VHTRC NEWS

Scott Mills Becomes 14-time Western States Finisher: The leading VHTRC finisher was Derrick Carr in 22:38. Scotty finished a bit later in 23:15. As we read the results, Mills is the first senior finisher. Mike Huff, Suzi Spangler, and Gary Lukas also finished. WS Webcast | WS Home Page.

WHM logo WHM Entry - No Lottery Needed: Since there were only a few applicants over the 240 runner limit, all applicants will be able to pay and enter the event. The time for payment will start on July 8. WHM Home Page

Mohican 100: Darin Dunham finished the Mohican 100 miler in hot, humid weather on June 20-21. His time was in 28:52. Mohican is located in northeastern Ohio. Wyatt Hornsby won in 19:52. His blog has information about the race.

Mason-Dixon Longest Day 100K: Jaret Seiberg finished the Mason-Dixon Longest Day 100K on June 20. He has submitted what he calls a quick report.

Update: We saw Michele Harmon on Saturday and she seemed fine. She was still the best (and only) user of the Hula Hoop. She claims to have sought real medical advice. So we have taken the gross pictures down. But you can still look at Aaron Schwartzbard's shot of the wound.

Highlands Sky 40 Miler: Aaron Schwartzbard won the Highlands Sky 40 miler in West Virginia on June 20. Many other VHTRC members participated in the highly popular event. Among the notable VHTRC finishes was Karsten Brown in third, Sophie Speidel and Michele Harmon tied for the female masters win, and Greg Zaruba, Vicki Kendall, Barb Isom, and Frank Probst all won their age groups. There were many other VHTRC finishers.

We appreciate early reports from Alan Gowen and Kirstin Corris. As Kirstin said:

Torrential rain early, streams for trails sometimes knee deep, wet feet all day. Rushing water crossings. Winds that blew anyone under 140 lbs around and sometimes off trail almost the entire 2nd half; headwind almost the whole time. At one point had trouble running DOWNhill due to wind. VHTRC almost lost Alan Gowen on one! Stunningly beautiful course that made one muse whether it might be another country at times. Great fun - Dan Lehman puts on a fantastic race!!!

Sophie Speidel's Report on her blog | Kirstin Corris's Photos (mainly wildflowers) | Results | Highlands Sky Web site.

Bighorn: Our correspondent in Wyoming, Gary Knipling, reports that Ron Ely and Deb Shaffer finished the 100 miler at Bighorn. (Gary didn't have Ron's time, but Deb's was 33:24.) Gary finished the 50 miler in 14:24. (He actually crossed the finish line with Deb.) Tom Simonds also finished the 50 mile (13:26) and Jill Quivey (7:39) finished the 50km. Several former VHTRC members were there including Jim O'Neill and Sue Norwood and Randy Snyder and Sharon Jans. Tom Simonds's wife, Teri, finished the 50 km. Karl Meltzer won the 100 in a new course record time. This despite an encounter with a cow moose that delayed him a bit. Bighorn 100 Web site

Two More MMT Reports: Part of what makes MMT appealing to both runners and volunteers is that it is a big deal emotionally. The two latest reports illustrate that. Neither is short, but each is entertaining. John H. Powell sounds a bit like an older Holden Caulfield. Alan Gowen explores the emotional space we occupy during the adventure of the run. Enjoy!

VHTRC at Laurel Highlands: VHTRC runners took the top honors at the Laurel Highlands 70.5 mile run in Pennsylvania on June 13. Sean Andrish won the race, and Amy Sproston was the top female. Sean's time of 11:41:37 puts him among the top five or six fastest runners to have won the event, but a bit behind fellow Leesburger Courtney Campbell's 1998 course record of 10:43:34. (At Laurel, course records are comparable as the course has changed little over the years.) Amy is the 11th VHTRC woman to win the event. (You can count them here. The list includes Sue Johnston who was third this year.) There were several other notable VHTRC performances. Laurel is a tough run with a long history. Congratulations to all who made it to that 70 mile post! Results | Event Web site | Photos by Larry Ryan on Flickr

Hinton Second at OD: Brad Hinton was second that Old Dominion 100 held on June 6. Greg Loomis was fourth. Old Dominion Web site

Nielsen Second at San Diego 100: Meanwhile on the left coast, another VHTRC member got second at a 100 miler. Tom Nielsen was second behind Ben Hian at the San Diego 100 miler. According to RD Scott Mills, Nielsen was 24 minutes behind the leader with 7.6 miles to go, but closed to only 6 minutes behind at the finish. There were 82 finishers out of 125 starters. Results | Report on UR Web site | San Diego 100 Web site.

BRR All Time Data Updated: We added the 2009 BRR results to the database of all time finishers. Additionally, we have created an ability to search and sort that data. If you see data that needs fixing (and you will), please let Anstr know so we can fix it. Bull Run Run Data Look Up

MMT Enhanced Splits Ready: For the truly anal, the MMT splits that show the ranked times between aid stations are a yearly highlight. Valerie has completed them for this year. Who was fastest over Short Mountain? You can look it up. (It was Karl, of course, in 1:40. Glen Redpath's second fastest time was 13 minutes slower!) These are really great time wasters. Enjoy. MMT 2009 Splits with Ranked Section Times

Ed Demoney runs the second Old Dominion in 1980

Old Dominion 100 Miler - 1979: Ed Demoney recently recorded his memories of running the first Old Dominion 100 miler in 1979. At its beginning, OD was the first 100 mile trail run east of the Mississippi River and the second anywhere. Virginia horsemen went to California, saw Western States, and the rest is history. Ed gives us a look at that history. After running the '79 and '80 ODs, Ed was the event's director four times ('85 through '88). In 1987, the event sold out, and in 1988, popularity was so high that a lottery was required. While he was managing OD, Ed created the now defunct but popular Massanutten Mountain Massacre 50 miler. Later, he was instrumental in creating the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 miler. He has also run 100 milers all over the country. Old Dominion 100, 1979

(from left) Sean Andrish, Co-RD Johnny Buice, and Jeremy Ramsey
Photo: Steve Core

Virginia's at SweetH2O 50K A report from Steve Core: "A group of Virginians traveled down to Georgia this weekend for the SweetH2O - 50K, only to be handed a big ol helping of Georgia heat. With temps in the mid 60s at the start and mid 80s by the finish, overheating and cramps were the common words of the day. Jermey Ramsey was the only one who seamed immune to the heat and finally pulled away from Sean Andrish on the final climb at mile 28, to claim a course record victory of 4:20. Sean followed in at 2nd with a 4:27. Steve Core finished 19th with a 5:19 and David Horton also braved the heat with a 6:40. John Nelson figured he never gets to run in Georgia so he took a late race detour to add a couple extra miles and finished with a 8:13. Co-race directors Scotty Pope and Johnny Buice can be commended for running an outstanding 50K race." Event Web site

Vicki's MMT Report: Everyone was a buzz on Friday when VHTRC.org exclusively published Vicki Kendall's MMT 100 report. In case you missed it, this is the stirring story of a person who accomplished her life-long dream, to run one hundred miles and to do it at MMT. Vicki Kendall's MMT Report

Skyline 50 Report: Jaret Seiberg has submitted his Skyline 50 Mile report.

Amy Sproston seconds after her MMT finish
Photo: Bobby Gill

Meltzer and Sproston Win Epic MMT: We had it all -- heat, cold, rain, hail, wind. The mix of the warm, muggy day, wet night, and cold Sunday tested the runners. Karl Meltzer and Amy Sproston had comfortable leads over the rest of the field. There were 173 starters and 101 finishers.
New: Several new reports, videos, and photos, as well as the VHTRC.org report, are now available. Additionally, we have updated the all times finishers lists. It's all on or linked from the MMT 2009 report page

Keys 100 Miler: Hot, humid, rain? Sound familiar? Carolyn Gernand reports on the Keys 100 miler held on May 16-17 in Florida: "Alisa Springman and I finished for the VHTRC; Alisa was third female overall and I was first female 60-69. Diana Widdowson, one of our Buzzards friends, was second female overall. This one-way run from Key Largo to Key West had beautiful ocean and bay views as one ran along the string of islands via US 1. The route was a paved surface, although there were many miles one could run on the non-paved surfaced immediately next to the pedestrian/bike pathway. Shade, however, was in rather short supply. The race format required each runner to have his or her own crew, a la Badwater; unlike Badwater, there were plenty of places for the crews to get additional supplies and ice along the way (not much open at night, though)." Results on event Web site. (Warning, they are very strange.)

Thought for the Day

VHTRC Time Waster of the Week: This is another passive one. (You just watch.) From the dates, this may have been around for awhile. But we haven't seen it. (It was sent to us by VanAnimal.) This is one of those things that illustrates what is great about America. If there are young people like this around, we won't be in the recession long. (You will note that this guy is from Duke, whatever that means.) Beer Launching Mini Fridge: video | Device Web page Also, don't forget the Free Rice game. Previous VHTRC Time Wasters.

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