The end is near.

It has been a busy few weeks since my last post. Christmas and the New Year are almost upon us, and it becomes a little tougher to find the time to train. I have been able to get the extra miles and still have time to attend holiday functions. We ran with Jason D. and Jess E. last Wednesday. Jess will be running her first ultra next month at the Buckeye Trail 50k, so she has been joining us for some long runs. Jason got into Massanutten 100, so his training will begin to increase, hopefully we can get together for some long runs with him. Don't forget, we have the Recover from the Holidays 50k fun run on January 3, 2009. I have been getting a lot of requests from folks wanting more information about the run. I have a page with information at: http://www.laurelultra.com/usc50.htm. Feel free to attend this fun event in two weeks. It is a loop course that is about 10.6 miles long. You can do one, two or all three loops. If you have not run at Boyce/Mayview park, you will be pleasantly surprised at the quality of trails in our own backyards. The start area this year is new, as we have outgrown the Morton Field parking lot. The run will begin at the pavilion next to the new Upper St. Clair Rec Center (the rec center is still under construction).

Also, Dave Micklo has announced that he will be holding a 50k fun run at Mingo Creek County Park in February. It will be called the Mingo Mingle, and I will put some info up on a page soon. Not sure of the URL yet, but I will post it when I decide. Dave will be attempting the Grand Slam in 2009, good luck to him in his endeavor. That means will be able to get some long training runs in with Dave and his friends.


Don't forget, January 3, 2009, I will see you all there and we can catch up on race stories from the past year.

Have a safe Holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. It is good to be home and enjoying the cold weather. There is a lot to report this week.

The DecaIron is continuing in Mexico, and each day I can't wait to see how our friends are doing. We are all pulling for Peter, Eileen and Suraya to finish before the Sunday deadline. It looks as though they will all make it, as long as they can keep moving. Just type ultra triathlon in a search engine and you should be able to find information on the race. Also Steve Kirby has a blog where he has daily race reports. Not sure of the address, but a search should get you there.

The Iditarod Trail Invitational has filled to the 50 racer limit. Tim Hewitt and Tom Jarding will be attempting the 1100 mile race again. Just can't keep those two away from the great state of Alaska. I will report on our training as it progresses.

The JFK 50 mile was held last Saturday and there were many folks from the Pittsburgh area competing. I checked the results and here are the local runners that I found:
Chris Gibson 7:47
Andrew Place 8:45
Andrew Karnavas 8:46
Scott Finnell 8:53
Andrew Colburn 8:58
Valerie Kunkle 9:05
Jeff Gleason 9:05
Sabine Kane 9:05
Michelle Ellery 9:08
Kim Marshall 9:10
Stacy Kopchak 9:24
Maria Vargas 9:31
Eric Grol 9:46
Kevin Knaus 9:46
Tony Mauro 9:53
Rich Vrboncic 10:54
John Edleman 10:59
Kim Peterson 11:19
Mike Tatarko 11:43
Kevan Matthews 11:47
Mike Lotze 11:49

Let me know if I missed anyone, and send me your reports if you have a minute. There are quite a few new ultra runners from our area, and many names that I have not seen in a while.

Rich V. e-mailed me to say that he caught up to Leo Lightner from the Cleveland area and ran the last part of the race with him. Leo set a new age group record (He is 80 years old and ran a 12:55) for the JFK50, besting the old record by almost an hour. Perhaps I can get Rich to write a report.

Don't forget to mark your calendars for the Recover from the Holidays 50k Fun Run on January 3, 2009. You can find more information at laurelultra.com/usc50.htm, or send me an e-mail. Many folks have contacted me about participating, we should have a great turnout this year. Remember, it is a fun run, no fee, no aid, no shirt, no whining. We will however, try to have some hot soup and snacks at the finish.

Enjoy your Turkey, see you all soon.

Hard Days Night

Wayne finished the quintuple iron race in 111 hours, 40 minutes, 46 seconds. The time is unofficial. Third place overall. Great job!!! I will report tomorrow, as we are both tired.

Quintuple Winner

Andreas has won the quintuple iron race in a time 103 hours, 45 minutes. It is still exciting here as Elke continues at a steady pace, running almost two laps to everyone else´s one. Wayne is working hard and running steady laps. I am almost sad that the race will be over soon. I am enjoying the atmosphere and friendliness of the racers and support crews. Michelle should hang on for second place, if she can keep her current pace. Elke´s surge has put the pressure on Wayne and Michelle, and kept the race exciting. Wayne has twelve laps to go, about fifteen miles. I am hoping that he can finish before midnight tonight. It will be a well deserved sleep. These athlete´s are simply unbelievable!

Running On Empty

It is a little after 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, during the heat of the day. Wayne got an early start, but has not been able to keep a steady pace. He stopped at lunch for a break and hopefully can rebound in the afternoon. Michelle has passed him and continues to add to the gap between them. The brain is willing, but the body is rebelling. He has twenty five laps to go, about a 50K. I will try to get him to eat, but he has been stubborn in that respect. Elke now has her sights on third place. She was upset that her crew did not wake her this morning and is now running two laps to each lap that Wayne is running. If he can keep his lap times under twenty-two minutes, he should be able to hold her off. Andreas has about six laps to go and will get the victory early this evening.
In the deca race, the leaders are at the 1500 kilometer mark. They should finish the bike tomorrow morning and begin the run.
The transition area is an interesting place each morning. We are usually the first to arrive, if we don´t sleep there. Many racers retire for the night and begin arriving around 4:00 a.m. Then the support crews arrive and by 7:00 a.m. the area begins to come alive.
The kitchen is open around the clock and the ladies there continue to amaze me with the many various menu items. I have been able to sample many mexican food items, and am even learning how to pronounce them.

Final Day?

Virgil, back on line (who can guess what movie that line is from?). After a midday rest and four hours of sleep this morning, Wayne is back on the circuit and ready to go. He had a good rally last night before retiring for the evening. With forty-six laps remaining, we hope to finish late today. We do not want to return to the dorm, where there are three flights of steps to the room. Andreas has built a comfortable lead, Wayne and Michelle were tied when Wayne returned to the course. Michelle is still sleeping in her tent, so we may be able to gain a lap or two on her. I will let you know how the day goes. The lead athletes in the deca race are still going strong. Michael G. from Germany suffered his fourth flat of the race. When we returned from the dorm, I found his wheel resting against our supply table. It is a good thing that Wayne brought extra tires, as he has now borrowed his fourth tire from him. Thanks for all of the encouragement, it really helps when we hit down spots during the day.
p.s. - it takes me longer to type this here, as the keyboard for spanish is slightly different, and I keep hitting incorrect keys;)

Muy Caliente

It is about 2:30 p.m. and the heat has taken it´s toll. Without much protest, Wayne will sleep for a couple of hours during the midday heat. Hopefully, he can rally, as his lap times have continued to deteriorate. Andreas has taken the lead on the last lap. After the rest it should be much cooler and better for running. I also need to get him to eat more, as his calorie intake has also dwindled. I know how hard it is to get a variety of foods, but I will try to stockpile a few while he sleeps. He has completed forty-five laps so far. This rest may also allow us to shorten the stop tonight. His attitude and demeanor contines to be excellent.