Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 Mile Run

Massanutten Mt Trails 100
2006 Report, Results, and Information

All 2006 MMT information -- including results, splits, reports, and photos -- will be linked from this page. Come back to check them out.

Winner and New Course Record Holder, Sim Jae Duk

Information

First Report

The 12th Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 Mile Run was held on May 13-14, 2006. Threatening rain held off and treated the runners with excellent weather. The runners responded with great performances including a new course record.

Twelve-time Finisher Tom Sprouse easily wins "Best Blood"

Sim Jae Duk, 36, only arrived in the United States on the Thursday before the run after travelling for 22 hours from his home in Korea. He was an unknown. But very early in the race, he asserted himself. He powered through the Shawl Gap aid station (8.7 miles) tied for second place and took over first place by Habron Gap (24.4 miles). From then on, Sim battled with Karl Meltzer for the lead, finally winning in 17:40:45, a new course record. Karl became only the second person to run under 18 hours when he finished in a time that would have won all previous MMT's.

Early on, the women's race was again a battle between former champions Sue Johnston and Bethany Patterson. As the event progressed, however, Sue pulled away and won for the second year in a row. Sue's time of 23:14:43 was her second under 24 hours and a new record for the women's master age group. She is the only woman to have broken the one day barrier.

Women's Winner Sue Johnston at Shawl Gap

Each champion was pursued by a determined group of challengers. Sim and Karl, had to look over their shoulders at last year's champion, Matt Estes, Todd Walker, and Joe Kulak. Meanwhile, Diana Widdowson, Kerry Owens, Donna Utakis, and Susan Baehre all passed Bethany to finish in a strong woman's field.

The run saw another kind of new record in that 113 runners finished - 20 more than last years previous best. While the weather certainly accounted for much of the high finishing rate, the field seemed to be especially adept. People are arriving at MMT better and better trained for the challenge.

As usual, countless volunteers contributed to the weekend's achievement. All the runners and the others who enjoyed the event owe them a debt of gratitude.

Dennis Herr at the Picnic Area aid station. Photo: Sophie Speidel

Dennis

For many of us, one of the highlights of the event was the appearence of Dennis Herr. Dennis finished MMT in 2004 (click for picture). Along with David Horton, he is one of the leading figures in Virginia trail running. Dennis came to the Picnic Area, Moreland Gap, and Edinburg Gap. He picked up everyone's spirits.

If you have any comments on the race, RD Stan Duobinis would welcome them. You can send an e-mail to Stan

Note: We welcome the submission of reports and photos that we will either post here or link to. Contact Anstr Davidson at anstr@vhtrc.org in this regard.

Finishing Rate

This year's MMT had the highest finishing rate of any prior version. Over the years, the finishing rate has been fairly consistent. The 2000 event had the lowest finishing rate. As the report from that year said, "Temperatures rose into the 90s during the run. Additionally, we had hail storms, brush fires, a snake bite, and a broken arm."

This year's finishing rate was certainly a result of the excellent weather. It never got hot and, at night, it was cool but not cold. But some of the high rate seemed to be the result of better preparation for the run. Each year, a number of runners show up who have no clue what they are getting into. This year, there were fewer runners in that category.

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Sometimes it's good to have a friend! Eight runners (and three pacers) finish the MMT 100.