USATF Oregon Mountain, Ultra & Trail Running

Farewell........for now.

2012-01-27T14:35:00.000-08:00

Hello Oregon mountain, ultra and trail running fans.

After 4 years of publishing "MUT" news & running info on behalf of the USA Track & Field Oregon Association I'm putting this blog on ice. You can keep up with USATF-Oregon happenings at:

http://www.oregon.usatf.org/Home.aspx
http://www.facebook.com/USATFOregon

Questions about USATF-Oregon programs can be directed to:
LDR Chairperson - Jonathan Marcus - jmar24@gmail.com
LDR Vice-Chairperson - Bob Latham - robertallenlatham@gmail.com

I'm living down in sunny California for the foreseeable future but do hope to return to Oregon one day. You can following my running, racing, photos & travels on Google+
https://plus.google.com/u/0/111086436274184492529/about

...and follow my tweets on behalf of the US Mountain Running Team here:
http://twitter.com/usmrt

Happy Trails!

Richard Bolt

[photo above from Smith Rock State Park - Terrebonne, OR]

Mt. Defiance Ascent - account by Dan Howitt

2011-11-15T15:00:00.001-08:00

This past Friday Portland's Dan Howitt participated in a timed 1 hour and 39 minute ascent of Mt. Defiance in the Columbia River Gorge (photo above by Kapper Richmond). Here are some notes from Dan about his run:

"The company Rare Earth Adventures provided timing officials at the start and summit, Kapper Richmond and Sara Sanchez. 1h:39mn:00s from the trail-head to the summit, which is the new official record. The trail is approximately 5.2 miles and 4850 vertical feet from the trail-head to the summit. In the history of Mt. Defiance running, there have been a few reports of unofficial times in the 1h:30m range, done by competitive trail runners who win a fair percentage of the races they take part in, and place in the top 10 or 20 of larger, national races. The fastest reported descents are in the 1h range, also done by competitive trail runners, often after a lengthy rest at the summit. The trail is unmaintained, in contrast to a trail used for racing, thereby making one's ascent and descent running considerably less efficient, and one's time likely 15+ minutes slower in the ascent, and considerably slower in the descent as well. The average grade is 18% and there are long sections of 25%+. The approximate 1/2 mile total of flat sections, are filled with loose, shale rocks and larger rocks, making it difficult to increase one's speed. Given that the fastest descent of many talented runners is in the 1h range, I'd speculate that the elite US mountain runners would not be able to ascend in the 1h range, but rather would be in the 1h:15m+ range, and could likely descend in the 40-45 minute range. I was hoping for a time closer to 1h:25m-1h:30m, but was slowed by significant lung cramping over the first 1/2 of the trail. I'm hoping to do another run within the next 3 weeks weather permitting."

Photo below by Sara Sanchez

Registration for the Hagg Lake Mud Runs opens in 48 hours

2011-11-13T14:56:00.001-08:00

From the race directors:

It's almost here - the opening of registration for the 2012 Hagg Lake Mud Runs!

Registration will open at 7:00 AM PST on Tuesday, November 15, 2011.

We will send you another email at that time, which will include the direct URL to registration, or you can visit our website at haggmud.com for the link at that time.

Registration for the 25k is $50 for ORRC Members and $55 for non-members; the 50k is $55 for ORRC Members and $60 for non-members. If you'd like to join ORRC you can do so at the time of registration.

Shirt sizes guaranteed to those who sign up before 12/15 (keep in mind the 25k will likely sell out within a few days though, so you don't want to wait that long).

We will run a waiting list this year again.

Thank you for supporting the Hagg Lake Mud Runs!

Your Race Directors,

Todd Janssen, Eric & Kelly Barten, and Marianne Jones

USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Council Announces Runners of the Year - Official Press Release

2011-11-03T07:34:00.000-07:00

Indianapolis, IN ---- The Mountain/Ultra/Trail running (MUT) council of long distance running has named the 2011 USATF Mountain Runners of the year, Ultra Runners of the Year, Trail Runners of the Year, Trail Championship Series winners, and Contributor of the Year. The following individuals will be recognized at the USATF National Convention in St. Louis this December.

Mountain men open: Max King, 31, Bend, OR, is a first-time recipient of the USATF Mountain Runner of the Year title. King was the 2011 USA Mountain Running Champion and was the gold medalist at the World Mountain Running Championships in Tirana, Albania. King is also an accomplished road runner, having qualified for his second Olympic trials marathon with a 2:15:34 at the Baltimore Marathon.

Mountain men master: Tim Van Orden, 43, Bennington, VT, had a stellar year in 2011 including masters’ championship honors at the USA Mountain Running Championships, the USA 15km Trail Championships, the USA Half Marathon Trail Championships. He was the 2011 USATF New England Mountain Running Series - Masters Champion - 2nd Overall (Masters champion in 5 of the 6 races). He was the first finisher in the 40-44 age group at the 2011 Mt. Washington Road Race and at the 2011 World Masters Mountain Running Championships (Italy), he finished in tenth place in his age group.

Mountain women open: Kasie Enman, 32, Huntington, VT, is a first-time recipient in this category. Enman won the USA Mountain Running Championships to earn a spot on her first U.S. Mountain Running Team, and raced to a gold-medal winning performance at the World Mountain Running Championships leading the women’s team to its fourth-place finish. She also won and set a course record at the Loon Mountain Race, the Northfield Mountain Race, the Ascutney Mountain Race, and the Race to the top of Vermont. In addition to excelling in Mountain running, she has qualified for the Olympic trials marathon.

Mountain women master: Jacqueline Shakar, 51, Sutton, MA, led the master’s field at the USA Mountain running championships. She was a gold medalist in the 50-54 age group finishing in 16th place overall. She was the top 50+ and second master at the USATF New England Trail Running Championships at Northfield Mountain, the top master and fourth overall in the USATF NE Mountain running series. She finished in second place in the 50-54 at the Mt Washington Road Race, and was the top master at the Loon Mountain race, the Mt Ascutney Race, and Wachusett Mountain Race. She was the second masters finisher at the Pack Monadnock mountain race. Shakar is a Board Certified Orthopedic Specialist by the APTA and she is a full time professor in the Physical Therapy Assistant Program at Mt. Wachusett Community College

Ultra men open: Michael Wardian, 37, Arlington, VA, wins his fourth consecutive Ted Corbitt Memorial USATF Ultra Runner of the Year Award in 2011. He finished in bronze-medal position at the 2010 IAU World 100km Championships in Gibraltar which was one of the first races in the nomination period. In 2011, he has had a fantastic year including a silver medal at the IAU World 100km Championships, a win at the USA 50km Road Championships and USA 50 Mile Road Championships (course record). He finished 19^th at the Two Oceans Marathon (56km) in Cape Town, South Africa in April and was 11^th at Comrades Marathon in Durban, South Africa. Additionally, he competed in 13 road marathons in 2011, with a personal best at Grandma’s Marathon in 2:17:49 (his PR) where he also qualified for his third consecutive U.S. Men's Olympic Marathon Trials.

Ultra men master: Co-Recipients Chad Ricklefs, 44, Boulder, CO,

and Mark Godale, 41, Aurora, OH. Chad Ricklefs has been competing in ultramarathons at a national level since 1998 and reached an all-time high in his career in 2011, placing 11th overall at the 2011 IAU 100 km World Championships and first in the World Master's Championships division held concurrently with the World Open Championships. Mark Godale finished third master at the USA 100km Trail Championships, first master at the USA 50km Road Championships, second master at the USA 100km Road Championships, and first master at the USA 100 Mile Trail Championships and the 50 Mile Road Championships.

Ultra women open: Meghan Arbogast, 50, Corvallis, OR, was named the Ruth Anderson Ultrarunner of the Year Award for 2011. She set a pending world best at the IAU 100km World Championships in 2011 where she finished in fifth place and automatically qualified for the 2012 U.S. 100km Team. She was the second female finisher at Miwok 100km, third at both the US 100km Trail Championships and Way Too Cool 50km and seventh female finisher at Western States 100 Miler.

Ultra women master: Connie Gardner, 47, Medina, OH, won national championships (overall AND master's) at both the USA 100 Mile Trail Championships and the USA 24 Hour Championships where she came within one mile of breaking the 24 Hour National women’s record. She was the top female finisher at both the FANS 24 Hour, and the Lt. J.D. Stone 50km and was the third female finisher at the Buckeye Trail 50km.

USA Trail Championships Series Winners – Recipients will be announced November 10. The invidiual series winners will be those who have garnered the most points in the second annual USA Trail Championships (sub-ultra) series. The events include the 10km, 15km, half marathon, and marathon trail championships as well as the USA Mountain Championships.

Contributor of the Year – Lin Gentling

Lin Gentling has been the team manager for the men, the women or both at the IAU World 100km Championships for nearly two decades. She puts a lot of effort into making sure that the team members need to think about little more than their race as race day approaches by trying to make herself and her staff responsible for as many of the logistics as possible. Gentling’s organizational skills along with her experience in working with the team over so many years is a big part of the reason our USA 100km teams were so successful at the IAU World Championships 100km race this year.

New category awards for 2011 included:

Trail men open: Max King, doubles this year as the trail men’s open recipient. King won the USA Half Marathon Trail Championships and the USA 50km Trail Championships. He was the winner of the XTERRA National Trail Running Championships (the day after winning the USA 50km Trail Championships), the Siskiyou Out Back 50km Trail Race, and the McDonald Forest 50km Trail Race.

Trail men master: Tim Van Orden, doubles this year as the trail men’s master runner of the year.

Trail women open: Marci Klimek, 24, Phoenix, OR, winner of the USA 15km Trail Championships, second place at the USA Half Marathon Trail Championships. Currently leads the USATF trail series. Klimek is also a talented road runner having run 2:46:28 to win the 2011 Portland Marathon and 1:00:37 to win the 2011 Pear Blossom 10 Miler.

Trail women master: Jacqueline Shakar doubles this year as the trail women’s master runner of the year.

In order to be considered for the USATF Mountain and Ultra running awards an athlete must show top results in U.S. competitions for 2011 November 1, 2010 through October 1, 2011, 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 2011, 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.

USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Council Announces Runners of the Year

2011-11-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

From: Nancy Hobbs - Chairperson - USA Track & Field's Mountain, Ultra & Trail Running Council.

Indianapolis, IN ---- The Mountain/Ultra/Trail running (MUT) council of long distance running has named the 2011 USATF Mountain Runners of the year, Ultra Runners of the Year, Trail Runners of the Year, Trail Championship Series winners, and Contributor of the Year. The following individuals will be recognized at the USATF National Convention in St. Louis this December.

Mountain men open: Max King, 31, Bend, OR

Mountain men master: Tim Van Orden, 43, Bennington, VT

Mountain women open: Kasie Enman, 32, Huntington, VT

Mountain women master: Jacqueline Shakar, 51, Sutton, MA

Ultra men open – Ted Corbitt Memorial USATF Ultra Runner of the Year: Michael Wardian, 37, Arlington, VA

Ultra men master: Co-Recipients Chad Ricklefs, 44, Boulder, CO, and Mark Godale, 41, Aurora, OH

Ultra women open – The Ruth Anderson Ultrarunner of the Year Award: Meghan Arbogast, 50, Corvallis, OR

Ultra women master: Connie Gardner, 47, Medina, OH

New category awards for 2011 included:

Trail men open: Max King

Trail men master: Tim Van Orden

Trail women open: Marci Klimek, 24, Phoenix, OR

Trail women master: Jacqueline Shakar

Contributor of the Year – Lin Gentling

Hagg Lake Mud Runs registration to open around November 15

2011-10-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

From the race directors:

We know you're excited about the 2012 Hagg Lake Runs (so are we!) so we wanted to let you know that the target date to open registration has changed. We now hope to open registration on or about November 15.

You will receive an email similar to this one 24 hours before registration will open. This email will include the link where you can register for the 2012 Hagg Lake 25k and/or 2012 Hagg Lake 50k.

NOTE: Those who have signed up to be notified of registration opening will receive this link before it is posted on the Hagg Lake Mud Runs website. We anticipate the 25k to fill within days (maybe even in 24 hours) while the 50k usually doesn't get close to filling until about one month before the race. So if you are planning on the 25k please make sure you sign up right away!

If you have friends that would like to be on this notification list, please have them sign up for our notification email list here. https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:Join/signupId:1368523/acctId:1354679

Thank you for supporting the ORRC Hagg Lake Mud Runs!

Your volunteer RDs:

Eric & Kelly Barten

Todd Janssen

Marianne Jones

Open/Masters USATF Oregon Cross Country Championships to be held on October 22nd Portland, OR

2011-10-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

On Saturday October 22nd, USATF Oregon and Team Red Lizard are co-hosting the USATF Oregon XC Championships for Open/Masters level athletes at Pier Park in Portland, Oregon in conjunction with the 2011Stumptown Cross Series race #3.

The Women’s Open/Masters Race will be 6,000m and will start at 9:00am.

The Men’s Open/Masters Race will be 8,000m and will start at 9:45am.

Race entry fee is $15.00.

Athletes can sign up online for the 2011 USATF Oregon XC Championships for Open/Masters level athletes at https://www.signmeup.com/site/online-event-registration/78237.

There will be day of race registration available beginning at 8:00am and ending at 8:45am.

2011 USATF-Oregon Open/Master XC Championship race scoring rules

You must be a 2011 member of USATF Oregon in order to count towards scoring in the 2011 USATF-Oregon XC Championship team competition and to be eligible for prizes. Athletes can join USATF at www.usatf.org/membership.
For the 2011 USATF-Oregon XC Championship team scoring, the top 4 runners on each team will score. If there is a tie, the 5th runner breaks the tie.

For more information and a list of prizes and awards visit http://www.ldr-oregon.org

Please help the spread the word about the upcoming USATF Oregon XC Championships for Open/Masters level athletes by telling friends, posting on Facebook and including it in your team newsletters!

Contact/Questions
Jonathan Marcus
USATF Oregon Long Distance Running Chair
971.344.4469

Are you ready for some mud? Info on the 2012 Hagg Lake Mud Runs

2011-10-07T17:46:00.000-07:00

FROM THE RACE DIRECTORS:

This email is full of information of what we currently have set for the 2012 ORRC Hagg Lake Ultras. We are still finalizing some details but we are excited about the 2012 edition of the Hagg Lake Mud Runs ... let's hope for rain up until race day, and then sunshine and mild temps!

Note we have added another race director, Marianne Jones. Marianne is joining us to gain some race directing experience and to help us out, as the husband and wife pair on the Hagg Lake Team (Eric & Kelly Barten) are expecting and will be more than 7 months pregnant on race day!

Please read through this information and if you still have questions, you can contact us at hagglakemud@gmail.com.

2012 Hagg Lake Dates

The 2012 Hagg Lake Mud Runs are scheduled for the 3rd weekend in February 2012. The 50k will run on Saturday, February 18, 2012 and the 25k will run on Sunday, February 19, 2012. There is no 25k option on Saturday.

We will be updating our website soon with new information about parking, our refund and transfer policy, and more information.

2012 Hagg Lake Registration

We anticipate that registration will open around November 1, 2011 for the 2012 Hagg Lake 50k and 25k. Based on previous year's registration numbers and interest shown this year we expect the 25k will fill within one week. The 50k has not historically sold out but we appreciate it when you sign up ahead of time so we can accurately place our shirt order.

If you have received this email directly, you are already on the notification email list and will receive a direct link when registration is open.

If you received this email from a friend, and you want to get yourself on the list, you can sign yourself up by choosing "2012 Notification" from the options on our newsletter sign-up page.

2012 Hagg Lake Newsletters

We want to make it easy for you to get the information that you need for the 2012 Hagg Lake Ultras.

Each registered runner will automatically be added to an email list for the race they are running. You can also choose to be added to any of four additional newsletters by clicking here and signing up:

Trail Work Days

Training Opportunities

Volunteers

Hagg Lake Newbies

2012 Hagg Lake Training Runs

Saturday, October 22 8a - Forest Park at 53rd

Sunday, November 20 8:30a - Hagg Lake Picnic Area

Sunday, December 18 8a - Forest Park at 53rd

Saturday, January 21 8:30a - 8:30a - Hagg Lake Picnic Area

Links

Hagg Lake Mud Runs website

Nominations open for USATF Mountain/Ultra/Trail Runners of the Year

2011-10-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

Nominations open for 2011:

USATF Mountain Runners of the Year – Open and Masters

USATF Trail Runners of the Year – Open and Masters

USATF Ultra Runners of the Year – Open and Masters

USATF Mountain/Ultra/Trail Contributor of the Year

The Mountain/Ultra/Trail running (MUT) council of long distance running will select the 2011 USATF Mountain Runners of the year and Ultra Runners of the Year based on nominations received from interested athletes, coaches, and administrators involved in the sport. The following is the selection criteria for the 2011 USATF Mountain and Ultra Runners of the Year:

1) Nominated athlete must show top results in U.S. mountain/trail competitions for 2011 (November 1, 2010 through October 1, 2011) - this will 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 below the ultra distance. USATF ultra runners of the year results on trail and ultra road courses above the marathon distance in both national and international competition.

2) The nomination window includes the period: Nov 1, 2010 through Oct 1, 2011

3) Show top results in international competitions for 2011

4) Be an ambassador for the sport - athlete promotes and supports mountain running

5) Be a USATF member for 2011 - athlete MUST have a current USATF membership

6) To be considered for the masters category, athlete must be a minimum of 40 years of age.

To nominate an athlete, send BY October 25, 2011, the following information to trlrunner@aol.comand dave.dunham@comcast.net .

Nominated athlete's name, age or birth date (if you know it), athlete contact information, brief bio, reason for nomination in 2011. Anyone and everyone is welcome to nominate an athlete (or in the case of COY – an individual, company, etc.). An athlete may also nominate himself/herself.

Nominations received by October 25 will be considered in the selection process. After all nominations are compiled, the MUT council will vote (by October 30) for the mountain runner and ultra runners of the year from nominations received. The USATF Mountain Ultra and Trail Runners of the Year will be announced at or before the annual convention in St Louis in December. Should you have any questions about the procedure, please contact: Dave Dunham at dave.dunham@comcast.net

We also will accept nominations for contributor of the year for mountain, ultra, trail. Past Contributor of the Year recipients have been: American Ultra Running Association, Teva, La Sportiva, North Texas Trail Runners, the Mad City 100 km, the White Mountain Milers, Scott McCoubrey, Paul Kirsch, and Bob and Anita Teschek.

2011 La Sportiva / USATF-Oregon Mountain Running Series - scoring complete!

2011-09-28T16:49:00.000-07:00

The 4th annual La Sportiva / USATF-Oregon Mountain Running Series concluded earlier this month with the Sunrise to Summit race outside Bend, OR. Mario Mendoza and Katie Caba won the men's and women's races respectively on a new course.

24 USATF members participated in the 2011 edition of the series which contained only 3 races:
June - Graniteman Mountain Run
August - Mt. Ashland Hillclimb
September - Sunrise to Summit

Congratulations to this years winners:
Men: Erik Skaggs
Women: Laura Raber
Men's 40+: Robert Jullian
Women's 40+: Katie Caba

Here is the 2011 overall series scoring!

First Last Gender Age Group Points

Laura Raber Female Open 209.42

Erik Skaggs Male Open 200.00

Hal Koerner Male Open 185.39

Stephanie Howe Female Open 170.99

Robert Jullian Male 40+ 165.14

Lena Stemple Female Open 121.21

Mario Mendoza Male Open 100.00

Tim Van Orden Male 40+ 98.68

Tyler Davis Male Open 94.65

Richard Bolt Male 40+ 89.95

Katie Caba Female 40+ 86.74

Jenn Shelton Female Open 85.66

Joe Griffin Male 50+ 79.56

Shawn Donley Male 40+ 77.74

Quintin McCoy Male Open 77.58

Jeff Olsen Male Open 72.84

Sharon Mosley Female 40+ 71.36

Scott Abrams Male 50+ 71.16

Shahid Ali Male Open 69.89

Logan Scroggy Male Open 68.97

Chuck Whiteley Male 50+ 67.25

Joe Mosley Female 50+ 67.13

Mario Tigli Male 50+ 64.23

Elena Meyer Female 40+ 60.33

Here are the past series winners and participation numbers for each year:

2010 - 5 races (Larison Rock, Mt. Ashland, Great NW Mtn Run, Sunrise to Summit)

28 USATF members participate

Men's winner: Erik Skaggs (Ashland, OR)

Women's winner: Jenn Shelton (Ashland, OR)

Men's 40+ winner: Mario Tigli (Sandy, OR)

Women's 40+ winner: Sharon Mosley (Eugene, OR)

2009 - 5 races (Larison Rock, Graniteman, Mt. Ashland, Great NW Mtn Run, Sunrise to Summit)

17 USATF members participate

Men's winner: Ian Torrence (Ashland, OR)

Women's winner: Jenn Shelton (Ashland, OR)

Men's 40+ winner: Robert Gallogly (Medford, OR)

Women's 40+ winner: Susanna Beck (Eugene, OR)

2008 - 4 races (Graniteman, Mt. Ashland, Sunrise to Summit, NW Mtn Champs)

13 USATF members participate

Men's winner: Richard Bolt (Portland, OR)

Women's winner: Lisa Lye (Bend, OR)

Men's 40+ winner: Robert Jullian (Medford, OR)

Oregon's Max King & Stephanie Howe win USA 50k Trail Championships

2011-09-27T17:53:00.000-07:00

Pre-race favorites Max King, 31, and Stephanie Howe, 28, both of Bend, OR, raced to victory at the 2011 USA 50km Trail Championships on Saturday, September 24, held for the second consecutive year at Mount Bachelor Nordic Center located just west of Bend, OR.

At the 8:00 a.m. start time, temperatures were in the upper 40s, but midway through the race, the mercury settled around 80 degrees, well above normal day time highs for the region. King and eventual second-place finisher Ryan Bak, 29, Bend, ran shoulder to shoulder for much of the course, after dropping early leader Dusty Olson, 38, Duluth, MN, well before the first aid station at 12km. Olson dropped out at that point due to a hamstring issue.

King bettered last year’s second-place performance to win in 3:27:54 and earn yet another USATF championship title this year. In June, he won both the USA Half Marathon Trail Championships and the USA Mountain Running Championships. Add to his resume his incredible gold-medal performance at the World Mountain Running Championships earlier this month, and King is surely the man to beat on the trails and in the mountains.

Bak finished second in 3:33:46, followed by Jacob Puzey, 29, Hermiston, OR, in 3:47:12. Leading the masters’ men was Jeff Browning, 40, Bend, OR, in 4:02:02. Lowlander Mark Lundblad, 42, Swannanoa, NC, said the 7,000 foot elevation was a factor that slowed him down, but he still managed a second place masters’ finish in 4:04:15. Forty seven year-old William Emerson, Portland, OR, finished in 4:18:22.

In the women’s division, Howe ran head-to-head with Natalie Bak, 26, Bend, OR, until the last quarter mile outdistancing her rival at the finish line to win her first national championship in 4:19:26. Bak crossed the line in 4:20:01. Well off the pace was third-place finisher Pam Smith, 37, Salem, OR, who posted a time of 4:41:15.

The 40 and over women were led by Molly Zurn, 40, Reno, NV, in fourth place overall in 5:17:22. Julie Thomas, 44, Canby, OR, finished second for the masters’ women in 5:41:13, followed by Eugene’s Sharon Mosley, 48, in 6:22:15.

The course, unlike many ultra-distance events, consisted of a single, large loop. The race was held high in the Central Cascade Mountains, an area blanketed in snow much of the year. In fact, much of the course was still covered in snow as late as August. Elevations on the course varied from 5,500 feet to 7,500 feet and included single track, gravel service roads, heavily forested areas, and open alpine meadows. The last 50 meters of the course was a loose, cinder-covered path heading straight uphill, a real challenge after running nearly 50 kilometers.

There were seven different states represented among the 32 USATF members who had registered for the championships division, up from 23 registrants the year before. A prize money purse of $2,500 donated by Visit Bend, was distributed to the top three men and women overall and the top masters male and female finisher.

Richard Bolt, USATF Oregon Mountain, Ultra, Trail running coordinator, summed up the event like this, “Seeing the participation increase for a championship event is always a positive sign. Local race director Dave Thomason did an outstanding job with the event from start to finish. He mapped out a challenging course and provided a great post-race celebration complete with vendor booths, a catered buffet, and craft beer on tap.”

Official results are posted here:
http://www.time2race.com/Results/Flagline%2050K%202011.htm

+++ Official post event press release. Written by Nancy Hobbs with input from Richard Bolt. +++

USA Wins Double Gold at World Mountain Running Championships

2011-09-14T07:11:00.000-07:00

Tirana, Albania – September 11 – The USA set the bar at the 27^th World Mountain Running Championships held today, September 11, in Tirana, Albania, showcased by the gold-medal performances of Huntingdon, Vermont’s Kasie Enman and Bend, Oregon’s Max King.

“In my nine years as team leader, I’ve never been more proud of our athletes than I am today,” said Richard Bolt, “Kasie and Max’s performances blew me away. They made winning a World Championship look easy.”

“This is the first time I have represented the U.S. in a World Mountain Running Championship,” said Enman, “I’m very excited. I did not expect to win.”

With her victory Enman becomes the first senior woman from the U.S. to earn an individual gold medal. She led the senior women to a fourth place finish. Her time was 40:39 over the 8.59 kilometer course. She was followed by Megan Lund in 12^th place with a time of 43:56, Michele Suszek in 21^st place with a time of 44:48, and Brandy Erholtz in 26^th place with a time of 45:56.

“It’s an historic day for our women,” said women’s team manager Ellen Miller, “Kasie’s victory honors the past 17 years of U.S. women’s mountain running.”

For King, this was his second consecutive appearance at the World Mountain Running Championships, and he bettered last year’s 16^th place performance with a decisive victory today. “I’m tired, but I feel very good,” said King, “This is my first individual medal (last year’s senior men’s team took the silver), and I’m proud to have it in an up/down year especially inAlbania.”

King’s gold medal becomes only the second gold for a U.S. male. Jay Johnson, owner of Fleet Feet Sports in Boulder,Colorado, previously won gold for Team USA in 1989 and since that time, Johnson has been an ardent supporter of Team USA.

About his gold medal performance King said, “It was a good course for me having both the hard technical uphill and the fast and somewhat technical downhill. I had no idea I was in the lead until I crossed the finish line. The Ugandan runner was 30 seconds ahead of me at the top of the third climb and I passed him with about 800 meters to go. I didn’t think that he was the one I was trying to catch, I thought it was a lapped runner.”

King led the men’s team to a fourth place finish with his time of 52:06 over the 12.7 kilometer course. He was followed by teammates Joseph Gray in eleventh place with a time of 55:33, Ryan Woods in 49^th place in 1:01:51, Matt Byrne in 51^st place in 1:01:58, Tommy Manning in 79^th place in 1:08:10, and Jared Scott in 96^th place in 1:20:21.

“It was strong team finish, but we were obviously disappointed that we didn’t finish in the medals,” said King.

Prior to the senior races, the junior men and women competed. In the junior men’s 8.59 kilometer race, University ofRichmond sophomore Ryan Lee posted an impressive 11^th place finish. He was followed by fellow Spyder Billy Fayette in 28^thplace and Oliver Bear Don’t Walk IV in 54^th place. The junior men finished tenth.

The junior women raced 4.49 kilometers. Krisztina Dearborn, a sophomore at Central Connecticut State University, finished in 24^th place followed by Johns Hopkins sophomore Lara Shegoski in 29^th place, and University of Richmond freshman Clare Moretz in 30^th place.

“I’m tremendously proud of the efforts of our junior athletes today,” said Paul Kirsch, manager of the junior team, “They raced against the best in the world and held their own. I’m grateful to their college coaches who realize the tremendous opportunity this gives a collegiate athlete to race on a world stage.”

To learn more about the U.S. Mountain Running Team, visit us at www.usmrt.com or www.usatf.org. Follow the team on Facebook at www.facebook.com/usatfmut, or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/usmrt. The official race website for the 2011 WMRC is /www.wmrc2011.al.

USATF-Oregon Mountain Running Series - Scoring after 3 races

2011-08-28T15:45:00.000-07:00

3 of 4 races in the 2011 La Sportiva / USATF-Oregon Mountain Running Series have been completed. Erik Skaggs (Ashland, OR) leads the open men with 2 wins and 200 points. Laura Raber (Eagle Point, OR) leads the open women with 140 points. Robert Jullian (Medford, OR) leads the 40+ men with 165 points. Elena Meyer leads the 40+ women with 60 points from her Graniteman finish.

First Last Gender Age Group Grantieman Ashland Total Points
Erik Skaggs Male Open 100.00 100.00 200.00
Hal Koerner Male Open 93.44 91.95 185.39
Robert Jullian Male 40+ 83.85 81.29 165.14
Laura Raber Female Open 68.30 71.80 140.10
Lena Stemple Female Open 60.38 60.83 121.21
Tim Van Orden Male 40+ 0.00 98.68 98.68
Tyler Davis Male Open 94.65 0.00 94.65
Richard Bolt Male 40+ 0.00 89.95 89.95
Jenn Shelton Female Open 85.66 0.00 85.66
Stephanie Howe Female Open 0.00 84.99 84.99
Joe Griffin Male 50+ 0.00 79.56 79.56
Shawn Donley Male 40+ 0.00 77.74 77.74
Jeff Olsen Male Open 0.00 72.84 72.84
Shahid Ali Male Open 0.00 69.89 69.89
Chuck Whiteley Male 50+ 67.25 0.00 67.25
Mario Tigli Male 50+ 64.23 0.00 64.23
Elena Meyer Female 40+ 60.33 0.00 60.33

The final race in the series will be the Sunrise to Summit held on Mt. Bachelor outside of Bend, OR (September 3rd, 2011). Note the new course due to heavy snow cover on the summit: http://www.mbsef.org/events/sunrise2summit

Mt. Ashland Hillclimb - USATF Results

2011-08-28T15:06:00.000-07:00

Here are the results for USATF members who raced in the Mt. Ashland Hillclimb held earlier this month. Mt. Ashland was the 3rd race in the 2011 La Sportiva / USATF-Oregon Mountain Running Series. Series scoring will be updated in the next post on this blog.

USATF Place Name Age City/St Time
1 Erik Skaggs 29 Ashland, OR 1:51:54
2 Tim Van Orden 43 Bennington, VT 1:53:24
3 Hal Koerner 35 Ashland, OR 2:01:42
4 Richard Bolt 41 Portland, OR 2:04:24
6 Stephanie Howe 28 Bend, OR 2:11:40
5 Robert Julian 43 Medford, OR 2:17:39
7 Joe Griffin 51 Central Point, OR 2:20:39
8 Shawn Donley 41 Portland, OR 2:23:57
9 Jeff Olsen 26 Ashland, OR 2:33:37
10 Laura Raber 33 Eagle Point, OR 2:35:51
11 Shahid Ali 26 Ashland, OR 2:40:07
12 Lela Stemple 14 Talent, OR 3:03:57

Complete race results can be found here:
http://ultrasignup.com/results_event.aspx?did=10633

Sunrise to Summit Uphill Race - Important Changes!

2011-08-04T11:34:00.000-07:00

Due to deep snow still covering Mt. Bachelor the course and race date have changed.

The race will now take place on Saturday, September 3rd.

The race will start at West Village Lodge at Mt. Bachelor and then run up lower leeway to the cone saddle, then up the red road all the way to the top of Northwest Chair. The award ceremonies will take place at Pine Martin Lodge. Runner will have to hike back down from the top of the Northwest chairlift to the Pine Martin lift where they can get a chairlift ride down.

For the most up to date race information check out the MBSEF website:
http://www.mbsef.org/events/sunrise2summit

Mt. Ashland Hillclimb Run - Pre-race notes

2011-08-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

More wisdom and final thoughts from Race Director Torsten before this Saturday's race:

Wow, the weather forecast is excellent, the fire danger is relatively low, enough snow has melted to have a clear path: the race deities seem to be looking kindly on us this year. We've consulted sheep entrails, tea leaves and an old Magic 8 ball I bought at a garage sale and all signs augur well for an exceptional Mt Ashland Hill Climb Run this Saturday.

Race packet pickup the day before the race is at Rogue Valley Runners (161 East Main Street in downtown Ashland), from 12-6. I know, I mentioned this already. Department of Redundancy Dept. We like it when people pick up their packets the day before.

Race packet pick up on race day is at the race start, between 6:15 and 7:15.

The race start is near the bottom of Lithia Park on Winburn St near "the plaza", across the street from Sesame restaurant, near the frequently headless Abe Lincoln statue, and approximately 42° 11.792'N, 122° 42.963'W.

Start Time is 7:30am. We like to be prompt. And, this year I will make sure to have the microphone on when I say "go!"

No Early Starts. I know, you have the best intentions, but have you heard about the destination of the road paved in that manner? Read the FAQ for some of the reasons why we don't allow this (but know this: my timers are math-challenged and adding an hour to your time might put them over the top).

Race Day is Saturday. (Someone who will remain nameless, Cynthia, called me on Sunday one year wondering where everyone was!).

Not showing? There's still time to tell me--without repercussions--if you're not coming (thanks to those who already have). It's less food to buy.

No dogs, snapping turtles or reticulated pythons. Lots of requests for dogs this year. This is not the Iditarod.

Hiking Poles. Hiking Slavs and Hungarians are OK. Hiking poles, on the other hand, are relegated to the back of the pack. I'm sure there is a joke here about Reverse Polish Notation, but I can't think of the punch line.

Drinks. Speaking of punch, we serve various electrolyte beverages on course, usually Gatorade but sometimes Heed. It tends to be cool or cold which is what most people seem to want. If you want something else (warm tea, espresso, margarita, etc), you should bring it yourself. We'll have some stuff to eat too, but it's not a gourmet feast. Just setting expectations...

If you want clothes brought to the summit, please put them in a well-marked bag and bring that to the sign-in desk on Saturday. The summit is the top, the apex, the zenith, not the lodge. If you only make it to the lodge, your bag of clothes will be at the summit and will come down only when the aid station closes. We are not responsible for your bag.

The bus is full.

The race is full.

Leftover stuff. If you leave your crap possessions at the event, I may or may not decide to bring it to my house. Honestly, the stuff you folks leave there astounds me. And, no, don't leave your children, because I won't take them home, not even for "just a week."

Pre-Race Things To Do:

It's too late to start training, so on Friday, go to Dagoba (1105 Benson Way in Asland), taste, then buy some chocolate and then go to a local winery, taste some red wine, and then buy some. Great combo for Saturday evening. Savor the flavors.

Go to Rogue Valley Runners. Pick up your packet and buy the stuff we won't have at the race. I don't think buying shoes the day before is such a good idea though.

Post Race things to do:

Go jump in the lake. Actually, go jump in the reservoir at the top of Lithia Park. Great way to cool off those muscles, reduce inflammation, etc.

Eat at Standing Stone. You locals might want to wait a few days so we don't all descend on them the same day. Remember that theater-goers tend to eat between 6 and 8.

Embrace adversity,

Torsten Heycke

US Mountain Running Team - Junior Squad Announced

2011-07-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

Four junior men and three junior women to compete at the World Mountain Running Championships in Albania on September 11

Athletes representing seven states comprise the 2011 U.S. Junior Mountain Running Team (www.usmrt.com). The team will accompany the senior team members as they compete at the 2011 World Mountain Running Championships in Tirana, Albania, on September 11. (http://www.wmrc2011.al)

The athletes include:

JUNIOR MEN
Oliver Bear Don’t Walk (Age 18, Everson, WA). Oliver currently holds the American Junior 50km record (3:10:07) and has also qualified for the USATF Junior Track and Field Championships in the 10,000 meters in 2010 and 2011. He has a 5K road personal best of 15:06 and finished 5th overall at the 15km USA Trail Champs in 2011. Oliver is attending Stanford University in the fall.

Chase Caulkins (Age 19, Ketchum, ID/Portland, OR). Chase was a member of the 2010 team where he finished as the top U.S. Junior. His 5km track personal best is 14:09 and he recently finished in an impressive 4th place in the 5000 meters at the USATF Junior Track and Field Championships in June. Chase also ran 24:19 for 8 km during the cross country season. He is entering his sophomore year at the University of Portland.

Billy Fayette (Age 18, Clarendon Hills, IL). Billy is a recent graduate of Hinsdale Central High School where he set numerous school records and was winner of the prestigious Jim Carmignani award- best all round male athlete/leader at Hinsdale Central HS in 2011. Billy ran a 14:39 (3 mile) in the IL State Cross Country championships. He has PRs of 9:09.96 in the 3200m and 4:10.33 in the 1600m. Billy will be attending the University of Richmond in the fall.

Ryan Lee (Age 19, Wilmington, DE). Ryan Lee is entering his sophomore year at the University of Richmond. Last season Ryan finished 12th in the 5000m race at the USATF Track and Field Championships, where he competed against now-team mate Chase Caulkins. Ryan has PRs of 8:45 (1500m), 14:33 (5000m), 25:32 (8km XC).

JUNIOR WOMEN
Krisztina Dearborn (Age 19, Mirror Lake, NH). Krisztina is entering her sophomore year at Central Connecticut State University, where she this year she had personal bests of 18:39 in the 5000m and 38:44.22 in the 10,000m. Kristina went to high school at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro where was 2nd in the 2009 Lakes Region Cross Country championships. Krisztina also got to preview what the World’s course will be like when she competed in the 2011 USA Mountain Running Championships at the Cranmore Hill Climb in North Conway, NH.

Clare Moretz (Age 18, Madison, VA). Clare was a senior at Madison High School in 2011 where she had PRs of 5:07.71 in the 1600m and 11:16.18 in the 3200m. After being undefeated for the first half of her 2010 cross country season, Clare suffered a stress fracture that left her unable to compete for the rest of the XC season. Clare turned that around in the Spring where she was 1st at the VHSL Group A State Championships in the 3200 and set a school record in the 1600m with her second place finish at the Championships. Clare qualified for the championships in the 400, 800, 1600, and 3200. Clare will be attending the University of Richmond in the fall.

Lara Shegoski (Age 19, Belle Mead, NJ). Lara had a strong Freshman year at Johns Hopkins University where she had a 17:37 personal best in the 5000m and had her 6000m XC personal best at the Division III National Championships in NovemberLara attended Montgomery High School in New Jersey where she was All American in the 5000m indoor and outdoor. . Lara’s leg speed will serve her well at the relatively fast World’s mountain running course in Albania.

The Junior Team joins senior athletes Max King, Joe Gray, Ryan Woods, Matt Byrne, Tommy Manning, Jared Scott, Kasie Enman, Michele Suszek, Brandy Erholtz and Megan Lund, who will compete in Albania at the World Mountain Running Championships.

Last year at the world championships in Slovenia, the U.S. Men won their first-ever silver team medal. The junior women and senior women have previously won team and individual medals. The team looks to capitalize on that success in 2011 in Tirana.

“I’m really excited about this year’s junior team” said Paul Kirsch, Team Manager of the Juniors. “The course in Tirana is a fast one and the combination of strength and speed that our juniors have this year gives them a good shot at being on the podium.”

The World Championships alternate between up only and up/down courses every other year with 2011 being an up/down year. The junior women will race one 4.5km up/down lap while the junior men will race two 4.5km laps. The senior men’s race is three laps and the senior women, like the junior men, will race two.

You can follow the team’s pursuits this September by following them online at any of the following sites:
Website: www.usmrt.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/usatfmut
Twitter: www.twitter.com/usmrt
As we have done the past two years, the team will be sending live updates via twitter from Albania in September. The official race website for the 2011 WMRC http://www.wmrc2011.al

Mt. Ashland Hillclimb - pre-race message from race director

2011-07-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

A message from Torsten Heycke (Chief race mucky muck - pictured above):

We're just a week and a half away from the Mt Ashland Hillclimb Run (Sat, Aug 6). Below is some important information that might help you and us:

1. Reminder: This is an extremely challenging event.
You already signed a waiver telling us that you acknowledge this. You can't plead insanity, because that is already assumed. Seriously, though, if you are not physically able, you should not participate. It could be extremely cold and/or hot. Additionally it could be windy or completely still. There are unmarked hazards including loose rocks, holes, and branches. There may be wild animals on the course. Speaking of, there may be mountain bikers riding on various roads and trails (though we have asked local shops to inform riders to please refrain).

2. If you know you're not going to make it to the event, please tell us as soon as possible. Race directors are reporting 20-25% no-shows at their events. No-tell no-shows result in a huge waste of resources, including food and drink, and people's time. It also messes with the random draw prizes. We know that stuff comes up: forgot to train, root canal scheduled for that day, have to clean the garage, etc. Just tell us: there is no embarrassment in that. The consequences of "no-tell, no show" are likely to be most heinous: I haven't decided whether to pass the list on to other race directors or feed the information to a tele-sales organization.

By the way, if you pick up your race packet, we are assuming you will show up at the race. Please notify us if you are not going to participate. It hurts our feelers if we go searching for you on the course and find out you didn't start.

3. There are no refunds, exchanges, credits, etc.
Check the FAQ for more on this.

4. Pre-Race Training.
Run up Mt Ashland from town and get a ride back. You can do this by arranging with the Ashland Mountain Adventure folks for a shuttle ride from Mt Ashland down to town. You will want to coordinate with their existing shuttle schedule . 541.499.2298

5. Friday Packet Pickup is at Rogue Valley Runners, 161 E. Main St, from 12- 6pm.
Great place to pick up some stuff while you're there. You can also pick up your packet on race day at the race start (at the bottom of Lithia Park, on Winburn Way near "the plaza") after 6:15am and before 7:15am. Please don't show up at 7:20.

6. Race numbers. Wear them where finish line people can see them. If you wear your number on your butt, make sure you go through the finish line butt first. We'd prefer that you wore your number in front, but that's your prerogative. We apologize if this messes with your fashion statement. If we can see your number, we will give you a race time. The corollary to this is: we will give you a time when we see your number--even if it's several minutes after you finished. Also, please make sure you're wearing your number and not your spouse's, friend's, grandmother's, etc. It really messes with the results when a 21-year old guy wins the women's 60-69 division.

7. Race Day: Dropping out and aid station cut-off times.
If you drop out, please notify someone at an aid station. Make sure they write down your number (or better yet, give them your number). If you are asked to stop, please do so. Many people stop at the lodge and that's a good choice (food, drink, beer maybe).

-- Four Corners (~6.6 miles) by 10:30am
-- Bull Gap (~10.5 miles) by 11:30am
-- The Lodge (~12.8 miles) by 12:15pm.

IMPORTANT: the summit aid station will close at 1pm and there will be no transportation down after that time. If you continue past the lodge at 12:14 and decide to linger to marvel at the extraordinary wildflowers on the way up to the summit, you just might miss the aid station. Great wildflowers, though.

8. Race Day: Getting Down from Mt Ashland Summit to the Lodge
We will have vehicles driving down from the summit on a narrow, bumpy, dusty road. You may find that you are faster if you just walk down. We appreciate if you can do this.

9. Race Day: Spectators
The best place for spectators is at the Mt Ashland lodge. Please do not drive the narrow, bumpy, dusty road to the summit. Spectators who drive to the summit delay our shuttle vehicles, which also delays results, emergency care, and water and food delivery. There is nothing worse than delaying water and food to thirsty and hungry runners. Please tell your spouses, significant others, fan club, etc that you (the participant) risk disqualification, or worse: public humiliation, by their driving up to the summit. Spectators can walk to the summit if they want (but please don't walk up the road!)

10. Race Day: The Course
No one has gotten lost yet; well at least, everyone has eventually shown up. Please read the website course directions. Look at the maps there. We do minimal course marking (mainly at the locations where you might be confused... but, really, who are we to know when you will get confused? Sometimes I can't remember why I went into the garage, so confusion might arise at any time and anywhere.) Be responsible, read the course description. www.mtashlandrun.com/course.html

Also, Mt Ashland still has snow in places, but not on our course. So, if you're walking in the snow, you're off course.

11. Race Day: Awards and Random Draw Prizes
Race day awards will be shortly after 11. If you arrive at the lodge parking lot after that, you can still collect your prize. (These are first place prizes for age groups and overall men's and women's winners).

Random prize winners can pick up their item(s) at the lodge parking lot. Must be present to win. Hmm, words to live by.

Thanks for reading,

Torsten Heycke
Chief race mucky muck

Mt. Defiance Race Planned for Columbia River Gorge

2011-07-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

Trail Factor - Portland, Oregon's most popular trail running group is in the planning stages of a race up Mt. Defiance. The 5 mile race would climb over 4850' and be the steepest uphill running race in the state. Are you interested? Join the discussion and get more information about the proposed race here:
http://groups.google.com/group/trailfactor/browse_thread/thread/78e73974c63ca0e4?pli=1#
Contact the race organizer Dan Howitt - danhowitt@colgatealumni.org

Americans Joe Gray & Maria Dalzot win NACAC Mountain Running Championships

2011-07-18T14:13:00.000-07:00

Joe Gray (Lakewood, WA) and Maria Dalzot (West Virginia) won their respective races at the 2011 NACAC Mountain Running Championships in Ajijic, Mexico. Joe also set a new course record - breaking the old record by 3 minutes. The US women's team (Maria, Chris Lundy, Amber Moran and Gina Lucrezi) won the women's team competition. The US men (Joe, Tommy Manning and Mario Mendoza) finished 3rd behind Canada (1st) and Mexico (2nd).

Complete results will be available soon at: http://www.usmrt.com/

Photos of the event are here: https://picasaweb.google.com/RichardABolt/2011NACACMountainRunningChampionships?authuser=0&feat=directlink

A video of the start of the race can be found here: http://youtu.be/6XQpgD1xHRo

NACAC Mountain Championships in Mexico this weekend

2011-07-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

The US Mountain Running Team is flying into Guadalajara today for Sunday's NACAC Mountain Running Championships. Mario Mendoza (Bend, OR) and Joe Gray (Lakewood, WA) will be representing the PacNW. You can follow live Twitter updates from the team at http://twitter.com/#!/usmrt

Max King wins the USA Mountain Running Championships

2011-06-28T18:34:00.000-07:00

Max King (Bend, OR) won the 2011 USA Mountain Running Championships held in conjunction with the Mt. Cranmore Hillclimb this past Sunday in North Conway, NH. Max took home more cash and a spot on the 2011 US Mountain Running Team which will compete in the World Mountain Running Championships this September in Tirana, Albania.

You can read a great post race write up from the American Trail Running Association's Nancy Hobbs here:
http://www.examiner.com/trail-running-in-national/king-and-enman-dominate-field-at-usa-mountain-running-championships

Complete results here:
http://www.coolrunning.com/results/11/nh/Jun26_USAMou_set1.shtml

Race photos from Scott Mason here:
http://www.scottmasonphoto.com/USATF-NEMountainSeries/Cranmore-Hillclimb-2011/Cranmore-Hillclimb-2011-Men/17773348_jFq6XB#1357664149_n8JDFNW

Race photos from Joe Vigor here:
http://www.joeviger.com/Clients/2011-Cranmore-Hill-Climb-US/17751441_2978Dz#1356590603_GDxPPxF

Follow Max and the rest of the 2011 US Mountain Running Team at:
http://www.usmrt.com/
http://twitter.com/#!/usmrt

Junior US Mountain Running Team - 2011 - Call for candidates

2011-06-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

From Paul Kirsch:

Hello Coaches and Athletes,

As we prepare for this year's USA Mountain Running Championships next weekend at Cranmore Mountain in New Hampshire, it is also time to send out a call for candidates for our junior mountain running team.

This year's World Mountain Running Championships takes place on September 11th in Tirana, Albania. The course for the Championships alternate between uphill only and up/down every other year. In 2011 the course is an up/down course. Here is a link to the Championship website: http://www.wmrc2011.al/ This year's course is a pretty fast one for mountain running, with an elevation gain of approximately 280 meters per lap. The junior girls run a single 4.49km lap, the junior boys run two laps for a total distance of 8.59 km. Here is a link to the course profile: http://www.wmrc2011.al/Courses.aspx

Team members selected will have a part of their airfare to Albania covered. We continue to fundraise to cover as much airfare as we can. Your lodging and food while you are in Albania is all covered.

We are looking to finalize the Junior team by July 10th so that airline tickets can be purchased and people have adequate time to acquire passports. If you have an athlete who would be interested in applying for the team or know someone who would be, please do the following:

1. Send an email to myself, Paul Kirsch at pkirsch2@gmail.com.
2. In the email include a running resume for the team candidate that includes personal bests and noteworthy performances.
3. In the email include a letter of support from a parent and/or coach. If you are entering college in the fall, your college coach's support is imperative.
4. Junior men should have a 16:45 or better 5 km road or XC time and Junior women should have a time of 19:30 or better. Equivalent times from alternate race distances will be considered.
5. All runners must be current USATF members and US citizens (USATF membership can be obtained after the team members are announced)
6. Team members will need a valid passport for travel
7. Junior athletes must be between the ages of 15 and 19 on December 31, 2001 to be eligible.

If anyone is interested, any junior team candidates are welcome to race at the USA Mountain Championships this coming weekend in New Hampshire. This is not a requirement to make the team but for those in the region, it is a great opportunity to receive exposure to highly competitive mountain running. Contact me for more information if any students are interested in competing.

Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you. If you have any questions, please email me or call me at the numbers below.

Best Regards,

Paul Kirsch
Team Manager, Juniors

USA Mountain Running Team
pkirsch2@gmail.com
603-398-1852

2011 Graniteman Mountain Run - Results

2011-06-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

The Graniteman Mountain Run took place this past Sunday at Applegate Lake in Southern Oregon. This 10 mile trail race features a single 10 mile loop climbing and descending over 1000' with scenic views throughout the course. The 2011 edition of the event was won again by Erik Skaggs (Ashland, OR) on the men's side. Jenn Shelton (Ashland, OR) won the women's race by over 8 minutes.

The Graniteman Mountain Race was also the first race in the 2011 La Sportiva / USATF-Oregon Mountain Running Series. The top USATF man and woman at this and every race in the series take home $100. The next race in the series is the Great Northwest Mountain Run at Mt. Hood on July 31. Find all the races in the series here:
http://usatforegonmut.blogspot.com/2010/12/2011-la-sporiva-usatf-oregon-mountain.html

Complete results for the race can be found here:
http://onlineraceresults.com/race/view_race.php?race_id=19420#racetop

Here are the results for the USATF members who will now score in the Oregon Mountain Running Series:

Place Name CITY SEX AGE DIV TIME
1 Erik Skaggs Ashland M 28 M2529 1:13:22
2 Tyler Davis Talent M 23 M2024 1:17:31
3 Hal Koerner Ashland M 35 M3539 1:18:31
4 Jenn Shelton Ashland F 27 F2529 1:25:39
5 Robert Julian Ashland M 43 M4044 1:27:30
6 Laura Raber Eagle Point F 33 F3034 1:47:25
7 Chuck Whiteley Medford M 53 M5054 1:49:06
8 Mario Tigli Sandy M 53 M5054 1:54:13
9 Lela Stemple Medford F 14 F0115 2:01:31
10 Elena Meyer Central Point F 47 F4549 2:01:36

Scoring for the series will work as follows: Runners score points based on their time as a percentage of the winner's overall time, making every second count! For example, a winning time of 41:08 gets 100.00 points; a time of 42:21 is worth 97.13, and 1:20:32 gets 51.08 (the winning time being just about 50 percent of that runner's time. Women's scoring is based on 100.00 points for the first female finisher. A runner's top 3 of 4 races are totaled to determine overall series scoring.

USA Half Marathon Trail Championships / 10th Annual Footzone Dirty Half Results

2011-06-16T08:05:00.000-07:00

Bend, Oregon, June 12th 2011.

The USA Half Marathon Trail Championships held in conjunction with the 10th annual foot zone Dirty Half kicked off to perfect running weather, sunny blue skies and cool temperatures. For the second year in a row the race was won by US Mountain Running Team member and local standout Max King ($500) in a time of 1:14:44. On the women's side, US Ski Team member and 2010 Olympian Morgan Arritola ($500) cruised to her first USATF trail national championship in a time of 1:24:34.

Max cruised to victory after driving 6 hours the day before to run a 5k and a 10k on the track in Portland. In the 5k Max ran a 13:55, followed by a 31:00 in the 10k while pacing for other runners. Following Max by only 17 seconds, 2010 USATF Trail Championship Series winner Mario Mendoza ($300) finished second in a time of 1:15:01. Rounding out the men's top three in a time of 1:17:34 was New Mexico’s Kristopher Houghton ($200).

After dueling closely with Morgan for the first half of the race, Marci Klimek ($300) finished second in a time of 1:25:16. Former US Mountain Running Team member Megan Lund-Lizotte ($200) from Basalt, CO took home third place in a time of 1:25:51.

The top men's master, taking home $250, from Bennington, VT was Tim Van Orden in a time of 1:18:45. Tim also finished 5th place overall. In the female masters competition, 2010 USA Trail Marathon champion Katie Caba also took home $250 for her win in a time of 1:26:07. Katie was the fourth woman overall.

New for 2011, the mostly rolling single track course started and finished at Breedlove Guitars on the west side of Bend in the Northwest Crossing neighborhood. Utilizing many mountain bike trails originating from Phil’s trailhead, the race wound through pine forests and open desert with scenic views of snowcapped volcanoes.

The large staff of enthusiastic volunteers was lead by race director Super Dave Thomason. Post race amenities included ample sunshine, warming temperatures, a beer garden, Jamba Juice smoothies and a multitude of other snacks and refreshments. There was $2,500 in cash prizes, courtesy of the Visit Bend (the City of Bend Visitors bureau). This race is also a successful fundraiser, having contributed over $100,000 to the Deschutes Land Trust.

Age Group Winners:

Katie Caba (Bend, OR) – 1:26:07 – F40-44

Sharon Mosley (Coburg, OR) – 2:06:54 – F45-49

Merrill Creagh (Portland, OR) – 2:04:59 – F50-59

Nancy Macinnis (Bend, OR) – 2:15:52 – F60-64

Tim Van Orden (Bennington, VT) – 1:18:45 – M40-44

David Engstrom (Medford, OR) – 1:33:03 – M45-49

Daniel Greer (Boulder, CO) – 1:28:24 – M50-54

Dave Webster (Bend, OR) – 1:35:18 – M55-59

Paul Caisse (Edmonds, WA) – 1:41:24 – M65-69

William Misner (Spokane, WA) – 2:00:23 – M70-74

Don Hildebrand (Sisters, OR) – 2:44:07 – M75-79

Complete USATF Results:

Place Bib # Name Time City State Age Gender Age Group

1 1 MAX KING 1:14:44 BEND OR 31 M Open Male

2 154 MARIO MENDOZA 1:15:01 BEND OR 25 M Open Male

3 260 KRIS HOUGHTON 1:17:34 ALBUQUERQUE NM 30 M Open Male

4 113 CORY JENKINS 1:18:11 Bellingham WA 28 M Open Male

5 244 TIM VAN ORDEN 1:18:45 BENNINGTON VT 43 M M-40 to 44

6 28 JEFF CABA 1:21:43 BEND OR 41 M M-40 to 44

7 139 SAM ROBINSON 1:22:51 BERKELEY CA 26 M Open Male

8 14 RICHARD BOLT 1:24:11 SAN JOSE CA 40 M M-40 to 44

9 266 MORGAN ARRITOLA 1:24:34 KETCHUM ID 25 F Open Female

10 268 MARCI KLIMEK 1:25:16 BEND OR 23 F Open Female

11 135 MEGAN LUND-LIZOTTE 1:25:51 BASALT CO 27 F Open Female

12 29 KATIE CABA 1:26:07 BEND OR 40 F F-40 to 44

13 212 CAITLIN SMITH 1:26:40 BERKELEY CA 30 F Open Female

14 189 SCOTT DUNLAP 1:27:03 WOODSIDE CA 42 M M-40 to 44

15 25 JEFF BROWNING 1:27:39 BEND OR 39 M Open Male

16 86 DANIEL GREER 1:28:24 BOULDER CO 51 M M-50 to 54

17 221 TAYLOR STEELE 1:30:59 BEND OR 17 M Open Male

18 51 RON DEEMS 1:32:23 BEND OR 53 M M-50 to 54

19 166 JENNIFER MUNYAN 1:32:45 APPLE VALLEY CA 38 F Open Female

20 65 DAVID ENGSTROM 1:33:03 Medford OR 45 M M-45 to 49

21 165 HANNAH MUNYAN 1:33:54 APPLE VALLEY CA 16 F Open Female

22 11 STEPHEN BLACKLOCKS 1:34:52 Bend OR 54 M M-50 to 54

23 249 DAVE WEBSTER 1:35:18 BEND OR 56 M M-55 to 59

24 82 DONOVAN GRABOWSKI 1:35:45 PORTLAND OR 42 M M-40 to 44

25 175 JOHANNA OLSON 1:35:45 BEND OR 32 F Open Female

26 150 PIPER MCDONALD 1:36:35 BEND OR 14 F Open Female

27 226 KARI STRANG 1:40:46 BEND OR 38 F Open Female

28 30 PAUL CAISSE 1:41:24 EDMONDS WA 67 M M-65 to 69

29 213 JEFF SPANGLER 1:41:51 BEND OR 53 M M-50 to 54

30 204 IAN SHARMAN 1:44:23 WALNUT CREEK CA 30 M Open Male

31 91 BECKY HACKER 1:44:50 ASHLAND OR 41 F F-40 to 44

32 243 EMILY UHLIG 1:46:19 Bellingham WA 25 F Open Female

33 270 STEVE HENDERSON 1:50:39 Terrebonne OR 59 M M-55 to 59

34 88 JAY GRUBB 1:53:29 SEATTLE WA 50 M M-50 to 54

35 99 PETER HATTON 1:55:57 BEND OR 50 M M-50 to 54

36 159 WILLIAM MISNER 2:00:23 SPOKANE WA 71 M M-70 to 74

37 382 DAVID DURAN 2:02:40 CAMAS WA 31 M Open Male

38 47 MERILL CREAGH 2:04:59 PORTLAND OR 58 F F-55 to 59

39 527 JOE MOSLEY 2:06:54 COBURG OR 57 M M-55 to 59

40 528 SHARON MOSLEY 2:06:54 COBURG OR 48 M F-45 to 49

41 267 NANCY MACINNIS 2:15:52 BEND OR 62 F F-60 to 64

42 7 JIM BEVINS 2:21:37 Lake Oswego OR 73 M M-70 to 74

43 64 JOE EMERSON 2:37:18 PORTLAND OR 67 M M-65 to 69

44 632 DON HILDEBRAND 2:44:07 Sisters OR 79 M M-75 to 79

2011 USA 1/2 Marathon Trail Championships - Footzone Dirty Half

2011-06-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a great blog post from trail runner, technology entrepreneur and new dad Scott Dunlap (Woodside, CA) - pictured above right:

Last Sunday, I joined 800+ trail runners for the 10th annual Dirty Half in Bend, OR, which was also the USATF Trail Half Marathon Championships for the second year in a row. It was a great opportunity to race against some fast people, try out a new course, catch up with friends, and make a few new ones as well. It's hard to go wrong with summer trail running in Bend, OR!

Read the full blog post here:
http://runtrails.blogspot.com/2011/06/trailblazin-at-2011-dirty-half-usatf.html

Complete race results here:
http://www.centraloregonathlete.com/feature/2011-dirty-half-results/

Portland Trail Series starts in August 2011

2011-06-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

FROM Todd Janssen (Portland, OR)

Trail Factor will be putting on a series of trail races in Forest park, beginning in August 2011.

The Portland Trail Series, will consist of five races held every other Wednesday evening from August 31 through October 26. Each race will be run on a different 5-8 mile course and will be limited to 100 runners per race. You can register for one or all races, but only those registered for the series will be included in the overall standings. And doing well in the series will get you some great stuff from our sponsors.

Another great thing about the series is that it will raise money for the Forest Park Conservancy, which works really hard to maintain the amazing park that we all enjoy. (Of course you can continue to support the Conservancy on your own through your own donations or by helping with trail work!)

Fit Right NW, which has great selection of trail running gear by the way, is on board and Montrail will be the title sponsor. We are still working to line up more sponsors and plan to have the final award ceremony at a brewpub . . . we may actually end up there after each race.

Anyway, check out the website at www.portlandtrailseries.com. Registration will start in a couple weeks, but if you send an email to portlandtrailseries@gmail.com with "notify" in the subject line, we will make sure that you are the first to know when registration will open.

If you have any questions or just want to help out, send an email to portlandtrailseries@gmail.com.

USATF Oregon 1 Mile Road Race Championships June 18 - Portland

2011-05-31T14:44:00.000-07:00

On Saturday June 18th, USATF Oregon is hosting the USATF Oregon 1 Mile Road Race Championships at Mt. Tabor Park in Portland, Oregon. There will be youth, open/elite and master races.
Races will be just over 3 laps on the Harvey Scott Circle road on the summit of Mt. Tabor park overlooking the city of Portland. $900 worth of prize money will be award to the Top 3 open men and women USATF Oregon finishers and the top overall master male and female finisher.

For more information visit http://www.ldr-oregon.org/p/usatf-oregon-1-mile-road-race-champs.html

Registration is $15 online until 6/15 or $25 on day of race between 8:00-9:00 am.

Please help the spread the word about this exciting new road racing opportunity by telling friends, posting on facebook and including it in your team newsletters!

Contact/Questions
Jonathan Marcus
USATF Oregon Long Distance Running Chair
971.344.4469

USA 15k Trail Championships - results & story

2011-05-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

Joseph Gray, 27, Lakewood, WA, dominated the field from the start at the USA 15km Trail Championships at Riverside State Park in Spokane, WA, posting a finish time of 54:57. Marci Klimek, 23, Phoenix, OR, was the women’s champion timed in 1:05:45.

Men:
Time Bib First Last Sex Age City State
54:57 183 Joseph Gray Male 27 Lakewood WA
56:20 185 James Rucker Male 32 Spokane WA
57:28 181 Mario Mendoza Male 25 Cambria CA
58:03 179 Gregory Leak Male 23 Chadds Ford PA
58:18 207 Oliver Bear Don't Walk IV Male 18 Everson WA

Women:
Time Bib First Last Sex Age City State
1:05:45 402 Marcella Klimek Female 23 Phoenix OR
1:06:08 405 Gina Lucrezi Female 28 Natick MA
1:10:07 404 Kristi Houk Female 27 Port Orchard WA
1:12:09 406 Rhea Dahlberg Female 39 Missoula MT
1:14:55 408 Karen Steele Female 53 Novato CA

Read the complete story at: http://www.examiner.com/trail-running-in-national/gray-and-klimek-victorious-at-usa-15km-trail-running-championships

USA MountaRunning Team Announced for the 2011 North American Central American Caribbean (NACAC) Championships

2011-05-13T09:42:00.000-07:00

Indianapolis, IN --- The 2011 NACAC Mountain Championships take place in Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico on July 17. This is the eighth consecutive year that the NACAC Mountain Championship have been held with the event rotating being the US, Mexico, and Canada. Mexico has been a great host in the past and we are excited to have a strong U.S. team competing with teams from Mexico and Canada.

This year's Championship will be held in conjunction with the 9th annual Carrera de La Chupinaya mountain race. The course is 13.8km of mainly technical singletrack done in one loop. The race starts at 5020' and climbs up to 7875' at about 7km before descending back to the start. This up and down NACAC Mountain Championship follows the pattern of the World Mountain Running Championships with odd-numbered years being up and down races and even-numbered years being uphill races.

Meet the team members:
Chris Lundy, 40, Saualito, CA, has the most international mountain racing experience. She was a member of the USA Team at Worlds in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009 with the 2006 and 2007 teams winning gold and the 2009 team taking bronze. Lundy also won the individual NACAC Mountain title in 2007 and 2009 as a member of the winning women’s team. She holds the title of USA Mountain Champion from 2009. Lundy is a top road marathoner as well competing in the Olympic Trials in 2004 and 2008. Lundy was a three-time NCAA Div. I All-American for the University of Pennsylvania. Lundy is employed as a veterinarian.

Gina Lucrezi, 29, Newton, MA, is coming off a great 2010 with a National Champion title at the USA 10Km Trail Championships and runner-up at the USA 15Km Trail Champs. She was named the inaugural USATF Trail Runner of the Year series champion as well. Also in 2010, Lucrezi won both the USATF New England Mountain and Trail Championship races. She was the 2004 NCAA Div. III National Champion in the 1500 meters indoors for DeSales University and a ten time All-American. Lucrezi works in marketing for footwear company Inov-8 and runs on their team.

Amber Moran, 32, Arden, NC, placed 7th at the USA Mountain Championships at Mt. Washington in 2010. In 2009 she took fourth at the USA 10Km Trail Championships. Amber is a two-time winner of the challenging Shut-In Trail Race and The Bear Hill Climb in NC. She has a speedy mile personal best of 4:44. Moran works as a school nurse and runs for Team Inov-8.

Maria Dalzot, 23, Morgantown, WV, was a member of the 2007 Junior US Mountain Running team which took the silver medal at Worlds in Switzerland. Dalzot competed for the West Virginia University Cross Country team that won the Big East Championships in 2007 and placed top ten at NCAA Cross Country Nationals. She is currently a graduate student at West Virginia University.

Joe Gray, 27, Lakewood, WA, was 10th at the World Mountain Running Championships in 2010 leading the U.S. men’s team to its first ever team silver medal. He was a scoring member on the bronze-medal USA team in 2008. In 2009, Gray was the USA Mountain Running Champion and was named the men's USA Mountain Runner of the Year in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Gray is the first male to win the NACAC Mountain Championship twice with wins in 2009 and 2010.

Eric Blake, 32, New Britain, CT, has competed for USA five times at the World Mountain Running Championships and was a scoring member of both the 2010 silver medal team and the bronze medal U.S. team in 2008. He is two-time USA Mountain Running Champion with wins in 2006 and 2008. Blake holds the Treadmill Marathon World Record with a 2:21.40. He has been the Head Cross Country and Track coach at Central Connecticut State University since 2009. Blake runs for the Boston Athletic Association and the PowerBar Elite team.

Tommy Manning, 35, Colorado Springs, CO, made his first U.S. National Team in 2010 and had an incredible performance to help the team win their silver medal at Worlds finishing 3rd for the team. He was 6th at 2010 USA Mountain Running Championships. In 2009, Manning won the Route 66 Half-Marathon with a time of 1:09.57 and finished 34th at Boston in 2:26.57. He is teacher at Fountain Valley High School in Colorado Springs.

Mario Mendoza, 25, Bend, OR, was the 2010 USATF Trail Runner of the Year Series Champion with second place finishes at both the USA 15Km Trail Championships and Marathon Trail Championships in 2010. He also took 3rd at the national Xterra Trail Championships. At the 2010 USA Cross Country Championships, Mendoza finished 36th. Mendoza runs for Salomon and the Asics Aggies.

Richard Bolt, 40, San Jose, CA will be traveling as team manager. Bolt has been Team Leader for the US Mountain Running Team at the World Mountain Running Championships nine years including this year’s event to be held in Albania in September. Prior to his leadership role, Bolt competed as an athlete at the World Mountain Running Championships in 1999 and 2002 and is a member of the Salomon Trail Running Team. Bolt founded the USATF Oregon Mountain Running Series now in its 3 year and currently lives in San Jose, CA with his wife Kelly. As Director of Operations for a small software company Bolt travels to Portland, Oregon each week where he enjoys running the trails in Forest Park.

More information on USA Mountain Running can be found at www.usmrt.com and on the USATF website at www.usatf.org/Sports/Mountain---Ultra---Trail.aspx. Look for results and a recap of the NACAC Mountain Championships at the www.usmrt.com site.

US Mountain Running Team members at the Bloomsday Road Race

2011-05-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

US Mountain Running Team member Joe Gray (Newcastle, WA) finished in the money at the 2011 Bloomsday Road Race. North Face Trail Challenge winner Uli Steidl (Seattle, WA) also made some money at perhaps the most competitive road race in the Pacific Northwest.

Place

Name Home Time Award

1. Simon Ndirangu Kenya 33:58 $7,000

2. Allan Kiprono Kenya 33:59 4,500

3. Belete Assefa Ethiopia 34:09 3,000

4. MacDonard Ondara Kenya 34:39 2,500

5. Stephen Muange Kenya 34:45 1,800

6. Lani Kiplagat Kenya 34:46 1,350

7. Julius Kogo Kenya 34:47 1,000

8. Tesfaye Sendeku Ethiopia 35:05 900

9. Bado Worku Ethiopia 35:20 700

10. Josh Moen Minneapolis, MN 35:21 5,600*

11. Fernando Cabada Boulder, CO 36:24 3,000*

12. Josphat Boit Kenya 36:27 400

13. Ian Burrell Tucson, AZ 35:31 1,550*

14. Boaz Cheboiywo Kenya 35:35 250

15. Worku Beyi Ethiopia 35:37 200

16. James Carney Concord, MA 35:50 750*

17. Andrew Ledwith Ireland 36:14 --

-- Jeffrey Eggleston Flagstaff, AZ 36:16 500*

-- Joe Gray Newcastle, WA 36:25 1,000-w

-- Uli Steidl Seattle, WA 37:27 750-w

On the ladies side US Mountain Running Team member Christine Lundy (Sausalito, CA) also ran a competitive race.

Bloomsday Women

Place

Name Home Time Award

1. Misiker Mekonnin Ethiopia 40:25 $7,000

2. Wude Ayalew Yimer Ethiopia 40:26 4,500

3. Jelliah Tinega Kenya 40:28 3,000

4. Buzunesh Deba Ethiopia 40:29 2,500

5. Shewarge Amare Ethiopia 40:31 1,800

6. Janet Cherobon-Bawcom Rome, GA 40:35 6,350*

7. Everlyne Lagat Kenya 40:47 1,000

8. Risper Gesabwa Kenya 40:49 900

9. Jane Kibii Kenya 40:52 700

10. Amy Hastings Mammoth Lakes, CA 40:54 3,100*

11. Hyvon Ngetich Kenya 41:04 500

12. Emily Brown Minnetonka, MN 41:11 1,650*

13. Aziza Aliyu Ethiopia 41:17 300

14. Allison Grace-Morgan Lexington, KY 41:59 1,000*

15. Hirut Mandefro Ethiopia 43:03 200

16. Kelly Jaske Portland, OR 43:22 500*

-- Claudia Copeland Olympia, WA 43:07 1,000-w

-- Trina Painter Flagstaff, AZ 44:03 1,500-m

-- Rose Wetzel Seattle, WA 44:07 750-w

-- Christine Lundy Sausalito, CA 44:11 1,000-m

This weekend's Larison Rock Hillclimb has been cancelled

2011-05-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

This weekend's Larison Rock Hillclimb in Oakridge has been cancelled. The first race in the 2011 Oregon Mtn Running Series will now be the Granite Man 10 Mile Mountain Run on 6/12/2011. Information about the remainder of the series races can be found here: http://usatforegonmut.blogspot.com/2010/12/2011-la-sporiva-usatf-oregon-mountain.html

Mt Washington Hall of Fame - class of 2011 announced!

2011-04-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

The second class for the Mount Washington Road Race Hall of Fame has been announced!

From the official press release:

Derek Froude, the first person to run up the Mt. Washington Auto Road in under one hour, joins four-time Mt. Washington champions Mike Gallagher and Daniel Kihara this year as the 2011 inductees to the Mt. Washington Road Race Hall of Fame. These three extraordinary runners will be honored this summer in a ceremony held at the base of Mt. Washington on Friday, June 17, the evening before the 51^st running of this all-uphill race to the summit of the highest peak in the Northeast.

Stats on each (from Dave Dunham's records)

Derek Froude – A two-time winner and the first runner to break one hour. He set the course record in 1990 with his 59:17. Derek raced three times from 1990-1992 and his only defeat was a second place finish in 1992. Derek also twice competed in the Olympic marathon finishing 34^th and 35^th place respectively (http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/fr/derek-froude-1.html).

Mike Gallagher – Had four consecutive wins from 1968 to 1971, only Bob Hodge has more consecutive wins (five). He ran a personal best of 1:06:13. The world-class skier from Killington Vermont was victorious in all of his attempts. He was a three-time Olympic cross-country skier (http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ga/mike-gallagher-1.html). At the time of his second win he held two of the top three times. His third and fourth victories were unprecedented. In his final win in 1971 he took a 51 second victory over Amby Burfoot as the field topped 100 runners for the first time with 112 finishing.

Daniel Kihara – Had four wins in five attempts from 1996 to 2002. His only loss was a sixth place finish in the weather-shortened race in 2002. All of his times were between 58:21 and 1:00:06. He has the single age records for age 28, 32, and 33. He is the only runner in the history of the race with three sub-one hour finishes.

The 51st running of the “Run to the Clouds” event will take place on June 18, 2011. The historic all-uphill run draws thousands of runners from across New England, throughout the U.S., and from countries as close as Canada and as far away as Kenya, to make the grueling climb to the summit of the highest peak in the Northeast. http://mountwashingtonroadrace.com/

Mountain Running Rockstar - Kilian's Quest Season 3 teaser

2011-04-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

Check out this new video from Salomon Running featuring mountain running rockstar Killian Jornet.

You can follow Killian's workouts here at movescount.com: http://www.movescount.com/members/kilianjornet

Rogue Valley Runners Zane Grey 50 mile report

2011-04-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

Hal Koerner from Rogue Valley Runners reports on the happenings at the recent Zane Grey 50 mile race in Pine, AZ. Read his full report here:
http://roguevalleyrunners.blogspot.com/2011/04/leaves-all-zane-grey-around-edges.html

USA 100k Road Championships Results

2011-04-14T13:27:00.000-07:00

Trail maven Devon Crosby-Helms from our neighbor to the south (California not Mexico) cleaned-up at the recent USA 100k Road Championships with a course record of 7:46:33. Complete results, photos and story can be found on the race website here:

http://madcity100k.com/home.php

Peterson Ridge Rumble - race reports

2011-04-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

The Peterson Ridge Rumble took place this past weekend outside Sisters, Oregon. Here is a great race report from 2nd place finisher Yassine Diboun (pictured above finishing the 2009 Where's Waldo 100k Trail Race):
http://runforyourlife-yassine.blogspot.com/2011/04/born-to-rumble.html

Complete results can be found at:
http://www.gobroncobilly.com/rumble/

Mt. Ashland Hillclimb - Registration Opens April 15

2011-04-11T17:55:00.000-07:00

Join the action on Saturday August 6th, 2011 for the 34th Annual Mt. Ashland Hillclimb Run. This 13.3 mile event begins in downtown Ashland's beautiful Lithia Park (el 1900') and climbs on tree-canopied dirt roads and trails to finish on the Mt. Ashland summit (7533'), for a total of 5,600' of climbing--that's over a vertical mile!

Registration will open April 15.

The Mt Ashland Hill Climb Run has the second most elevation gain of any continuous hill climb in the continental United States. The Pikes Peak Ascent in Colorado is the only event with more--7,800 feet. We have more elevation gain than even the Mt Washington Road Race in New Hampshire (4,727').

For more information visit:
http://mtashlandrun.com

Trail speedster Max King wins Pear Blossom 10 miler

2011-04-11T09:39:00.000-07:00

Max King (pictured above, 2nd row, center) was a member of the 2010 US Mountain Running Team and finished 16th at the World Mountain Running Championships in Kamnik, Slovenia.

Pear Blossom Run (35th)
Medford, OR, USA; Saturday, April 9
Distance: 10 mi., out-and-back course; course was previously certified and validated, but that certification has expired.
Finishers: 722 men + 854 women = 1580 total (equal to last year)
Course Records: Men, new (see below); Women, 57:07, Deanna O'Neill, 1994
NOTE: Max King beat back a credible challenge from Mike Reneau to get a 12-second victory here and break his own course record.

MEN (gun times) -
1. Max King, 31, Bend, OR 49:11 CR*
2. Mike Reneau, 33, Corvallis, OR 49:23

Complete results at: http://www.pearblossomrun.com/

Forest Park All Trails Challenge Registration Open

2011-04-09T12:38:00.000-07:00

The popular Forest Park Conservancy All Trails Challenge returns in 2011 as a completely re-imagined event. This year, in addition to all the benefits of hiking, biking, walking and riding 80 miles of trails, we'll be offering ATC2011 participants a new and exciting opportunity to have a direct, positive impact on the health of the forest with every single step. For more information go to:
http://forestparkconservancy.org/portland-hiking-trails/all-trails-challenge.html

New Trail Factor website up and running

2011-04-08T08:18:00.001-07:00

Portland's premier trail running group has a new website. Check out TrailFactorPDX.com and see what's going on in the local trail running community. Trail Factor has an active email group, does weekly trail runs and often travels to races together.

2011 Lithia Loop Trail Marathon Registration Open

2011-04-07T17:15:00.000-07:00

The 2011 Lithia Loop Trail Marathon this November will once again serve as the USA Trail Marathon Championships. For details go to the Rogue Valley Runners website:
http://roguevalleyrunners.blogspot.com/2011/04/capturing-spirit.html

Peterson Ridge Rumble 40 mile / 20 mile Trail Races this weekend

2011-04-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

The 2011 Peterson Ridge Rumble takes place this coming Sunday, April 10. Race website is here:
http://www.gobroncobilly.com/rumble
Last years race was won by Portland's Yassine Diboun.
http://usatforegonmut.blogspot.com/2010/04/yassine-diboun-wins-peterson-ridge.html

Masters 8 km and 10 km Championships Highlight Spring Road Racing Calendar

2011-04-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

Masters athletes, ages 40 and over, will have two opportunities to compete in USA road racing championships in the coming months.

On May 21 the USA Masters 8 km Championships will be held in historic Williamsburg, Va. The championship is part of the Run for the Dream 8K.
The early entry deadline for this championship is Sunday, April 10. The early entry fee is $40. The entry fee for entries received between April 11 and May 19 is $45.

The 8 km championships will serve as the third event in the inaugural USA Masters Long Distance Running Championships Club Grand Prix. For more information or to enter the championship visit the event website.

On June 5, the USA Masters 10 km Championships will be held in Ann Arbor, Mich. The championship is part of theDexter-Ann Arbor 10K.
The entry deadline is June 2.

The 10 km championships will serve as the fourth event in the inaugural USA Masters Long Distance Running Championships Club Grand Prix. For more information or to enter the championship visit the event website.

XTERRA Lake Las Vegas Trail Runs Preview

2011-04-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

There’s still a week left to join the fun and register to run in the XTERRA Lake Las Vegas Trail Runs.

The race is scheduled for April 9 at Lake Las Vegas, Henderson, Nev., and online registration is available at http://www.xterraplanet.com/xduro/lakelasvegas.html. There are three courses to choose from (21 kilometers, 10 kilometers or 5 kilometers), and runners of all ages and skill levels are eligible to participate.

Runners from 16 states and four countries have already registered, including several elite contenders in the 21K championship course.

In the men’s division, Colorado runners Andy Ames and Marty Wacker, Pennsylvania’s Richard Burgunder and Japan’s Fujio Miyachi are some of the runners to watch.

Burgunder has fared well in XTERRA Trail Runs on the East Coast, and will be entering the Las Vegas race for the first time. “I haven't heard too much about the course’s terrain, but am anxiously looking forward to a new adventure,” he said. “I expect that the weather will definitely play a role in the race for North Eastern athletes. We've had a very harsh winter, and it's currently snowing and in the low 30's here in Pittsburgh right now. It's going to be quite a change going from cold, wet weather, to a dry and hot climate.”

In the women’s division, Rachel Cieslewicz of Utah is returning to Las Vegas to defend the title she won last year. Cheryl Castle of Colorado is expected to be one of the other female contenders, and several others will likely enter in the days leading up to the race.

The fastest male and female runners in the 21K course will each receive a round-trip to Hawaii, courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines (2010 winners Rachel Cieslewicz and Jordan Bryden pictured above show their flight certificates). The trip will come in the form of frequent flier miles, and the winners will be encouraged to use it to compete in the XTERRA Trail Run World Championship at Kualoa Ranch, Hawaii, in December.

USA 100k Road Championships coming up soon!

2011-03-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

Fast 100K and 50K times are possible in fact, they're becoming the standard - in Madison, Wisconsin, at the Mad City 100K - Saturday, April 9, 2011.

In 2010, according to the rankings just published in UltraRunning magazine, 5 of the fastest 10 times by American men were run here in the national championship race. Among the best 75 times for American men were these outstanding performances at Mad City: Matt Woods (5th), 7:06:22; Greg Crowther (6th), 7:15:11; Chad Ricklefs (8th), 7:16:52; Chikara Omine (9th), 7:17:14; Michael Arnstein (10th), 7:27:48; Michael Kanning (18th), 8:13:03; Stuart Kolb (19th), 8:15:19; Christopher Clausen (51st), 9:26:26; Ryan Dexter (63rd), 9:39:52; and Tatsunori Suzuki (65th), 9:42:28.

Plus, UltraRunning's Top 75 for 2010 shows these outstanding performances by American women at Mad City: Meghan Arbogast (6th), 8:00:52; Annette Bednosky (7th), 8:05:24; Melanie Fryar (8th), 8:18:25; Krissy Moehl (9th), 8:33:51; Angie Radosevich (11th), 8:46:00; Jenny Capel (13th), 8:57:54; Sonya Decker (19th), 9:33:29; and Lynne Werner (68th), 11:40:51.

In our non-championship Mad City 50K race, overall winner Beverley Anderson-Abbs ran 3:44:13, the 10th fastest 50K time among American women in 2010.

The current Mad City course records:
100K men Michael Wardian (2008) 6:56:57
100K women Meghan Arbogast (2010) 8:00:52 (pictured above)
50K men Patrick Russell (2009) 3:08:28
50K women Julie Spencer (2009) 3:34:45

There's still time to register for the 2011 Mad City 100K races, both the 100-kilometer US national championship and the non-championship (but competitive) 50-kilometer race. Registration and race information are available through the race website, http://www.madcity100k.com

Due to the timing of the 2012 World Championship 100K race, there may not be a US national championship in 2012. Now is the time to race.

Think about it and help spread the word.

US Mountain Running Team member Max King 7th at US XC Champs

2011-02-06T11:01:00.000-08:00

Max King (Bend, OR) finished 7th at the US Cross Country Championships in San Diego, CA. Shalane Flanagan (Portland) wins the womens race for the 5th time. Other top Oregonians include Andrew Bumbalough (Portland) and Lisa Koll (Portland). Story and results on the USATF website:
http://www.usatf.org/News/Flanagan-repeats,-Vaughn-surprises-men%E2%80%99s-field-at-.aspx

White Salmon Backyard Half - Saturday, June 18th 9:00 am

2011-02-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

The 4th Annual White Salmon Backyard Half trail run is happening Saturday, June 18th at 9:00 am.
Sign up at: http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=12203

Once again, it is FREE to enter! Or, if you can spare a little change, a suggested donation of $10, or less or more, will go to the White Salmon Columbia High School Cross Country Team. Who, by the way, will be staffing all the aid stations!

It will start and finish right in front of Everybody's Brewing brewpub and loop up and around Hospital Hill, with 1,800+ feet of elevation gain. The motivation to finish the loop will be making it back to the brewpub for some great beer and food!

The other motivation is to get to the top of Hospital Hill to see the awesome views of the Gorge!
Last year we had 109 runners participate, even though the weather was a little on the soggy side! Hopefully this year we will get more people to participate and donate to the cross country team! Also, all the runners donated a total of $525 for the cross country team last year! Hopefully this year we can get them closer to their goal of $3,000. We got them off to a good start last year! Hopefully this year we can cover their costs for the whole season. The Cross Country team is completely self funded by donations.

EVENT DETAILS:
=============
EVENT NAME: White Salmon Backyard Half
COST: FREE - (with a suggested donation of $10 for the White Salmon Columbia High School Cross Country team).
WHEN: Saturday, June 18th at 9:00 am
DISTANCE: 13.1 miles
WHERE: White Salmon, WA
START/FINISH: Everybody's Brewing brewpub - Downtown White Salmon - http://www.everybodysbrewing.com/
AID STATIONS: 3 - The aid stations will be staffed by the Columbia High School Cross Country team. The stations will be roughly at the 4, 7, and 10 mile marks. The cross country team will be providing awesome homemade munchies, and other treats, as well as water.
LODGING: Inn of the White Salmon - http://www.innofthewhitesalmon.com/
CONTACT: Allan Dushan, aldushan@yahoo.com
A story and results from the 2010 race can be found here:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/runoregon/2010/06/race_results_2010_white_salmon.html

Trail Runner Announces 2011 Trophy Series

2011-01-29T17:08:00.000-08:00

After an exciting year in 2010, the Trail Runner Trophy Series, presented by GORE-TEX®, is back for another round in 2011 with a lineup of more races than ever.

This year, choose from 139 races between March and September across the United States and Canada and be a part of the largest points-based trail-race series in North America.

The 2011 series is divided into two divisions: Non-Marathon (with awards given to male and female winners of five age groups) and Marathon-and-Longer (with awards given to top three male and female participants). Award winners will receive a stellar prize package from our sponsors. We’ll also host a raffle for two random prize giveaways; if you run any race in the series, you’re automatically entered to win.

Read more at: http://www.trailrunnermag.com/trophy.php

The only Oregon race included in this series is the Haulin' Aspen Trail Marathon And Half Marathon

NACAC Mountain Championships in Mexico, July 17th

2011-01-28T16:38:00.000-08:00

Invitation for 2009 and 2010 USA Mountain Team Members,

The 2011 NACAC Mountain Championships will be held in Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico on July 17th in conjunction with Carrera de La Chupinaya. The MUT council is working to put together a team for the event. Mexico has done a great job of hosting in the past and I feel their efforts deserve a strong US representation. The selection procedures are below. I would appreciate a response with your initial interest, whether yes or no. That will help direct me to contact other mountain runners about applying for a team position.

Selection Procedure for NACAC Mountain Team:

1. Four men and four women will be selected. Athletes will get uniforms, but sorry there is no travel funding. (Transportation to and from the airport as well as accommodations are generally provided by host country.)

2. Members of the 2010 US Mountain Team will be offered a position first, then members of the 2009 US Mountain Team.

3. If the team is not filled by procedure 2, athletes will then be selected by resume. Previous mountain running experience is preferable, but any athletes are welcome to submit resumes. Running resumes can be sent to Jason Bryant, runningmtn.goat@yahoo.com.

4. The NACAC Mountain Team will be announced by April 15th.

Race info:

The NACAC race will be held in conjunction with Carrera de La Chupinaya in Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico on July 17th. The race is a one loop 13.8Km(8.57 miles) course that starts at 5020 feet. The course climbs up to 7875 feet before descending back to the start. The first mile of the course is on road, then goes onto single track trail. The course is the same for men and women. Athletes will fly into Guadalajara Airport. Ajijic is about 35 miles from Guadalajara.

Regards,

Jason Bryant

336 326-5344

Mountain Mist 50k - Race Report from RVR

2011-01-23T17:57:00.000-08:00

From the Rogue Valley Runners blog:

The 16th annual running of the Mountain Mist 50k typified the weather of the past month in northeastern Alabama. Snow fell on Christmas day for the first time in 100 years..........click here for the complete story, photos and a video.

Mt. Hood 50 Miler Registration Opens January 30

2011-01-22T22:45:00.000-08:00

From Todd Janssen:

Registration for the Mt. Hood 50 Miler (PCT 50) will start on January 30. We weren't able to increase the number of runners allowed this year past 175, so I think it will probably fill fairly fast this year (based on other trail races)! The race is on July 30 this year and the race site is www.mthood50.com. Also, we can definitely use volunteers - so if you are interested, please send an email to mthood50@gmail.com.

La Sportiva Announces 2011 Mountain Cup Venues

2011-01-18T14:55:00.000-08:00

Details at http://www.mountaincup.com

2010 IAU 100k World Championships - Megan Arbogast 5th

2010-12-31T09:00:00.000-08:00

USA Ultrarunning has posted a new item, IAU 100km 2010 Champs - Wardian 3rd, Arbogast (Bend, OR) 5th. Michael Wardian of the USA finished 3rd overall at the 2010 100km World Championships, finishing in a time of 6:49:18. Other US men's finishers include: 12th Matt Woods, 31, 6:58:36; 14th Chad Ricklefs, 42, 7:01:36; and 25th Joseph Binder, 27, in a time of 7:16:43.
http://www.usaultrarunning.com/iau-100km-2010-champs-wardian-3rd-arbogast-5th

2011 IAU Trail Challenge - U.S. Team Qualification Guidelines

2010-12-30T10:00:00.000-08:00

2011 IAU Trail Challenge - U.S. Team Qualification Guidelines
A contingent of American Trail Ultrarunners will be selected to compete at the 2011 International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) World Trail Challenge under the patronage of the IAAF in Galway, Ireland. This approximately 50 mile trail race takes place on Sunday July 10, 2011 (TENTATIVE). For more detaills see the event website (posted when available).
The U.S. would like to send a contingent of up to six men and up to six women ultrarunners. The contingent and alternates (if applicable) will be selected by the USATF Mountain/Ultra/Trail (MUT) Running Council which was established in 1998 to help USATF administer ultrarunning in the United States.

Qualifying Window is January 10, 2010 - April 11, 2011.
Athletes Notified by April 13, 2011. (With press announcement soon to follow)

Standards for Consideration for 2011 US Contingent to the World Trail Challenge

1. An American who finishes in the top 10 men or women at the 2010 IAU World Trail Challenge will receive automatic team selection (if applicable).

2. The winner of the 2011 USATF 50 mile trail championship (March 6, 2011), 50km trail championship (Sept 25, 2010), and 100km trail championship (January 8, 2011) will receive automatic selection if fewer than 6 are selected under criteria #1 (And provided these events fall within the stated qualifying window).

3. The top American male and female finishers at the 2010 IAU World Trail Challenge (if applicable) will be selected into the pool of potential team members if they place in the top 15 overall for their gender.

4. If further team members can be added, they could be chosen by committee with specific focus on performance at key U.S. races such as JFK 50 Mile, American River 50 Mile, and Ice Age 50 Mile.

5. Athletes must be citizens of the United States of America.

6. Athletes must be current USATF members.

Team Selection Process

Athletes will be named to the team from the team selection pool using the following procedures:
1. Athletes will be named to the team based on the order of the criteria above until all the team spots are filled. Athletes not automatically selected to the team through standards 1-3 above will be selected according to best performances (as deemed so by USATF Mountain, Ultra, and Trail Council) within qualifying guidelines.
2. If fewer than 6 athletes achieve the qualifying standards for consideration, no fewer than 4 athletes (three scoring and one additional) will be named based on performance (and/or interest)
3. If more than 6 athletes achieve the qualifying standards for consideration, up to 3 alternates (i.e., 6 team members and 3 alternates) will be named sequentially based on performance.
Selected athletes and alternates will be notified on or before April 13, 2011 with an official team announcement to follow. Alternates are encouraged to prepare, as they may be named to compete at any time if one of the other team members is unable to compete.

SPECIAL NOTE: There is presently NO funding from USATF for athletes attending this championship event. However, there may be some reimbursement available from the IAU or IAAF (to be determined at the event and distributed evenly among competing athletes as quickly as possible following the event).
If interested in being a member of this team, contact Howard Nippert - howardnippert@yahoo.com.

2011 La Sporiva / USATF-Oregon Mountain Running Series Announced

2010-12-28T20:31:00.000-08:00

5/14/2011 - Larison Rock Hill Climb – Catrina Davis (catmaried@gmail.com)

6/12/2011 - Granite Man 10 Mile Mountain Run - Chad Wikander (wikanderchad@hotmail.com)

7/31/2011 - Great NW Mountain Run - Kevin Foreman (xdogkevin@gmail.com)

8/6/2011 - Mt. Ashland Hill Climb - Torsten Heycke (info@mtashlandrun.com)

9/3/2011 - Sunrise to Summit - Molly Kelly (info@mtashlandrun.com)

2010 USA Trail Marathon Championships - Photos

2010-12-28T14:49:00.000-08:00

You can find photos from the 2010 USA Trail Marathon Championships held in conjunction with the Lithia Loop Trail Marathon at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/RichardABolt/2010USATrailMarathonChampionships#

Thanks again to Hal Koerner and the Rogue Valley Runners crew for putting on a great race.
http://www.roguevalleyrunners.com/LLTM/index.html

Event info and official results at:
http://www.usatf.org/events/2010/USAMarathonTrailChampionships/index.asp

2010 USA Track & Field Annual Meeting

2010-12-03T09:41:00.000-08:00

VIRGINA BEACH, VA – The 2010 USATF National Convention is underway with the USATF Mountain/Ultra/Trail (MUT) Council meetings occurring on Friday and Saturday 12/3 & 12/4. Learn about the results of the meeting including awarding of all of the MUT championships by following us on our twitter feed at www.twitter.com/usmrt. Two races in Bend have submitted bids for 2011 trail championships - Flagline 50k and Footzone Dirty Half.

2010 Oregon Mountain Running Series Scoring - FINAL

2010-11-11T18:04:00.000-08:00

The 2010 La Sportiva / USATF-Oregon Mountain Running Series wrapped up it's 3rd and most successful year to date. Erik Skaggs and Jenn Shelton from Ashland claimed the overall mens and womens series titles. Among masters runners Mario Tigli and Robert Yerex battled all season long before Mario prevailed by over 15 points. The top masters female was Sharon Mosley who also an award winner at the USA 50k Trail Marathon Championships (Flagline 50k) and USA Trail Marathon Championships (Lithia Loop Trail Marathon).

First, Last, Gender, Age Group, Larison, Great NW, Ashland, S to S, Total, Best 3 of 4 Races
Erik    Skaggs    M    25-29    100    0    93.44        100    293.44    293.44
Sean    Meissner    M    35-39    87.71    91.26    79.86        78.16    336.99    258.83
Jenn    Shelton    F    25-29    81.74    0    66.57        79.57    227.88    227.88
Mario    Tigli    M    50-54    66.98    73.22    55.3        67.31    262.81    207.51
Kristin    Zosel    F    35-39    68.64    0    60.9        67.67    197.21    197.21
Mitch    Thompson    M    40-44    0    99.67    0        92.44    192.11    192.11
Robert    Yerex    M    50-54    64.71    62.29    56.07        62.46    245.53    189.46
Richard    Bolt    M    35-39    89.91    0    81.73        0    171.64    171.64
Yassine    Diboun    M    30-34    0    100    0        0    100    100
Max    King    M    30-34    0    0    100        0    100    100
Donald    Gallogly    M    40-44    0    89.35    0        0    89.35    89.35
Tim    Van Orden    M    40-44    0    0    88.13        0    88.13    88.13
Dave    Dunham    M    45-49    0    0    86.24        0    86.24    86.24
Peter    Fain    M    35-39    0    0    86.08        0    86.08    86.08
Tim    Olsen    M    25-29    0    0    84.56        0    84.56    84.56
Katie    Caba    F    35-39    0    0    0        82.43    82.43    82.43
Neil    Olsen    M    40-44    0    0    81.94        0    81.94    81.94
Stephanie    Howe    M    25-29    0    0    77.08        0    77.08    77.08
Ian    Torrance    M    35-39    0    0    75.2        0    75.2    75.2
JC    Callans    M    40-44    0    0    72.15        0    72.15    72.15
Michael    Sotos    M    35-39    0    0    71.11        0    71.11    71.11
James    Shanahan    M    35-39    69.19    0    0        0    69.19    69.19
Bill    Montegomery    M    50-54    0    0    68.52        0    68.52    68.52
Sharon    Mosley    F    45-49    0    0    0        64.21    64.21    64.21
Joe    Mosley    M    55-59    0    0    0        64.19    64.19    64.19
Shahid    Ali    M    25-29    0    0    60.94        0    60.94    60.94
Carl    Sniffen    M    55-59    0    0    54.53        0    54.53    54.53
Dieter     Heycke     M    75-79    0    0    41.41        0    41.41    41.41

28 USATF-Oregon members participated in the series in 2010. $1000 in prize money was paid out. La Sportiva has confirmed sponsorship again in 2011.

2010 USA Trail Marathon Championships - USATF Results

2010-11-07T06:14:00.000-08:00

Andrew Schupp and Tim Olsen sprint for 6th place after 26.2 miles. Below are the official USA Championship results for the Lithia Loop Trail Marathon. These are USATF members only. Complete results are at: http://roguevalleyrunners.blogspot.com

Place	First Name	Last Name	Age	Finish Time
1	Max	King	30	2:41:24
2	Mario	Mendoza	24	2:47:04
3	John	Tribbia	28	2:47:55
4	Brad	Mitchell	40	2:52:17
5	Alan	Rozendaal	40	2:53:34
6	Timothy	Olson	27	2:55:32
7	Andrew	Schupp	30	2:55:32
8	Yassine	Diboun	32	2:58:42
9	Neil	Olsen	43	2:59:31
10	Dave	Dunham	46	3:03:25
11	Greg	McMillan	41	3:03:57
12	John	Leuthold	42	3:04:52
13	Tim	Van Orden	42	3:08:03
14	Scott	Dunlap	41	3:09:00
15	Lawrence	Merrifield Jr	42	3:14:31
16	John	Couillard	29	3:16:20
17	William	Emerson	46	3:17:01
18	Jamil	Coury	25	3:17:20
19	Katie	Caba	F39	3:23:12
20	Jeff	Caba	40	3:23:15
21	Nick	Coury	23	3:25:40
22	Devon	Crosby-Helms	F28	3:28:36
23	Joseph	Clark	49	3:30:34
24	Karalee	Morris	F32	3:32:10
25	Roxanne	Woodhouse	F47	3:33:17
26	Melissa	Schweisguth	F36	3:34:07
27	Steven	Daut	37	3:34:32
28	Luann	Park	F50	3:35:42
29	Larry	Abraham	60	3:54:16
30	Laura	Raber	F32	3:54:34
31	Tom	Taylor	31	3:59:13
32	Felicia	Hazel	F47	4:05:57
33	Thomas	Ahle	61	4:19:15
34	Lawrence	Dunlap	68	4:19:46
35	Tina	Ure	F51	4:35:58
36	Sherry	Hecker	F39	4:36:56
37	Richard	Leutzinger	71	4:48:30
38	Sharon	Mosley	F48	5:01:00
39	Tia	Bodington	F54	5:06:23
40	Shahid	Ali	25	5:12:46
41	Carl	Sniffen	58	5:22:06
42	Bob	Cowdrey	66	5:28:00
43	Joseph	Emerson	67	6:20:00

2010 USA Trail Marathon Championships - Results

2010-11-07T05:36:00.000-08:00

Max King (Bend, OR - #1 pictured above) and Katie Caba (Bend, OR - #12 pictured below) won their respective races at the USA Trail Marathon Championships held in conjunction with the 3rd Annual Lithia Loop Trail Marathon. Max finished 16th at the World Mountain Running Championships this past September and ran a 2:15 at the recent Baltimore Marathon. Katie won the inaugural Lithia Loop Trail Marathon in 2008 and won the Sunrise to Summit mountain race this past September.

Brad Mitchell (Hailey, ID) and Roxanne Woodhouse (Weaverville, CA) won the masters (over 40) competition. In the overall race masters figured strongly with 10 of the top 17 finishers being over 40 years old. The race director Hal Koerner and his crew from Rogue Valley Runners did another fantastic job organizing the race and even orders perfect, clear, cool running weather.

Complete results can be found at: http://roguevalleyrunners.blogspot.com.
Official USA Championship results will be available soon here: http://www.usatf.org/events/2010/USAMarathonTrailChampionships/index.asp.

USA Trail Marathon Championships - Ashland, OR

2010-11-02T15:34:00.000-07:00

Ashland, Oregon, November 1, 2010 – Entries have begun to pour in for the 3^rd annual Lithia Loop Trail Marathon. For the second straight year this race doubles as the USATF Trail Marathon Championship with 6,000 dollars in prize money to be awarded to the top 5 open male and female competitors as well as the top 3 male and female masters finishers.

The race is run on a mixture of trail and dirt road with 2 miles of pavement that sends as well as welcomes runners through beautiful Lithia Park located in downtown Ashland, Oregon. There are 6 fully stocked aid stations along a course that climbs over 3,500ft and descends as much to the finish.

Previous champions Max King (pictured above) and Jeff Caba are returning from Bend, Oregon to take a shot at the prize money. King is coming off a 2:15:34 showing at the Baltimore Marathon and looks to take down another USATF Trail Championship banner to add to his string of victories in 2010.

Returning contestants include John Tribbia from Boulder, Colorado, Yassine Diboun and Andrew Schupp from Portland, Oregon as well as 100k National Champion Timothy Olson from Ashland, Oregon.

Greg McMillan returns as Masters Champion from 2009 but will be running from the start to allude Tim Van Orden and Dave Dunham from New England. Richard Bolt from Portland leads a group of Oregonians ready to keep the medals in house.

Fresh off her 6:28:44 at the USATF 50 Mile Championship at the Tussey Mountainback 50, Devon Crosby-Helms returns to gain the top spot that alluded her here last year as does Katie Caba from Bend, runner up in 2008. Ashland’s own Jenn Shelton will be running her first marathon since claiming victory at the Deseret News Marathon in Utah in July.

What: Lithia Loop Trail Marathon

Where: Ashland, Oregon

Who: 200 entries as of 11/1/10

When: November 6^th, 2010 8 am

Results will be posted at:

http://roguevalleyrunners.com/LLTM

2010 Oregon Mountain Running Series Scoring - after 3 races

2010-08-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

After 3 races have been completed in the 2010 La Sportiva / USATF-Oregon Mountain Running Series the scoring is as follows (pardon the poor formatting):

First Last Gender Age Group Larison Great NW Ashland TOTAL
Sean    Meissner    M    35-39    87.71    91.26    79.86        258.83
Mario    Tigli    M    50-54    66.98    73.22    55.3        195.5
Erik    Skaggs    M    25-29    100    0    93.44        193.44
Robert    Yerex    M    50-54    64.71    62.29    56.07        183.07
Richard    Bolt    M    35-39    89.91    0    81.73        171.64
Jenn    Shelton    F    25-29    81.74    0    66.57        148.31
Kristin    Zosel    F    35-39    68.64    0    60.9        129.54
Yassine    Diboun    M    30-34    0    100    0        100
Max    King    M    30-34    0    0    100        100
Mitch    Thompson    M    40-44    0    99.67    0        99.67
Donald    Gallogly    M    40-44    0    89.35    0        89.35
Tim    Van Orden    M    40-44    0    0    88.13        88.13
Dave    Dunham    M    45-49    0    0    86.24        86.24
Peter    Fain    M    35-39    0    0    86.08        86.08
Tim    Olsen    M    25-29    0    0    84.56        84.56
Neil    Olsen    M    40-44    0    0    81.94        81.94
Stephanie    Howe    M    25-29    0    0    77.08        77.08
Ian    Torrance    M    35-39    0    0    75.2        75.2
JC    Callans    M    40-44    0    0    72.15        72.15
Michael    Sotos    M    35-39    0    0    71.11        71.11
James    Shanahan    M    35-39    69.19    0    0        69.19
Bill    Montegomery    M    50-54    0    0    68.52        68.52
Shahid    Ali    M    25-29    0    0    60.94        60.94
Carl    Sniffen    M    55-59    0    0    54.53        54.53
Dieter     Heycke     M    75-79    0    0    41.41        41.41

That's a total of 25 USATF members having competed in at least one race. 3 have completed all 3 races. 4 have run at least 2 races. The 4th and final race in the series will be the Sunrise to Summit at Mt. Bachelor. This 3 mile grind to the summit will bring runners to the highest elevation in the entire series at 9065 feet above sea level. Another $100 will be up for grabs for the top USATF man and woman!

More information about this race can be found on the MBSEF website:
http://www.mbsef.org/events/sunrise2summit
You can find a race registration form here:
http://www.mbsef.org/_files/File/Sunrisetosummit_reg_2010.pdf

2010 Mt Ashland Hillclimb - Results & Post Race Wrap-up

2010-08-10T21:24:00.000-07:00

Race Director Torsten Heycke and his crew put on a great 33rd edition of the ever popular Mt. Ashland Hillclimb Run. The 13.3 mile race climbs 5600' from Lithia Park to the summit of Mt. Ashland. This year Bend speedster and newly minted member of the US Mountain Running Team Max King broke the course record set back in 1982. Here are post event comments from the race director:

By now you may have seen results in the Medford Mail Tribune or online. We enjoyed great weather and fast(er) times. Max King set a new course record of 1 hour, 41 minutes, 50 seconds. Many of you had personal bests.

Andy Atkinson photos from the race are now up. The early photos show that Max King doesn't so much run as float up the hill.

It's fun to see people from far and wide participating in this event--Vermont, Utah, Hawaii, Massachusetts--and yet it's equally gratifying to see lots of local faces. This remains a community event. We have many locals who participate each year; Larry Zowada ran in the first hill climb back in 1978 and is still running.

By the way, if you have old results, we'd be interested in them.

Sponsors and Volunteers
To pull this event off requires considerable help from a lot of people. We enjoyed the assistance of 36 volunteers. Additionally, we enjoyed the stalwart support of the folks at Standing Stone Brewing Company, notably Alex Amarotico (who, by the way, ran on Saturday with no training). We thank the folks at Therapeutic Associates Physical Therapy, who gave us, among other things, the BPA-free water bottles (remember to take out the paper from inside them before you use them!). And, of course, Rogue Valley Runners pitched in as usual. Thank them for the $600 worth of GPS watches given as random draw prizes. Dagoba Chocolate came through again as well.

More spots next year.
We filled up extremely early this year and many people could not enter who wanted to. The Forest Service has tentatively granted us the right to expand next year and we will to some degree.

You can help make this event better.
We are exploring ways to improve this event. You can help by participating in a really quick survey (takes a minute or two). Two people will be randomly chosen from survey takers (who leave us optional contact information) for prizes (gift certificates to Apple Cellar bakery). You have through August 23rd to participate.

Thanks and see you next year,
The Mt A minions

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

You can find a great first hand account of the race by Dave Dunham.
http://ddmountainrunr.blogspot.com/2010/08/mt-ashland-hill-climb-08-07-10.html
Dave finished 2nd at the World Mountain Running Championships in Gap, France and has been a multiple winner of the Mt. Washington Road Race.

Registration open for the 2010 Sunrise to Summit

2010-08-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

Sunrise to Summit is a 3.5 mile uphill race to the summit of Mt. Bachelor and is part of the La Sportiva / USATF-Oregon Mountain Running Series. The top man and woman who are members of USATF-Oregon will each receive $100 cash. 10:30am start from the lodge at Sunrise Lodge at Mt. Bachelor. From the start at Sunrise Lodge (Elev. 6,470’), runners must stay on Marshmallow to the top of the Sunrise chair, then everyone must stay on the designated trail that winds up to the Summit (Elev. 9,065’). More information about this race can be found on the MBSEF website:
http://www.mbsef.org/events/sunrise2summit
You can find a race registration form here:
http://www.mbsef.org/_files/File/Sunrisetosummit_reg_2010.pdf

2010 Oregon Mountain Running Series Scoring - after 2 races

2010-08-01T17:33:00.000-07:00

At the half-way point in the 2010 La Sportiva / USATF-Oregon Mountain Running Series Sean Meissner (Sisters, OR) (pictured right) leads the scoring with 178.97 points. The top woman in the series is Jenn Shelton (Ashland, OR) who won the Larison Rock Hillclimb held back in May in Oakridge, OR. There is a tight battle in the 50+ division with both Mario Tigli (Sandy, OR) and Robert Yerex (Sandy, OR) having run both races in the series. Mario is leading with 140.2 points of Robert's 127 points. 10 members of USATF-Oregon have competed in series races to date. Next up will be the Mt. Ashland Hillclimb on August 7. The final race in the series will be the Sunrise to Summit at Mt. Bachelor on September 4. The top USATF-Oregon man and woman at each race get's $100 in cash. There will be additional cash and merchandise prizes for overall series winners provided by USATF-Oregon and La Sportiva. Here is the scoring after 2 races:

First Last Gender Age Group Larison Great NW TOTAL
Sean Meissner M 35-39 87.71 91.26 178.97
Mario Tigli M 50-54 66.98 73.22 140.2
Robert Yerex M 50-54 64.71 62.29 127
Yassine Diboun M 30-34 0 100 100
Erik Skaggs M 25-29 100 0 100
Mitch Thompson M 40-44 0 99.67 99.67
Richard Bolt M 35-39 89.91 0 89.91
Donald Gallogly M 40-44 0 89.35 89.35
Jenn Shelton F 25-29 81.74 0 81.74
James Shanahan M 35-39 69.19 0 69.19
Kristin Zosel F 35-39 68.64 0 68.64

Info on the Mt. Ashland Hillclimb:
http://www.mtashlandrun.com

Info on the Sunrise to Summit:
http://www.mbsef.org/events/sunrise2summit

Info on the 3rd Annual La Sportiva / USATF-Oregon Mountain Running Series:
http://usatf-oregon.org/node/322

Graniteman 2010 - Collins Mountain Trail Run

2010-07-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

The Graniteman was not part of the 2010 La Sportiva / USATF-Oregon Mountain Running Series due to it taking place on the same day as the Great NW Mountain Run at Mt. Hood. It was still a great race in spite of the date change. You can read about it on the Rogue Valley Runners blog:
http://roguevalleyrunners.blogspot.com/2010/07/some-find-it-hard-to-believe.html

Great Northwest Mountain Run - Mt. Hood

2010-07-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

The second race in the 2010 La Sportiva / USATF-Oregon Mountain Running Series took place this past weekend at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood. The 3rd Annual Great Northwest Mountain Run was put on by Kevin Foreman and his excellent XDog Events crew. Yassine Diboun (Portland, OR) won the overall race and collected the $100 cash prize from USATF-Oregon. Complete results will be available soon at: http://www.xdogevents.com/scheduleandresults.html.

The next race in the series will be the 33rd Annual Mt. Ashland Hillclimb on Saturday, August 7. Find race information here: http://www.mtashlandrun.com

U.S. Mountain Running Team to be Selected at Mount Washington

2010-06-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

The 2010 U.S. Mountain Running Team will travel to Kamnik, Slovenia, to compete in the 26th World Mountain Running Championships on Sunday, September 5. This year’s open team – six men and four women – will be selected at the U.S. Mountain Running Championships to be held at the Mt. Washington Road Race on Saturday, June 19, starting at 10:00 a.m.

The increased support by the race’s primary sponsor, Northeast Delta Dental, was a contributing factor in choosing a single selection race for the team this year.

“The USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Running Council, when considering a host for our selection races, looks at the venue, the race management, and the support the event will provide for our athletes. Mount Washington not only offers a well-managed event with an incredible history (celebrating its 50th running in 2010), this year organizers and sponsors stepped up to increase the prize money and in doing so have amassed a field of competitors unmatched in U.S. mountain running history,” said USATF’s Mountain Ultra Trail Running Council Chairperson Nancy Hobbs. “Having a single selection race is something new for our program (typically there are 2-3 selection races for the team), and means the athletes have just one opportunity to earn a spot on the team. This opportunity will become a reality for 10 of America’s best on Saturday.”

The course will test runners’ strength and endurance for the entire 7.6 miles from the base of the Auto Road with an unrelenting 12 percent grade to the 6,288-foot summit of Mount Washington, the highest peak in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

The course provides elevation gains which closely mirror those found in Slovenia’s uphill-only route. In Slovenia, the men will run 12 kilometers with more than 4,300 feet of elevation gain, while the women will run 8.5 kilometers with 3,370 feet of elevation gain.

Among the top U.S. competitors on Saturday will be men's and women's defending champions, Coloradoans Rickey Gates of Boulder, and Brandy Erholtz, of Bailey. Gates is only the fifth man ever to break the one-hour barrier on Mt. Washington, having won last year in 59 minutes 58 seconds. Erholtz is looking for her third straight victory and has her sights set on chasing down the women's course record, 1:10:08, set in 1998 by Magdalena Thorsell of Sweden.

Gates, a four-time mountain running team member, is closely matched with at least two familiar rivals, two-time Mt. Washington champion Eric Blake, New Britain, CT who has also been on the mountain team four times, as well as Joe Gray, Lakewood, WA, who finished fourth here in 2008 and then third in 2009, just behind Gates and Blake. Gray has represented the U.S. twice at Worlds and is the 2009 USA Mountain Running Champion. They'll be joined by two-time mountain team members (’08, ’09) Matt Byrne, of Scranton, PA, who was sixth in 2008 and fourth last year at Mt. Washington and Zac Freudenburg, St. Louis, MO, seventh in 2008; Max King, Bend, OR, who won the USA Half Marathon Trail Championships on June 13; Jeffrey Eggleston, Flagstaff, AZ, who ran a 2:14:32 in his debut marathon this year in Phoenix; Malcolm Campbell, Marietta, GA, who won the 2008 Hogpen Hillclimb in Georgia; Timothy Parr, Gunnison, CO, a three-time mountain team member, and Ryan Hafer, Colorado Springs, CO, both past winners of the Pikes Peak Ascent; Luke Watson, State College, PA, a 2:15 marathoner; 2005 mountain team member Kevin Tilton, North Conway, NH; Kristopher Houghton, Albuquerque, NM, a sub-30 minute 10k runner and third at last year’s team selection race in Colorado. One of the newcomers attracting special attention is two-time U.S. Mountain Running junior team member, 19-year-old Zach Rivers, Victor, NY, who will attempt to break the oldest mark in the Mt. Washington books – the course record for runners 19 and under, 1:09:18, set by Sean Livingston in 1987.

Among the top women are four-time mountain team members Laura Haefeli, Del Norte, CO, who finished third at Mt. Washington in 2008 while setting the women's masters course record, and reigning U.S. Mountain Champion Christine Lundy, Sausalito, CA; two-time U.S. Mountain Running team member Megan Kimmel, Silverton, CO; Alison Bryant, Elkin, NC, who finished third in 2007, fifth in 2008 and fourth last year; Nicole Hunt, Deer Lodge, MT, who placed second in her last Mt. Washington appearance (2007 to win the U.S. Championships and earn a spot on the mountain running team) behind the Czech Republic’s Anna Pichrtova; three-time mountain team member Rachel Cuellar, Albuquerque, NM; Kristin Price, Raleigh, NC, who won the 2009 U.S. Women's Trail 10k National Championship; Megan Lund, Basalt, CO, the women's course record-holder in the Aspen (CO) Mountain Uphill, a 2008 U.S. Olympic marathon trials qualifier, and a member of last year’s mountain running team; Gina Lucrezi, Southborough, MA, leader in the USATF New England mountain running series; Amber Moran, a 1:17 half-marathoner from Arden, NC; and Rachel Cieslewicz, Salt Lake City, UT.

FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF ENTRANTS, sortable by name, by state, or by hometown, visit the Mt. Washington Road Race web site, www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com, and click on Lottery Results. The site also includes a photo gallery, a history of the race, results from previous years, and other information.

The U.S. Mountain Running Junior Team will be selected based on running resumes. For details visit www.usatf.org and www.usmrt.com.

Max King and Sopagna Eap win Dirty Half

2010-06-14T08:20:00.000-07:00

Max King and Sopagna Eap win first ever USA Trail Half Marathon National Championships in Bend, Oregon

BEND – On a beautiful sunny day with temps in the 60s, hometown favorite Max King of Bend, and Sopagna Eap of Eugene, OR both set new course records at the 9^th annual Dirty Half half marathon, which served as the first ever USA Trail Half Marathon National Championships. USA Track & Field runners from across the country were competing for $3000 in prize money courtesy of Visit Bend (visitbend.com).

"The field was absolutely ripping fast this year. These times are truly incredible on a course like this", said race director "Super" Dave Thomason from Footzone Bend.

“The City of Bend, Visit Bend and the community of Bend where thrilled to host the 1^st ever USA Track & Field Trail Half Marathon. The Dirty Half trail half marathon is a hallmark event for Bend and it showed its true colors once again with unbelievable community support, a challenging course and superb race directing by Dave Thomason. The City of Bend and Visit Bend look forward to bringing more USA Track & Field Trail Running National Championships in future years.”

Early on in the race the lead pack of runners included Max King, Eric Bohn (Flagstaff, AZ), Mario Mendoza (Cambria, CA) and Carlos Trujillo and his twin brother Esteban (Eugene, OR). King finished in 1:11:03, followed by the Trujillo brothers, with Carlos coming in at 1:12:17 and Esteban in 1:14:02. Bohn came in 4^th (1:14:16) and Mendoza finished in 5^th (1:17:20). King earned $700 for the win, with Carlos receiving $400 for second and Esteban $300 for third. First Master and 6^th overall was Paul Parsons of Bend in a time of 1:21:36. Parsons took home $100 for being the top master.

King looks to carry his success to next weekend when he heads to Gorham, New Hampshire for the USA Mountain Running Championships at the 50^th Annual Mount Washington Road Race.

On the women’s side Eap battled with eventual second place finisher and US Olympic Cross Country Ski Team Member, Morgan Arritola (Ketchum, ID) for the first 9 miles until Sopagna surged ahead for the win. Rounding out the women’s top 3 and winning the female masters category was Bend’s very own Lisa Nye, a former winner at the Dirty Half. Eap took home $700 for first overall, with Arritola winning $400 and Nye winning $400 as well ($300 for 3^rd, $100 for 1^st Master).

“I was really impressed with the trail centric atmosphere here in Bend today. The race had 800 entrants with great amenities. It’s clear to me that Dave and his crew here know what it takes to put on a quality event. As USATF continues its campaign to reach out to more runners in the Mountain, Ultra and Trail community across the country, it was really exciting to see such a great turnout here in Bend today,” noted Paul Kirsch, USATF Mountain/Ultra/Trail Championships Chair and race liason.

USATF will return to Bend on September 25^TH for the USA 50K Trail Championships, with a $3000 prize purse courtesy of Visit Bend.

2010 Larison Rock Hillclimb - Results

2010-05-09T10:54:00.000-07:00

The second annual Larison Rock Hillclimb was held yesterday in conjunction with the Salmon River Run / Walk - a long time community event in Oakridge, OR. The field was small but several elite trail runners came from all corners of the state to see who would take the $150 award for first (woman and man). USATF-Oregon put up $100 and race director Alan Abbs put up another $50 courtesy of Sunsweet Growers. Series title sponsor La Sportiva also provided support including free trail running shoes. Race participant and Peterson Ridge Rumble race director Sean Meissner put his money where his mouth is by offer cash for anyone who broke 40 minutes.

The race started at Green Waters Park just off Rt 58 East of downtown Oakridge. After crossing the Willamette River on a foot bridge, the course proceeded along a half mile of flat single-track and half mile of dirt road before hitting the Larison Rock Trail. The Larison Rock Trail is 3.5 miles of continuous single-track climb up 2200 vertical feet to the tree topped summit of Larison Rock.

The race was won by Erik Skaggs and Jenn Shelton for the second year in a row. Both took home $150 in cash prizes and now lead the La Sportiva / USATF-Oregon Mountain Running Series.

Complete Race Results:
1 - Erik Skaggs - 27 (Ashland, OR) - 42:36 (USATF)
2 - Adam Booth - 27 (Eugene, OR) - 42:51
3 - Richard Bolt - 39 (Portland, OR) - 47:23 (USATF)
4 - Sean Meissner - 36 (Sisters, OR) - 48:34 (USATF)
5 - Jenn Shelton - 26 (Ashland, OR) - 52:07 (USATF)
6 - James Shanahan - 36 (Welches, OR) - 1:01:34 (USATF)
7 - Kristin Zosel - 35 (Eugene, OR) - 1:02:40 (USATF)
8 - Mario Tigli - 52 - 1:03:36
9 - Robert Yerex - 50 (Sandy, OR) - 1:05:50 (USATF)
10 - Sheron Rogers - 48 - 1:09:29
11 - Mark Bethel - 40 - 1:10:03

Race photos can be found at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/RichardABolt/

The next race in the series will be the Great NW Mountain Run at Mt. Hood on July 25.

USA 15km Trail Champs in Spokane, WA

2010-04-22T16:54:00.000-07:00

The first ever USA 15km Trail Running Championships will take place on July 31, 2010 in Spokane, WA. This will be the second USATF sanctioned trail running National Championship to be held in Washington State. The White River 50 Miler has been the USA 50 Mile Trail Championship on several occasions. You can register for this race and find more information at http://www.usatf.org/events/2010/USA15kmTrailChampionships/entry/.

Trail Running Survey

2010-04-16T15:22:00.000-07:00

The American Trail Running Association has a new survey available here.

Yassine Diboun wins Peterson Ridge Rumble

2010-04-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

Portland's Yassine Diboun (picture left at the 2009 Where's Waldo 100k) won the 60k race at the Peterson Ridge Rumble over the weekend. You can read Yassine's account of the race on his blog here:
http://www.runforyourlife-yassine.blogspot.com/
He has posted photos here.
You can find complete results at http://www.gobroncobilly.com/rumble/
Nice job Yassine!

You can read another race report from Amy Sproston on her blog at:
http://amysproston.blogspot.com/2010/04/inside-mind-of-ultrarunner.html

XTERRA Bend 5/10km Trail Runs Coming in September

2010-04-13T14:56:00.000-07:00

XTERRA Bend 5/10km Trail Runs and coming back to Bend, OR on September 18, 2010. You can register here:
https://www.clubsonline.com.au/eventsregform/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_event&EventID=3676&orgid=1628

You can go head to head with the best runners in the country in the 21k National Championship Race or if something more low key is what you want consider the 5k or 10k races.

Are you looking for a place to stay or other activities in Bend? Check out http://visitbend.com/

Gleukos Urban Cross - Portland, OR

2010-04-10T08:27:00.000-07:00

Coming this summer to Portland - the Gleukos Urban Cross running race. The inaugural race will be on July 24, here is what the race website says:

"Who says cross country has to stay in the country? Welcome to the Gleukos Urban Cross where all of the dirt and muck of the most challenging and fun cross country courses is dumped on the golf course located inside the horse race track at Portland Meadows in Portland, Oregon. That’s right, six traditional cross country obstacles (on steroids) will challenge you and your team of seven to see which team can conquer the course in the least amount of time. Teams will be scored via traditional cross-country scoring rules. Each team participant will also be scored as an individual with overall and age group results posted. Team classifications include: High School, Club, Corporate and Open. This spectator-friendly course also allows your friends & family to view your progress in the race at many points with relative ease. Challenge your favorite rival for a not so average run in the park and bring the kiddos for a Kids’ Dash following the adult XC races."

Cross Country is typically a Fall sport but we'll take what we can get. Read more on the race website here:

http://www.gleukos.com/urbancross/

Graniteman Mountain Run 2010

2010-04-06T16:44:00.001-07:00

The Graniteman Mountain Run will return in 2010 with new race directors. Chad Wikander and Josh Hamik will be at the helm this year to present a triathlon, off-road duathlon and mountain run. The races will be held on July 24 at Applegate Lake south of Jacksonville, OR.

Unfortunately this year's mountain run will not be part of the La Sportiva / USATF Oregon Mountain Running Series due to it taking place on the same day as the Great Northwest Mountain Run on Mt. Hood.

Chad and Josh hope to move the race back to its traditional early June date in 2011 at which point it will once again be part of the Oregon Mountain Running Series.

Upcoming trail races in Tigard, OR

2010-03-29T15:11:00.000-07:00

From the race director:

We are having a local 5km and 10km on the trails in Cook Park, Tigard. For all the details please see:

http://reasontorun.com/springRaces.html
You could even do a double: 10k on Saturday, Rumble on Sunday?!

Hope to see you in April!
Darin
www.ReasonToRun.com

USATF Announces World Championship 24-Hour Run National Team

2010-03-03T21:22:00.000-08:00

Press Release from USATF:

Indianapolis, IN – USATF announces the 2010 USA National Team for the International Association of Ultrarunners’ 24-hour Run World Championship, to be held in Brive, France on May 13-14, 2010.

WOMEN

Suzanna Bon, 45, Sonoma, CA. Bon is one of two mothers of 5 on the national team. A former elementary school teacher, she ran her first ultra in 2003 and has specialized in trail races, collecting numerous victories and course records. Her road ultra debut was a stunning 134.7-mile victory at the San Francisco 24 Hour Race in 2009.

Jamie Donaldson, 35, Littleton, CO. Donaldson is a middle school math teacher who has been the USA’s top finisher at the 24-Hour Run World Championship the past two years, finishing 4th in 2009 world title race in Italy. She was runner-up to Kami Semick for Ultrarunning Magazine’s Ultrarunner of the Year in those years and was a USATF athlete of the week in 2009. She is a 2-time winner and women’s course recordholder of the Badwater 135 mile race across Death Valley. She recently ran 21:01:28 to break the American track record for 200km.

Debra Horn, 50, Cleveland, OH. Horn is a partner in a Cleveland law firm. She recently broke the American Women’s 50-54 age-group 12 Hour record with 72.96 miles. This will be Horn’s fourth consecutive National 24-Hour Run team. In 2009 she was the #3 scorer on the U.S. Women’s team which won the silver medal at the World 24-Hour in Italy, and she followed that with a bronze medal performance at the 2009 USA 24-Hour Run Championship. When not running or practicing law, Horn is a member of the Mayfield Curling Club’s national champion team in the winter Olympic sport of Curling.

Amy Palmiero-Winters, 37, Hicksville, NY. This mother of two is the Sports Programs Director at two different organizations on Long Island and is also a coach and motivational speaker. An ultrarunner for less than half a year, she won her first ultra, the Heartland 100 Mile in October, for which she was selected as USATF’s Athlete of the Week. In only her second ultra she won the Arizona 24-Hour Race overall with 130.04 miles and secured the final spot on the women’s national team by less than a mile on the last day of the qualifying window. In 1997, following 27 surgeries for a motorcycle accident, Palmiero-Winters had her left leg amputated below the knee. She has subsequently become a single-leg below-the-knee amputee world recordholder in over a dozen events (including the marathon and Ironman distance triathlon). She runs with a custom-designed prosthesis, and she has made history by becoming the first-ever amputee to qualify for an open, able-bodied USA National Team.

Jill Perry, 39, Manlius, NY. A relative newcomer to the sport of ultrarunning, Perry is the second mother of 5 young children on the team. She runs her own coaching service for running mothers when not training herself. Perry won the 2009 USA 24-Hour Run National Championship with 136.3 miles, moving into the top 10 all-time U.S. women. She is also the course record holder at the Umstead 100-mile in North Carolina.

Anna Piskorska, 37, Blandon, PA. A native of Gdansk, Poland, Piskorska became a U.S. citizen in 2006. When not running, she works for Occupational Health and Urgent Care in Reading, PA. A runner for only 4 years, Piskorska quickly gravitated to ultra distances. She was women’s silver medalist at the 2009 USA 24-Hour Championship with 132.6 miles.

MEN

Serge Arbona, 45, Baltimore, MD. Arbona is a self-employed handyman and father of two. He has been running and winning ultramarathons for almost a decade, with a racing range from 50km to 6 days. In July 2009 he won the “20 in 24” 24-Hour Race in Philadelphia with a total of 146.28 miles. This is his first national team.

John Geesler, 51, St. Johnsville, NY. Geesler is the Maintenance Supervisor at at textile mill. The 3-time USA 24-Hour Run Champion and 5-time national team member returns to the team as an athlete, following one year as team manager. He is the current 48-hour American Road Record Holder with 248 miles. Most recently, he was silver medalist at the 2009 USA 24-Hour Run National Championship.

Michael Henze, 40, Neenah, WI. Henze is the Plant Controller for a packing company, and is relatively new to ultrarunning. Henze once weighed over 300 pounds before taking up running and dropping over 1/3 of his body weight. Since taking up long distances he has never finished worse than 2nd in an ultramarathon race. In June 2009 he won and broke the course record at the FANS 24-Hour with 147.41 miles.

Scott Jurek (pictured above), 36, Seattle, WA. Jurek is a physical therapist and running coach who is best known for his unprecedented 7 consecutive wins and course record at the prestigious Western States 100-mile Endurance Run over the Sierra Nevada mountains. He has also won the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, the Hardrock 100 Mile Race in Colorado, and the classic 153-mile Spartathlon (from Athens to Sparta) in Greece, where his winning performance is still second only to that of the legendary multiple world record holder Yiannis Kouros. Jurek has been named a Running Hero by Runner’s World magazine and three times was voted Ultrarunner of the Year by Ultrarunning magazine. He is prominently feaatured in the NY Times bestseller, Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall. This will be his first time as a member of the 24-Hour Run National Team.

Phil McCarthy, 41, New York, NY. McCarthy is a classically trained pianist, singer, and composer. He won the 2009 USA 24-Hour Run National Championship with 151.49 miles. He has a personal best over 154 miles, set in the 2007 World 24-Hour Run Championship where he led the USA team with a 4th place individual finish. In 2008 he finished 2nd in the invitational Surgeres 48 Hour Run in France with 235 miles. This will be McCarthy’s 4th consecutive 24-Hour Run National Team.

Dan Rose, 33, Washington, D.C. Rose is a Special Event Coordinator for the Library of Congress. A cancer survivor, he began his running career following treatments at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, by running the Boston Marathon to raise funds for the institute. He makes his first national team by virtue of his 3rd place finish at the 2009 USA 24-Hour Run National Championship with 139.22 miles. In November of 2009 Rose ran the length of the hilly 142-mile Horse-Shoe Trail from Valley Forge, PA to just north of Harrisburg, PA, under 33 hours.

TEAM MANAGEMENT STAFF

TEAM LEADER
Roy Pirrung, 61, Sheboygan, WI. Pirrung is recently retired from the Kohler Company, after 36 years of service. He has previously served as team manager while also being a scoring team member (hence affectionately known as the team’s “player-coach”) for the first 7 previous editions of the 24-Hour Run World Championship. He was the winner of the inaugural USA 24-Hour National Championship in 1988 and is a former American Record Holder for both the 24-Hour and 48-Hour runs. He has competed internationally since 1989, including three top 6 finishes at Greece’s Spartathlon. He is a member of the USATF Masters Hall of Fame.

TEAM ASSISTANT LEADER
Mike Spinnler, 51, Hagerstown, MD. Spinnler is President and Team Coordinator of the Cumberland Valley Athletic Club. He has served on five previous USA National Team Staffs, including the past 3 years with the 100Km team. He has been Race Director of numerous road races, ranging in distance from one-mile to 50-miles for the past three decades. Since 1993 he has served as the Executive Director of the JFK 50 Mile, America’s oldest and largest ultramarathon, of which he is a former winner and course record holder. Spinnler was named the 1997 National Junior College Athletic Association’s “National Coach of the Year” in Women’s Track and Field.

TEAM PHYSICIAN
Dr. Andy Lovy, 75, Kirksville, MO. Dr. Lovy graduated from the Chicago School of Osteopathy in 1962 and in his first practice served as the team doctor for two teams in West Virginia. He later lectured in the physical and emotional aspects of sports medicine at the Toledo Medical Association and the Czech Republic Annual Convention of sports medicine. He has also been a guest lecturer at the medical meeting of the Boston Marathon. He has participated in 191 marathons and 192 ultras since 1983 and has served as the 24-Hour Run National Team physician 4 of the past 5 years. He is a highly decorated U.S. Army veteran, having served in Vietnam as a combat physician working with MEDEVAC helicopter units.