Monday, March 30, 2009

Did anyone see the Terrapin chasing them?

Apparently, the Terrapin showed itself this year (a rare appearance) but this report might be similar to many Bigfoot sightings...:)

Josh and Terrapin

Aaron Mulder Terrapin 50k Race Report

So of my extensive experience of three, I think this was far and away the hardest 50K I've done.  According to Web sites, it's actually got less elevation change than the HAT Run (7560' vs. 9800').  However, the catch is, it happens all at once.

OK, maybe not once, more like two huge and two little bits (or perhaps, two giant bits and two huge bits).  But I'll get to that.

This time, there wasn't anyone I was particularly close to during the race.  I passed and was passed, but not by the same folks.  So it's more of a terrain report, I guess.  But I was hoping to come in under

5 hours, and I wasn't sure if that was realistic... I figured I'd give it a shot.  It was a nice day for it, in the low 50s, though the fog visible on the mountains was a little ominous.

Anyway, the race started with a short road section (in company with the half marathon runners), turning onto a gravel road, which eventually turned into more of a dirt/rock road (all uphill, though more steeply as we went).  That got annoying fast -- largely because it was *really* foggy, and my glasses kept fogging up, and it was hard to actually improve things by wiping them.  But it was a tough time, with lots of big and little rocks in the trail.  Other than the fog, it reminded me a lot of parts of the Arkansas Traveller, and I didn't look forward to going back down it (I was anticipating a steep downhill through rocks and fog).

Finally we crossed a big stream and got to just plain trail, and that was nice -- we got out of the fog a bit too.  Though it was still all uphill.  I was walking bits within the first 4 miles, which I'm not used to.  And I was passed by an aggressive race-walker, who I never saw again (I'm not totally sure he wasn't a half-marathoner, though I didn't think so for some reason).  Still, I was feeling pretty good about my position when I got to Camping Gap (the first aid station, which we'd also return to).  This ended the 4 mile (!) uphill, at about 2/3 of the maximum elevation for the day, and it's where the half marathon split off.  And hey, they had Rice Krispie Treats!

Awesome!  So then, the 50K went off on a hugely steep downhill.  I had been sooo looking forward to a downhill!

Mistake.  The first problem was, it was a really steep downhill.  In fact, it felt steeper down than up, though I guess it probably couldn't have been.  The nice part was that it was on a gravel road, so at least a (comparatively) smooth surface.  Though after a mile or so my legs started feeling a bit heavy, and I decided this wasn't going to be any better than the uphill.  It didn't help when I heard footsteps behind me, and a swarm of folks were running pretty hard down from that aid station.  One just shot by; most of the rest stayed close behind for the moment.  I guess that means I sped up a little.

Sigh.  Two miles into this, I was really wishing for some uphill again!

After maybe three miles, it leveled out for a second and there was even a momentary uphill.  My upper legs felt totally numb!  Uh-oh.

Then it went downhill again and I just resigned myself to it.  I skipped past the next aid station at a little over 7 miles, since I wasn't drinking much on the high-speed descent, and it was only a little over 2 to the next one.  Fortunately it wasn't as steeply down after that, but unfortunately that meant a couple of the lurkers passed me.  Oh, well.

Pulling into the 9.4 mile station after 4 miles of straight uphill and

5 miles of straight downhill, there were a bunch of spectators cheering people in.  I was a little bummed because it was the only one with crew access and I didn't think Erin was going to be there (I forgot to print directions to it and I knew she'd need to get Caelan breakfast and so on).  So I pulled up to the aid table, and imagine my surprise when I noticed Erin and Caelan there!  Woo-hoo!  That picked me up.  When I looked at my watch, I found I was ahead of my best-case time, which didn't seem right.  I guess that downhill went *really* fast.  (Looking at the results, I averaged, get ready for this, 6:13 per mile for that 5.3 mile segment.)  Heading out of the station, I was pleased to see it went right into a little uphill, so I didn't feel too bad walking while I sucked down a gel.  I think I did get passed, though.

This segment started out with uphill on gravel road, and eventually turned off to be uphill trail.  The trail section had some scary parts

-- very narrow trail (like, 8 inches!), just barely etched out of the steep mountainside, and in parts, covered with wet leaves.  I felt like if you slipped, you'd be going a very long way down.  Fortunately those sections didn't last TOO long, but there was nothing like that in the other races I've done!  On the up side, I did pass someone at one of the wider points.  Still, it was a slow 4 miles of solid uphill.

We got a brief respite in a quick downhill back to the aid station I skipped last time, making about a 6 mile loop total.  This time I stopped, as it had been a while.  Someone popped out behind me to ask if they had tape -- they said only duct tape, so he took off, while I was still refilling my bottles. Sigh.

Now came a part I was really dreading.  Remember that super-steep 3 miles down from Camping Gap?  Now we got to go back UP it.  My only consolation was we'd again be like 2/3 of the way to the ultimate top.

I tried to jog whenever possible, and I did pass a couple folks who were walking more.  That cheered me up.  But I was feeling pretty beat when I got back up to Camping Cap.  Plus, it was tremendously foggy this time.  They filled me up and I asked which way to go, and they said up the hill.  I had taken a few steps away and couldn't see which the guy pointed, and I didn't see any of the streamers, so I headed up the grassy slope.  Hey!  Mister!  Yo!  The road!  Up the road!  Oh.  I went back to the road and carried on.  Then I saw a streamer.

So another mile or a bit more of somewhat more gentle uphill, and I saw the leaders coming back the other way.  That was cool -- there were two guys way out front of everyone else, but I tried to cheer them all a bit as they went by.  I saw maybe 5 runners going the other way before we split off into the loop section that went around and eventually to the top, the highest point of the course, and back down to rejoin the road back to Camping Gap.  The road had turned from gravel to dirt, and I figured it couldn't be too bad from here, since we had just added a mile or two of uphill to the previous massive uphill, and there couldn't be that much more elevation left.  Maybe you see where this is going.  Ha ha!  Joke's on me!

There was a lot of steep uphill, and I walked a lot.  I could only hope the people behind me were walking too.  Every time the trail turned I thought "oh good, this turn means we're just about there".

Wrong, wrong, and um, wrong.  At least the trail was nice -- it was probably technically a road, but mainly dirt, and nice and soft.

FINALLY I got to the summit, and headed back down.  At this exact moment I realized I was overdue on a gel and electrolyte tabs, and I didn't want to get behind since I figured all the fog meant humidity and I'd be losing a lot of salt.

So I sighed and slowed to a walk down the initial descent, feeding as I went.  Finally I got all my junk back into my belt pack and started jogging.  No one passed.  Whew!  Then maybe 50 feet later, I came around a turn, and guess what?  Steep uphill.  What the?!?!  I KNOW we were at the top!  The mountain did not agree.  So I trudged on, walking a lot as it was steep, with a keen eye out for the sign reading WELCOME TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD!  After 10 miles of straight uphill, I sure felt I deserved it!  Never did see it.  Eventually, the road-thing just started downhill again and this time it meant it.

Boy, did it mean it.  It quickly turned VERY steep.  But this was quite nice, because it was soft earth, easy landings, and periodic little bumps to slow down on before things got completely out of control.  After a mile or so, the loop finished, and became the "back"

part of the out & back to Camping Gap.  This was may favorite part of the course.  It was downhill but not too steep, fine gravel road, and I swear every single person going the other way said something nice to me -- way to go, looking good, big whistles or cheers, whatever.  Wow!

What a pick-me-up!  I'm afraid I just waved to most of them, I was beat.  But happy.

That brought me back to Camping Gap for the last time.  The elapsed time was around 3:35, meaning I had 85 minutes to make the last 9 miles or so and squeak in under 5 hours -- this seemed doable since a huge portion of that would be downhill.  There was one little uphill to the top of Terrapin Mountain (lower than the one we just did), and a little uphill after the last aid station, but otherwise a couple miles of flat and a lot of downhill.  Maybe now you can see where this is going...

I left the aid station and was fine with a steep climb because I could walk and eat on the way out.  It was a narrow twisty trail, but nice soft earth again.  I figured I'd start jogging once it leveled out some and widened a bit.  Never happened.  I don't think I jogged more than 10 steps between Camping Gap and the summit of Terrapin Mountain.

It was all super-steep, narrow switchback trails, over and through large sets of rocks, steep, steep, steep.  I walked the best I could but someone passed me anyway (this was to be a very good thing).  He asked if I had passed the first punch and I said no, had he?  See, there were two orienteering punches on the course, and you had to stamp your bib with each one.  One at the summit of Terrapin Mountain, and one in "Fat Man's Misery", whatever that was.

Finally, after eating through any conceivable time buffer I had, and joking about the punch a few too many times to be comfortable, we came to where we figured the top must be.  This was the only problem I had with the course markings.  We came up to tree with a streamer on it.

The path went right, with a couple streamers.  The path *also* went left, with a couple streamers.  What the?!?  The guy who was just in front of me ran down the left a bit and then hollered back, "it just keeps going down here!".  So I figured let's go that way, maybe this was some weird loop thing or something (note: brain not really functioning any more).  But he went to check out the right trail and said he'd call back, so I hung tight a few yards down the left trail.

Then I hear "the punch is over here!"  So I went back to the intersection, by which time there were three more people there

(aargh!) one of whom said "oh yeah, the punch is to the right.  Last year they had a sign."  Great.  I fell in and we went to the punch.

It was on a big pile of jutting rocks -- another pretty frightening place.  If you slipped there, there was no tumble down slope, it was fall through the air!  I crept over as cautiously as I could.

Supposedly, the rocks here look like a big turtle, giving the mountain it's name.  I'm afraid I forgot to look.  Eventually we all punched and headed back down the left trail.  The one experienced guy had just waited there and was directing more people (wish he had been there for me!).  As we headed down, he said I should pass, he was just running with the girl behind us.  I had still lost another place to the delay, but I made that up too.  But if anything, the trail got crazier!  It was steep, with frightful switchbacks when gravity had really taken hold.  And another big rocky area where it seemed the trail just went over a cliff, but the guy behind directed us through.

And then we got to Fat Man's Misery.  I took one look and just turned the other way to find where the trail ACTUALLY went, because there was sure no way it went through there!  Wrong again.  The guy says, "just jump in!"  I said "YOU jump in!"  So he went first.

Imagine a trail going down very steeply, with a big mud bog.  Now put two huge upright rock slabs, maybe 10 inches apart (not kidding!), that you're supposed to squeeze through while sliding down the muddy slope.  Now bend them 30 degrees to the left, so you can't even be vertical when you do it!  That guy hit the bottom, shimmied a little, and yelled back "Go!  Just slide down!"  I jumped in and immediately lost my footing and slid halfway down.  One water bottle went flying.

It felt like I scraped up my arm.  I'm kind of lying on the slab in front but my backside is pressed up against the slab in back.  No way could I get back up to the bottle, but one of the folks behind graciously offered to bring it through.  Holy crap.

I slid on out and there was a photographer, of course.  They found the "best" spots on the course, that's for sure!  I went and applied the second punch while waiting for the crew behind.  The first one got out and tossed me my bottle.  I turned to head out, and again, no trail.

Just a little round hole through the rocks about 4 feet up.  You got it, that was the trail.

And the hits just keep on comin'.  The rest of the descent was crazy steep, on super-narrow trails, with frequent switchbacks.  Imagine you're pulled to full speed and then realize you have 5 feet to make a 180 degree turn.  It was awful.  I mean, OK, trail surface is nice, weather is nice, scenery is nice.  But it was easily the slowest downhill I did all day.  Then we got to the rocky sections.  Still every bit as steep, but unnavigable unless you walk.  Coming down Terrapin was my least favorite part of the course.

FINALLY I saw a runner coming the other way.  I wasn't really clear on why, but it seemed like a good sign.  Of course, then I remembered that you double back a bit after getting to the last aid station.  I though it was only a quarter mile from one of the course descriptions, so I felt pretty good, but it just kept on going and going.  Steeply down and rocky, of course.  People (well ahead of me!) were walking back up.  Then I stumbled on a rock, and my legs all tensed up to keep me from falling, and BLAM!  Leg cramp.  My calf knotted up and I had to stop and try to stretch it and massage it back to life.  Sigh.

Fortunately it didn't take real long, and no one passed.  I made it the rest of the way to the aid station OK.  It had been nearly 50 minutes for 3.5 miles (my slowest segment of the day, despite including the largest downhill), and it was pretty obvious I wasn't going to make it in under 5 at this point.  I was well and truly ready to just coast the rest of the way in.

That is, until the aid station volunteers told me my place.  I was doing a lot better than expected (even though, as it later turned out, what they told me was wrong).  Suddenly I didn't want to coast any more!  I took off with a new spring in my step...  until I got to the steep part very shortly and had to walk again.  But I pushed.  I saw people coming in as I was going out, and they were close, but they didn't get there before I left, so that was good.  Now I'm figuring how to stay just a bit ahead for the next 5.5 miles.  Crap.  I had nothing left, had already gotten a cramp... this was not going to be easy.

So anyway, I made it up the last serious incline to where the trail leveled out for a few miles (which just meant the parts I had to walk weren't more than 50 feet and the downhills never got out of control).

We were mostly keeping to a level on the mountain, meaning we went in and out at every crease in the side. And every one had a stream crossing, of course, but they weren't bad.  I kept looking back to see if I saw the next people behind me, and I frequently didn't, and I kept telling myself to stop looking, but it didn't work.  Then one time I looked and saw people pretty close behind.  Uh-oh.  I jogged more uphills.  I tried to pick it up on downhills.

Finally the trail turned downhill for real, which was great -- this was the last bit on the elevation chart.  I knew I was getting there!

I ran!  And got to a massive stream crossing, with, of course, a photographer.  My leg cramped when it really hit the icy water, and I heard the camera clicking just as I had a huge grimace on my face, but the cramp left as fast as it came and I tried to smile on my way out the other side.  We'll see what he got.

That led to the downhill I had feared at the start, but the fog was gone, and it turned out that when running fast enough the rocks don't matter.  At least, you have big strides to clear them with.  So long as you don't fall.

Then I made gravel.  I remembered them saying there was 0.7 miles of road at the start, so I was thinking I was home free!  I could run hard for 0.7 miles.  Then a few minutes later I passed a "1 mile to go!" sign.  Aaargh!  Apparently the 0.7 was the *paved* road, not the gravel part.  I didn't think I could keep the pace I was doing for a whole 'nother mile, but I tried.  I got to pavement!  I saw the start-finish pavilion in the distance!  I turned into the grass, and people cheered and I saw the finish line!  The race director called my name!  I crossed!

I just stood and tried to catch my breath.  I didn't make 5 hours -- a bit over 5:15 actually.  I sat down and didn't move for a while.  Erin got me drinks and food, and Caelan played with my discarded running gear (eww!).  Apparently my back was totally black with mud from Fat Man's Misery -- Erin called it my Terrapin Rorschach.

Anyway, I finished.  It was hard.  I am sore.  I'm not sure I'll do this one again.  At least, that's how I feel today.  But it was fun all the same.  Would I recommend it?  I guess to skinny people, not afraid of heights, looking for a challenge.  Otherwise, maybe stick with the HAT.

Official Terrapin Photos are now available

In addition to the many "amateur" photos that were shot for our webcast of the Terrapin Mountain 50k & Half-marathon, Andrew Wilds and Seth Trittipoe were, once again, on site for professional photography. As I mentioned several times throughout the event, you will now be able to click on the links below, view the many photos Andrew shot at Fat Man's Misery and Seth shot at Reed Creek, edited, and are now available for purchase.

Please consider purchasing a photo from Andrew Wilds or Seth Trittipoe:


http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/STrittipoe/TerrapinMtn

http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/awilds/terrapin09

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Terrapin Mountain Race Photos and Race Video

For some reason our photos our still not showing up:

Here is a link to all the Terrapin Mountain photos that we have posted so far. As of right now we have posted over 600 photos and still counting. Come back and see them all as we continue to post.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36637673@N05/

Here is a link to the Terrapin Mountain videos we captured as well, our connection at the race did not allow us enough bandwidth to get these posted during the event hopefully we can resolve that by the time Grindstone 100M comes around.
http://www.youtube.com/user/ecoxsports

We had a great day posting split results, we had trouble with photos and videos but hope that in the near future we will have that all resolved for future races. We hope you all enjoyed it.

Terrapin Mountain Quick Summary

We had a great day at the Terrapin Mtn 50k & Half-marathon.  It poured rain most of the night but held off for the entire race, except for the last 45 minutes!  Temps were in the upper 50's with some nice cloud cover.  This made for near-perfect racing conditions and a slick Fat Man's Misery...

In the 50k, 144 finishers from 146 starters = 98% finishing rate!

In the 1/2, 71 finishers from 71 starters = perfection!

Thanks to all!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Top Ten Terrapin Mountain 50k Finishers

Place Finish Bib Number
1 4:13:27 2 Jordan Whitlock
2 4:19:45 3 Jason Bryant
3 4:49:03 76 Darryl Smith
4 4:55:23 15 Jack Kurisky
5 4:57:27 4 Christopher Clarke
6 5:04:03 157 Micah Scott
7 5:06:20 6 Chris Miller
8 5:07:45 9 Greg Zaruba
9 5:07:45 10 Byron Backer


All Live Results

First Women in the 50k!

Heather Fisher at a time of 5 hours 10 min wins the inaugural Terrapin Mountain 50k run!



Click here for Live Stats

1/2 Marathon Results - Women

The women's results from the Terrapin half marathon:

1 Heather Zealand 2:19:34
2 Selena Smart 2:22:38
3 Jazmin Siaca 2:26:47
4 Robin Grossman 2:34:32
5 Stephanie Beem 2:43:12
6 Krystal Matheson 2:50:19
7 Jeanne Craig 2:53:18
8 Missy Perry 2:53:47
9 Gabby Milam 2:53:47
10 Liz Heavner 2:55:28

Congratulations Heather!!

1/2 Marathon Results - All

Place Name Gender Time
1 Elliot Nuss M 1:58:50
2 Joseph Sontgerath M 2:11:59
3 Heather Zealand F 2:19:34
4 Selena Smart F 2:22:38
5 Mike Donahue M 2:24:08
6 William Weber M 2:24:18
7 Walker Wright M 2:24:46
8 Jazmin Siaca F 2:26:47
9 Barry Prandi M 2:28:54
10 Chris Montgomery M 2:31:54

Congratulations runners!

Audio Post #1

The 2009 Terrapin Mtn. 50K & 1/2 Marathon is Underway

The 2009 Terrapin Mtn. 50K & 1/2 Marathon is well underway and the runners are progressing their way through the course wonderfully. Please stay tuned to the website for 50K & 1/2 Marathon updates on your favorite runners and where they are at in the race. It is about 51 degrees and overcast and the rain has stopped.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Terrapin Mtn Live Webcast

Just a reminder that you can find the live webcast for this Saturday's Terrapin Mtn. 50k at the following link:

http://www.eco-xsports.com/livestats.php?race=3&year=2009

and the half-marathon webcast at:

http://www.eco-xsports.com/livestats.php?race=4&year=2009

Rain, rain and more rain here at Terrapin!

Cheers,

Clark Zealand

Monday, March 23, 2009

2009 Terrapin Mountain 50k & Half-marathon Seedings

Here they are...

Terrapin Mtn 50k

Bib # First Last Gender Age State
1 Mike Mason Male 38 NC
2 Jordan Whitlock Male 21 VA
3 Jason Bryant Male 36 NC
4 Christopher Clarke Male 24 VA
5 Bobby Gill Male 25 MD
6 Chris Miller Male 35 VA
7 Timothy Driscoll Male 39 VA
8 Mario Raymond Male 36 MD
9 Greg Zaruba Male 42 MD
10 Byron Backer Male 44 SC
11 Michael Stratton Male 25 VA
12 Jared Hesse Male 33 VA
13 Bryan Banning Male 25 VA
14 Kent Gallup Male 38 NC
15 Jack Kurisky Male 41 VA
16 Anthony Lee Male 36 FL
17 Kevin Townsend Male 36 VA
18 Mike Pflieger Male 35 VA
19 Torry Brennan Male 39 VA
20 Wes Mountain Male 26 VA
21 Rick Gray Male 48 TN
22 Christopher Calfee Male 41 VA
23 Bill  Vickery Male 38 VA
24 Marc Griffin Male 33 VA
25 John Bocek Male 28 DC
26 Adam Eidson Male 35 VA
27 Jeromy Gallant Male 25 VA
28 Jarett Tighe Male 41 VA
29 Mike Dunlop Male 39 VA
30 Blake Edmondson Male 25 VA
31 Tony Escobar Male 45 VA
32 Kelly Golden Male 42 VA
33 John Green Male 32 VA
34 Micah Jackson Male 29 VA
35 Shawn Krause Male 29 MD
36 Kimani Long Male 35 NC
37 Jim Morrison Male 50 Ontario
38 Jim Orr Male 53 Ontario
39 Paul Hennick Male 58 Ontario
40 Horacio Ruiz Male 43 NY
41 David Snipes Male 41 VA
42 Pedro Soto Male 31 PA
43 Jared Yeoman Male 27 VA
44 Anthony Sweitzer Male 36 VA
45 Mark Mckennett Male 30 MD
46 Richard Michael Male 36 VA
47 David Main Male 45 VA
48 Will Jorgensen Male 49 TN
49 Jim Harrison Male 51 VA
50 Grattan Garbee Male 46 VA
51 Wilbert Hooper Male 50 VA
52 Monte Evans Male 57 VA
53 Ed Duval Male 51 VA
54 Ling Dao Male 31 VA
55 Scott Carson Male 34 VA
56 Steven Brown Male 41 VA
57 Vince Bowman Male 44 VA
58 J.R. Ankney Male 50 VA
59 Patrick Allen Male 30 VA
60 Ted Bielawa Male 38 VA
61 Darvey Bressi Male 34 PA
62 Billy Cabell Male 31 VA
63 Nick Derenzis Male 30 VA
64 Ted Diss Male 45 VA
65 Farouk Elkassed Male 59 VA
66 Tommy Field Male 40 VA
67 Russ Gray Male 42 WV
68 Matthew Catoire Male 23 VA
69 John Cooper Male 54 VA
70 Joseph Endicott Male 21 NJ
71 Bert Horsley Male 30 VA
72 George Lee Male 37 VA
73 Aaron Mulder Male 34 PA
74 Mark Persinger Male 35 WV
75 Michael Ryan Male 31 NY
76 Darryl Smith Male 37 VA
77 Philip Thompson Male 22 MD
78 Kevin Vioral Male 38 VA
79 Barry Wright Male 52 NC
80 Matthew Ripley Male 44 VA
81 Casey Pence Male 27 VA
82 Dennis Norris Male 45 NC
83 James Miner Male 60 NY
84 Chad Kibler Male 37 VA
85 John Hampton Male 32 MD
86 Tim Fager Male 41 PA
87 Steven Desantis Male 48 VA
88 Dennis Bridges Male 53 MD
89 Nicholas Brantley Male 25 VA
90 Geoffrey Baker Male 50 MD
91 Josh Ahier Male 22 VA
92 Steve Bowles Male 62 VA
93 Robert Dolan Male 42 VA
94 Jon Hayden Male 40 NC
95 Daniel Laslie Male 53 VA
96 Keith Mattox Male 48 VA
97 Michael Mitchell Male 52 VA
98 Paul Noll Male 60 PA
99 Michael Tietz Male 22 VA
100 Marc Vengrove Male 53 PA
101 Heather Fisher Female 23 VA
102 Jenny Anderson Female 35 VA
103 Krista Meisch Female 24 VA
104 Donna Elder Female 46 VA
105 Kerry Owens Female 45 DC
106 Sophie Speidel Female 46 VA
107 Jill Devereux Female 42 VA
108 Linda Newman Female 47 VA
109 Stephanie Place Female 21 VA
110 Ruthann Helfrick Female 42 PA
111 Peggy Ankney Female 45 VA
112 Marianna Inslee Female 43 VA
113 Megan Hendler Female 26 NJ
114 Pamela Long Female 34 NC
115 Alicia Taylor Female 30 VA
116 Heather Royer Female 47 VA
117 Renee Draney Female 43 VA
118 Lesley Mcphatter Female 45 VA
119 Elizabeth Minnick Female 28 VA
120 Suzie Spangler Female 38 MD
121 melissa schmitt Female 33 OH
122 Tiffany Tigh Female 23 GA
123 Brandy Tate Female 24 VA
124 Mackenzie Prandi Female 30 VA
125 Wendy Golden Female 41 VA
126 Brenda Carawan Female 32 VA
127 Janice Heltibridle Female 51 VA
128 Dorothy Hunter Female 35 NC
129 Helen Lavin Female 31 MN
130 Vicki Kendall Female 56 VA
131 Whitney Robinson Female 23 VA
132 Carter Wiecking Female 39 VA
133 Anne Parsons Female 21 VA
134 Kari Anderson Female 47 VA
135 Twila Brown Female 51 VA
136 Robyn Annette Burgess Female 22 VA
137 Courtney Chappell Female 19 FL
138 Eugenie Heebe Female 38 LA
139 Barbara Isom Female 61 MD
140 Natalie Kennedy Female 41 VA
141 Sharon Lapkoff Female 56 MD
142 Maureen O'connell Female 44 VA
143 Jean Richards Female 56 NJ
144 Terri Ripley Female 46 VA
145 Martha Wright Female 48 VA
146 Jaime Azuaje Male 21 VA
147 Pete Johnson Male 22 MD
148 Jeffrey M. Nicholson Male 37 MD
149 Rob Rives Male 19 NC
150 Skyler Mccurley Male 40 VA
151 Christopher Woll Male 23 NY
152 Kenny Wheeler Male 48 WV
153 Benjamin Taylor Male 20 VA
154 Craig Penrose Male 44 VA
155 Brian Brunetti Male 40 NC
156 Robert Hagan Male 41 VA
157 Micah Scott Male 19 OH
158 Travis Wingfield Male 32 VA
159 Bob Anderson Male 62 VA
160 Aaron Williams Male 29 VA
161 Herman Richards Male 55 NJ
162 Jason Nuss Male 46 VA
163 Jason Duelge Male 40 MD
164 Steven David Male 48 MD
165 Gene Bachman Male 55 VA
166 Scott Taylor Male 20 MI
167 Matt Vandonsel Male 22 VA

Terrapin Mtn Half-marathon

Bib # First Last Gender Age State
201 Chris Montgomery Male 27 VA
202 Britt Beasley Male 32 VA
203 Bryan Miller Male 26 GA
204 Micah Phillips Male 23 SC
205 Walker Wright Male 29 VA
206 Jeffrey West Male 28 NC
207 William Weber Male 28 VA
208 Ken Sturm Male 34 SC
209 Joseph Sontgerath Male 26 DC
210 Matt Thomas Male 33 SC
211 Elliot Nuss Male 17 VA
212 Bradley Sweeney Male 17 VA
213 Barry Prandi Male 35 VA
214 Declan Pratt Male 39 VA
215 Todd Hacker Male 29 VA
216 Derek Bennion Male 24 VA
217 Josh Oppenheimer Male 34 VA
218 Mike Donahue Male 36 VA
219 Craig Ashley Male 35 NC
220 JJ Jessee Male 53 VA
221 Tony Martin Male 39 VA
222 Everett Mounts Male 64 VA
223 James Rea Male 45 NY
224 Bob Sites Male 55 NC
225 Donnie Wilkerson Male 57 VA
226 Alan Borst Male 45 MD
227 Jim Glidewell Male 64 VA
228 Charlie Hesse Male 55 VA
229 Wayne Ingram Male 50 SC
230 Al Mcdorman Male 56 VA
231 John Snyder Male 60 MD
232 David Robertson Male 56 VA
233 Keith King Male 38 SC
234 Drew Fratrick Male 45 VA
235 Robert Burgess Male 57 VA
301 Anne Lundblad Female 42 NC
302 Katrina Williams Female 20 GA
303 Robin Grossman Female 34 VA
304 Petra Gerber Female 20 VA
305 Sarah Dunlop Female 36 VA
306 Jeanne Craig Female 39 VA
307 Rachel Burgess Female 25 VA
308 Stephanie Beem Female 28 VA
309 Monica Herman Female 26 MD
310 Gabby Milam Female 39 VA
311 Jazmin Siaca Female 21 NY
312 Amy Clark Female 35 VA
313 Sara Cunningham Female 31 MD
314 Julie Stone Female 32 VA
315 Ann Townsend Female 34 VA
316 Missy Perry Female 37 VA
317 Glory Jadin Female 21 VA
318 Kellie Hudson Female 35 VA
319 Liz Heavner Female 47 VA
320 April Haury Female 25 DC
321 Heather Zealand Female 29 VA
322 Lauren  Zealand Female 27 VA
323 Andrea Zealand Female 34 VA
324 Dawn Dunlop Female 42 VA
325 Cindi Bowen Female 48 VA
326 Andrea Chapman Female 42 VA
327 Chelsey Lester Female 21 VA
328 Sarah Hannes Female 20 VA
329 Christy Howard Female 35 VA
330 Krystal Matheson Female 26 MD
331 Whitney Garrett Female 43 VA
332 Mary Riser Female 53 VA
333 Lorraine Moore Female 45 VA
334 Krista Moore Female 40 VA
335 Mindy Biddle Female 49 VA
336 Bobbie Glidewell Female 60 VA
337 Tammy Gray Female 54 TN
338 Anne Green Female 44 VA
339 Carter Jennings Female 43 VA
340 Lisa Light Female 47 VA
341 Susan Robinson Female 45 VA
342 Selena Smart Female 41 DC
343 Toinette Staley Female 53 VA

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Terrapin Mountain 50k Map

Here's a look at the new Terrapin Mountain 50k course with aid station locations. In the world of ultrarunning, new race course designs are intriguing and exciting for runners but can be "nerve-wracking" for race directors.  From a management perspective over the past year, I've experienced many new race courses and this year's Terrapin 50k course is another however, I feel it is much-improved over last year's marathon course.

This map will give you a good idea of the 50k course aid stations.  The Goff Mtn. Rd. station is the ONLY location open for runners' crews.  The half-marathon course also uses Camping Gap and Terrapin Lane aid stations.

Terrapin_50k_map copy

Friday, March 13, 2009

Finish line photo from Holiday Lake 50k

Here's a great photo of me just after I crossed the finish line at this year's Holiday Lake 50k.  Saying a prayer of thanks to God is important not just in times of "good" performances but also for simply being able to run.  This day I was thankful for both :)

Photo by Seth Trittipoe

Holiday Lake 2009 finishline

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Biggest Conservation Proposal in Years comes to and end...for now.

This is a real shame - only two more votes were needed for this important piece to pass. If we don't protect the places in which we run, they won't be around to enjoy! CZ

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Published on Campaign for America's Wilderness (http://www.leaveitwild.org)

Omnibus Public Land Package Falls Shy of Passage

Statement of Mike Matz

We applaud the House leadership and our Republican champions for trying to move the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 as expeditiously as possible, and thank them for their diligence in rallying members to approve this bipartisan measure which has the support of Americans from all walks of life, as evidenced by the 282 to 144 vote in favor of the measure. However, the Omnibus public lands package fell two votes short of the requisite two-thirds threshold, so although a majority of members of Congress do support this important piece of legislation, it appears as though it will need to move through Congress under a different process.

We will work closely with key leaders in the House of Representatives to move ahead, and greatly appreciate their herculean efforts to this point to act on the will of the people to protect their special places.