11 Arnie Abrams M 54 57:32
62 27 Ken Ellgen M 51 57:56
63 120 David Rasmussen M 52 58:01
64 35 Jenine Hoisington F 45 58:06
65 129 Marshall Moses M 14 58:17
66 21 Zechariah Christensen M 13 58:25
67 90 Todd Ward M 40 58:25
68 61 Steven Petrovic M 43 58:39
69 117 Sarah Strickler F 29 58:48
70 47 Alison Kling F 52 59:24
71 93 Amois Williams F 27 1:00:04
72 80 Renee Swenson F 36 1:00:53
73 55 Leonard Nelson M 14 1:01:33
74 60 Scott Pedersen M 47 1:01:36
75 77 Camden Stemple M 12 1:01:37
76 23 Dana Duvivier F 35 1:02:00
77 51 Tim McFadden M 33 1:02:04
78 72 Katie Schubert F 24 1:02:05
79 66 Ginny Ritchey F 39 1:02:12
80 116 Leah Ball F 13 1:02:25
81 78 Lela Stemple F 10 1:02:32
82 79 Scott Stemple M 42 1:02:35
83 46 Tracy Justice F 40 1:02:57
84 102 Sarah Spector F 21 1:03:25
85 67 Tom Roberts M 45 1:04:03
86 45 Steve Gasper M 55 1:04:15
87 42 Cara Hornbeck F 35 1:04:30
88 69 Kouba Sayre F 36 1:04:46
89 15 Brooke Bauer F 34 1:04:46
90 126 Hal Koerner Jr. M 57 1:05:28
91 58 Doug Olson M 59 1:06:43
92 85 Jan Tucker F 30 1:06:46
93 110 Julie Peterson F 52 1:07:20
94 88 Joaquin Valdez M 36 1:07:58
95 68 Robert Sacks M 37 1:09:23
96 65 Georgene Richardson F 50 1:10:24
97 75 Tita Soriano F 30 1:11:32
98 131 Chantel Suehring F 36 1:11:50
99 62 Courtney Pickett F 39 1:11:50
100 100 Liz Sweet F 43 1:14:20
101 101 Eric McCormick M 50 1:14:20
102 99 Pam McCormik F 48 1:14:28
103 50 Wayne Marthaller M 50 1:15:09
104 73 Norman Shaskey M 60 1:16:21
105 119 Danica Crumley F 32 1:17:43
106 114 Kim Handloser F 44 1:17:43
107 43 Fawn Jones F 31 1:18:31
108 37 Stephanie Hirche F 28 1:18:31
109 26 Nikki Elbert F 34 1:22:28
110 13 Elizabeth Ascencio F 47 1:29:13
111 48 Rita Kurz F 54 1:29:33
112 64 Sharon Regan F 60 1:31:32
113 96 Michelle Zundel F 41 1:33:33
114 20 Jana Carole F 50 1:33:40
115 94 Shannon Wolff F 50 1:34:35
116 83 Tiffiny Thomas F 38 1:42:16
117 127 Marilyn Hajieck F 52 1:55:52
118 125 Diane Koerner F 58 1:55:55
119 Sweep Mara F 1:55:55

Way Too Cool 50 Kilometer Trail Race

So, yeah, the name of the race is Way Too Cool. But if you were to ask any of the 442 runners who finished this year's event they'd each tell you something different. For example, the race was: Way Too Warm, Way Too Competitive, Way Too Long, Way Too Hilly. One thing is for sure, however, some of the locals may have felt there were Way Too Many Oregonians.

This fact proven by the headline, "Oregonians Dominate in Cool", in Sunday's sports section of the local Auburn Journal.

The Largest 50 Kilometer Race in the country gets underway.


The Oregon Trifecta, Oregon runners from Bend, Eugene and Ashland, swept down upon Cool, CA, a small town in the foothills along the American River east of Sacramento and literally ran away with the race. Oregon came away with ten of the top 25 spots on a day made for racing. Temperatures in the mid-60's, clear skies and a dry, mud-less tread awaited the runners. Due to the weather and the fact that top finishers at this race would become automatic qualifiers to the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, many fast runners came from all over the country to partake. The competitive nature of this year's race is reflected in the final results. When, on an average year, eight to ten runners break four hours on this course, this weekend 28 runners would break the four hour barrier, more than any other year in this race's history.

The Top Men's Four Finishers (l to r) Scott Jurek, Dan Olmstead, Erik Skaggs, Todd Braje

Let's start from the top. Susannah Beck (Eugene, OR) not only won the women's race, she shredded a fifteen year standing women's course record. Beck bested Ann Trason's (of Western States 100 Mile fame) 1993 course record by four minutes by crossing the finish line in 3:55:22, 25th overall. In the men's race, Todd Braje (Eugene, OR) crossed the tape first in 3:32:12. He was quickly followed by Erik Skaggs (Ashland, OR) in 3:34:17 and Dan Olmstead (Eugene, OR) in 3:35:05.

Last year's winner Lewis Taylor (Eugene, OR) finished sixth in 3:39:24, two minutes faster than his 2007 time. Matt Lonergan (Eugene, OR), Jeff Browning (Bend, OR), Ian Torrence (Ashland, OR), Hal Koerner (Ashland, OR) and Susannah Beck rounded out the top 25.

Other local Rogue Valley Runners frequenters showed their strength this day as well. Eric Poole averaged an eight minute pace over the course to finish 35th in 4:07:55. 54 years young, Rob Cain finished in 4:40:57. Carly Varner finished in 5:14:24, a personal record for her at this distance. A special congratulations goes to, local race director, Krista Peterson who showed strong dedication by finishing her first ultramarathon here in 6:53:58.


Ashlanders at the Finish (l to r) Erik Skaggs, Eric Poole, Ian Torrence, Hal Koerner

Erik Skaggs brings it home.

Bend's Jeff Browning leads Ashland's Ian Torrence in the final straightaway.

Rogue Valley Runners' Owner, Hal Koerner finishes the 31 mile race.

Eric Poole strides up the final rise.

Carly Varner celebrates her new personal record.

Full Results can be found at the Way Too Cool website. Photos courtesy of Tim Turk and Maria Clementi.

Track!

Rogue Valley Runners' tent and shoes on display.

This past weekend, Rogue Valley Runners set up camp at the Artie Sullivan Invitational, the first outdoor track meet of the season for Southern Oregon University. Winter's grip was still firmly wrapped around southern Oregon, as weather conditions were cold with showers and sleet. College of the Siskiyous, Lane Community College, Oregon Tech, Shasta Community College, Southern Oregon, Southwest Oregon, Team XO, and some unattached runners participated in the meet.

RVR Employee Ixel Sanchez extends her lead in the women's 3000 meters.

Rogue Valley Runners store employee Ixel Sanchez opened the meet with a victory in the 3000 meter run. Her 10:56 posting put her 16 seconds ahead of her closest competition.

RVR employee Jeremiah Lewman leads off in the 4X100 relay.

Jeremiah Lewman, also a RVR employee, led off in SOU's winning 4X100 meter relay, as well as their winning 4X400 relay. Jeremiah also took home the gold in the 400 meter hurdles, finishing in a time of 0:56:08.

The lead pack in the men's 3000 meters.

Men's 110 Hurdles or, more aptly, the bloody knees race.

Results and a small story about the meet can be found at Ashland's Mail Tribune website. Full meet results can be found here. Congratulations to all runners!

Hagg Lake 50 Kilometer Trail Race

Neil Olsen follows Bend's Rod Bien at the Hagg Lake 50K, photo by Jasmine Nahorniak

The Hagg Lake 50 Kilometer Trail Race kicked off the Oregon Trail Ultramarathon Series this past weekend. We were lucky to catch-up with this year's winner and new course record holder, Neil Olsen. Here's what Central Point's trail master had to say about his day:

"February in the Willamette Valley predictably means rain, so I was mentally preparing myself for a long cold soggy windy mud-fest like last year. The weather report even the day before predicted rain at least into the morning. But weather forecasters, like national security advisers, somehow keep their jobs even when their predictions are wrong. It was crisp at first, but clear skies, no wind to speak of, and beautiful.

Unlike last year, I was determined to be at the starting line before the race started. I set three 3 alarms- one mistakenly for 6:30 PM, one I didn't hear, and thankfully one that got me up. I didn't linger over breakfast at mother-in-law's in McMinnville, but instead ate a big cup of cheerios in the car on the way.

Don't ask me where this came from, but they have a skirt competition at the start. Sean Meissner (Peterson Ridge RD from Sisters) looked as cute as ever, but I thought the stocky guy in the jumper took it up a notch. I didn't see Ken Ward (Mac Forest RD, whom my bother works for in Corvallis). Unless he did a better job of shaving his legs this year that may have been just as well ;-)

Sean may not be smart enough to stay out of the cold while he's got laryngitis, but he's great company. We watched some guys go out fast on the dirt road out-and-back. By the dam they had about a 1 minute lead. I did some mental math and figured it would take 7:20 miles to hit the course record. On a muddy day that wouldn't be plausible, but there were long stretches with good footing and little mud. We were on pace and I felt good, so I started shooting for that. From the 1st to 2nd aid stations I drafted off of Rod Bien (from Bend). He shared advice from longer runs, and I tried to learn from him how not to have a near-dialysis CK level of 9500 and how not to spend 2 days in the hospital after 100 miles. We caught up to the leaders about half way through, and other than some hamstring tightness I was still feeling good, so I put in a little surge to stay ahead of that 7:20 average. Shortly after this I got a boost from catching my friend from Central Point, John Lotts, who had taken an early start for his first trail 50k.

True to it's advertising, there was still mud. It was only shortly after the "Abandon All Hope" trail sign that I gave up keeping my shoes clean and dry, and this is where I took my first fall. My next was on a bridge after the start of the second loop. There were 164 registered for the 50k, 123 of which finished, and almost all the 249 25k runners finished. So each of them had crossed that bridge at least once, and they transferred just enough mud to make it slippery. I reached my hand out in time to squash open the Gu packet I had been carrying in the palm of my glove and got Gu all over my glove and GPS watch. I got road rash and a bruise on my shoulder. My other battle scar came later from a blackberry bush as I swung wide to pass a 25k runner. The blood dripped from mid thigh to my knee. I feared for another skin problem as well, but it has now been two days and no poison oak has shown up yet. A huge amount of trail work must have gone into getting the trails ready.

The second lap I was able to hold fairly steady, ticking off each mile on my GPS watch, which only lost satellite connection a couple brief times. The flats I was able to go well below pace, and the hills and winding sections generally are fairly short at a time. I ran somewhat negative splits, so I was confident I had the race, and with a couple of miles left I knew I wouldn't die hard enough to keep from going under the record. I saw 2 other friends from Central Point, Brett Mitchell and Ken Ellgen doing the 25k. Some of the many 25k runners I passed probably didn't realize I was doing the 50k, and I'm afraid I surprised some of them from behind. One of them called out to me "strong finish!" with 1/2 mile to go. I definitely surprised the guy working the finishing chute, because at first he tried to send me on for another lap.

I was happy to see Southern Oregon well represented with Marily Bailey (SOB RD), Ben Benjamin, and Phil Finch. I went on a very long cool-down, and ran awhile with Ralph Hirt (Redwood Wild River Run RD) who was fresh off his first 100 miler since turning 70. Half the fun of these runs are the quality people. The aid station folks were wonderful. Cheapskate that I am, I just used a Walmart water bottle, but they were able to fill it through it's narrow neck before I even had my 2nd handful of M&M's. And I hadn't tried pumpkin bread on a run before, but it was quite good."

Congratulations Neil!

Sequoia 50 Kilometer Trail Race

Last weekend several southern Oregonians traveled south to run in warmer climates at the Sequoia 50 Kilometer Trail Race. The course starts in Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland, CA and continues to roll through Redwood Regional Park where runners pass under huge redwoods and catch views of the Bay Area and the Oakland Hills.

Views along the course. Photo by Scott Dunlap

Here's what Eric Poole, of Ashland, had to say about his race and the course.

"What a treat to be able to head down to the Bay Area for a great trail run in the hills above Oakland. The weather could not have been better. It actually felt a bit too warm towards the end of the run. Nice problem to have this time of the year. The race started in Joaquin Miller Park and then jumped into the Redwood Regional Park as well. I started out running with Chris Rennaker and Aaron Brian who are both Rogue Valley boys that were running the race also. Chris was running the 50 km and Aaron was running the 30 km. We had a few laughs as we climbed up the first steep climb of the day that was crowded with runners. Once we topped out on that climb it was some nice fire road running to the first aid station. After the aid station we descended down into and then started climbing again as we got onto the French Trail. The French Trail is what trail running is all about. The trail is soft, the trees are large and the climbing and descending were constant. I felt like I ran the first 30 km too fast and was feeling good but that feeling would not last long. As I entered the French Trail again (we ran the 30 km course and then went to the start finish line and then headed out on the 20 km course) and started to catch the guy in front of me my legs decided to rebel and let me know that the pace that I had set up to that point would not be maintained. So, I tried to regroup and get some food and drink in me but that last 20 km was not too pretty. There was plenty of time to walk and take in the views! Chris caught me with about 5km to go and we ran together to the last aid station where we sucked down some Coke, ate some food and found some energy to finish the run. Luckily most of the 5000+ feet of climbing in the race was over and we just had a steep descent on the Cinderella trail to finish the run. All in all it was a great day. There were over 450 runners that competed in the 10 km, 20km, 30km and 50km and I will look forward to coming back next year to give this race another go."

Chris Rennaker, of Talent, posted these thoughts.

"This being my first official 50K race I had a lot of pre-race excitement and was feeling good about my training. However, I didn't work on my race pace very much. I started out too fast and felt the blow the last 20K loop. The temperature was another factor that I had not incorporated into my training, which reached the 70's. I didn't finish as strong as I wanted but running the last 5K with fellow Ashlander, Eric Poole helped keep my spirits up. The Redwood Regional Park is a very nice and well maintained park and while running in it you do not feel like you are only a few miles from downtown Oakland, CA. I'm looking forward to making it back to this trail run and having a better race."

Poole finished fifth in 4:42:20. Rennaker finished sixth, 35 seconds back. Aaron Brian ran in the 30 Kilometer version and finished fourth in 2:43:21. Congratulations boys! Further race results and info can be found here.

The racers at the finish line. (l to r) Eric Poole, Chris Rennaker, Aaron Brian