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2008 VHTRC News Archive
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VHTRC North: Jim Harris reports that some elements of the "northern faction" of the club participated in a Fat Ass event some place "up there." Don't know much about it, but here are the results of the Urineo 50. Sproston Wins 100k: Amy Sproston was the top female finisher at the Fuego y Agua 100K held on December 13 in Nicaragua. (The crack VHTRC.org research team is pretty sure that "Fuego y Agua" means "fire and water." There seemed to be a vulcano down there somewere.) Amy's Photos | Event Web site | Results David's "Beast" Series: VHTRC members dominated the results of the Beast Series put on by David Horton. Steve Core reports.
 Football Contest Winner Scott Mills Jim Harris Sets Single Week Record; Mills Wins all the Marbles in Football Contest: Jim Harris only missed one of 20 picks as he won the final week of the VHTRC football contest. John Guendelsberger got 18 correct last year but no one has gotten 19. In an exciting final week, Scott Mills held off a final charge by Gary Knipling to win the overall seasion title. President Bush will award the winners trophy to Scotty on January 21 at the White House. Contratulations to all participants. Watch for the college bowl contest coming up soon. Week 13 Results | Final Season Standings  Vicki's Death March Participants Click for Larger Vicki's Death March: Be sure to read Quatro's report on this annual event. Also, Sophie has some pictures. Vicki's Death March report | Sophie's Photos | Gena's Photos Northern Central Rail Trail Marathon: Carolyn Gernand finished 1st female 60-64 (out of two) at the Northern Central Rail Trail Marathon on November 29. Event Web site Phil Finishes: On November 16, Phil Rosenstein finished his run across the United States in the surf at Atlantic City, New Jersey. Congrats to Phil! Mario LeMieux Foundation Web site (look for link to Phil's Blog) | Photos | TV Report Probst Wins Age Group at JFK: Frank Probst led all 60 year olds, and a lot of other people, at the 46th JFK 50 Miler in Washington County, Maryland, on November 22. It was a cold day, but the course was in good shape and most runners stayed warm. The same could not be said of the volunteers and crews. Frank ran 8:44, which was a bit slower than his winning time of last year. It was a big day for the Probst family as son George won the Star City Half Marathon in Roanake on the same day. (Half Marathon Results) Interestingly, in the male 70 year old age group, all seven runners, including VHTRC member Ed Demoney, finished. Meanwhile, someone got his 15 minutes of fame in the widely read Washington Examiner. (Washington Examiner Article -- Go to page 44.) Mother Road 100: Jaret Seiberg reports that John Shepard ran 19:40 at the "Mother Road 2" for fourth place. Jaret was about three hours behind, crossing the line in 22:38 for 26th place. The event was held on "historic Route 66 (and a few connecting roads) from Elk City near the Texas border to Fort Reno, which is just outside of Oklahoma City." New: Jaret has now submitted his report. Jaret's Report | Event Web site Veterans Day Run: We have a small, but determined group running on Veterans Day. Charlie Miracle's Photos on Flickr. Masochists: The traditional fall trail run, the Mt. Macoschists 50 54 Miler, was held on November 1. Here are "live results." Looks like Eric Grossman and Justine Morrison won. Potomac Heritage Trail 50km: Results and a report from the Potomac Heritage 50km are available. PHT Results, photos, and report
Can Lake 50: Speaking of Pennsylvanians, Bill LaDieu finished the Can Lake 50 miler in New York on October 11. Tussey Mountainback 50 miler: Sean Andrish, Francesca Conte,and Alisa Springman finished well the Tussey Mountainback 50 miler in Pennsylvania October 11. Frankly, it's pretty confusing who finished where, and we have already gotten it wrong twice. So you might want to go to the event Web site to figure it out. Tussey Mountainback 50 miler Browns in Pennsylvania: Kari Brown was first woman and Rande was ninth overall at the Megatransect 25.5 mile run held in Lock Haven, PA, on October 4. There may have been other finishers you would recognize as 450 people completed the course. Results | Web site.
Isom Takes Age Group Win at Triathlon: Barb Isom was the first female grand master at the ChesapeakeMan Triathlon held on September 27, in Cambridge, Maryland. Age Group Results | Web site  Winner Amy Sproston and second place Mike Bailey (Click for Larger) Big Schloss 50km: Amy Platt reports: "We had another banner year at the 6th running of Big Schloss this year! The rain subsided early in the morning and the sun made a short appearance that led our volunteers to proclaim, 'It's always sunny at the Schloss!' Amy Sproston was the overall winner in a time of 6:21, which was 1 minute off the women's course record! Mike Bailey came in second overall and first male. The Schloss volunteers did not disappoint again this year. From helping Friday night at the campground to working the aid stations and then the big finale of post-race clean up at the pavilion in the pouring rain. For such wet volunteers, we never heard any mention of all the rain all weekend. Thank you to all that came out and enjoyed the day!" Big Schloss Web site Odyssey Trail Ultra 40 Miler: Chris Miller won the Odyssey Trail Ultra 40 Miler held at Douthat State Park on September 20. Marty Lindemann was the first woman in the associated marathon. Results Noble Canyon 50km: While we don't see any VHTRC finishers at the Noble Canyon 50km in San Diego County, California, it is worth nothing that it was directed by VHTRC member and former BRR RD, Scott Mills. Knowing that Scotty was in charge puts it high on the list of "runs you should have done." We did see former VHTRC members Gary and Judy Richwine on the finishers list. To illustrate the difference between a California run and one in Virginia, note this admonition e-mailed to entrants about the run headquarters, Pine Valley Bible Conference Center: "Alcohol is not permitted at the Bible Camp." That would be assumed in Virginia, but in California, you would never know. You can buy Knob Creek in the supermarket there. Noble Canyon 50km Web site (Also, Scotty did his very-well-organized Web site all by himself. If Scotty can do that, then those of you out there with Web sites that suck have no excuse.)
Delaware 100: There is something very right about a "fat ass" 100 miler. No medical checks or required volunteer work just so you can be like Western States. So here are the results of the Delaware 100 miler. Mills Top Senior at Angeles Crest: Fifty-seven year old Scott Mills was ninth overall and first 50 year old at the Angeles Crest 100 Miler in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles. There were 98 finishers out of 135 runners. Angeles Crest, especially this year with the cancellation of Western States, draws a class field. This occurred last weekend. Our only excuse for not seeing this sooner is that the AC Web site only has the results in Word format and we had earlier given up fiddling with it. For those of you who have not sold your souls to Bill Gates and Micro$oft, here the AC Results in PDF. That is not good either, but it's better than Word. AC Web site Margie Hughes is Second Woman at Iroquois 100: It looks like Margie Hughes was the second woman at the Iroquios 100 held on September 20-21 in New York. (Sorry, we missed "Kelly Wilson," a woman who was third overall.) She was fifth overall. Gary Lukacs and Susan Baehre (third woman) also finished. Iroquois 100 Results
TransRockies Run: Bryon Powell's team, Wings of Glory, was 7th at this stage race held in Colorado in late August. Read moe in Bryon's Blog. See also the Event Web site. Mike Mason Finishes Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc: Mike was 103 out of over 2,000 starters. This is a 166 km (about 100 miles) run in the French Alps. Results (brush up on your French!) | Event Web site.
VHTRC Takes Top Two Spots at Cheat Mountain Moonshine Madness 50 Miler: Aaron Schwartzbard and Justine Morrison were the top male and female runners at the Cheat Mountain Moonshine Madness 50 miler on August 22. This event, put on by the West Virginia Mountain Runners, started at 9 p.m. on Friday night. Many other VHTRC members finished. Results | Event Web site Farouk's 15 Minutes: A channel 4 news feature about car racing, skydiving, and ultrarunning included our own Farouk Elkassed. The piece ended with this comment by Jim Vance: "Sports psychologists said people who take part in extreme activities often have type-T personalities, which means they can display youthful and even rebellious attitudes that draw them to activities that involve individual expression and creativity." Average Joes Take On The Extreme Headlands 100: Jaret Seiberg was 15th in the Headlands Hundred held in Marin County, California just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. Read his report. (Jaret submitted this report over a week ago. We, ah, didn't get to it sooner. Sorry.) Robin Kane Seventh at Tough Leadville: Robin was seventh out only 186 finishers at the Leadville Trail 100 miler in Colorado. Leadville is always hard as most of the course is above 10k feet, but this year, the weather was reported to be cold, wet, and miserable. Robin's time was 21:19. Also among the finishers was BRR multi-year finisher Marcia Peters. While we are not sure how many started, it was many more than 186. Results | Web site. Also, in case you missed it, Lance Armstrong (wearing number seven) got second in the mountain bike race a week earlier. See also, Jack Andrish's Leadville Report.  Amy Sproston, women's champ, near the finish Photo: Keith Moore Great Weather at Catoctin 50k: Catoctin means "bad weather" in the local native language. Or at least, it seems that way. The original run was in the late winter and always cold and often snowy. Then it moved to August. Last year was the usual brutal death march - only more so. But this year had 70 degree temperatures and a sun that only came out later. Runners enjoyed good times and less dehydration. As usual, RD Kevin Sayers had it all organized. For a "low key" run, it went like clockwork. The VHTRC got the top women's spot with an impressive win by Amy Sproston. She made it look easy. Several other VHTRC members finished the run. Also, there was a large contingent of VHTRC members who chose the option to volunteer. Thanks to Kevin and all who helped him. Photos in Flickr | Catoctin Web site
Cavanaugh Finishes Vermont 100 Miler: Jim Cavanaugh finished his first 100 miler at the Vermont 100 on the weekend of July 19-20. Other VHTRC finishers included Keith Moore, Eric McGlinchey, and Janice Heltibridle. All were particularly happy to see Jeff Washburn at the run. He has 14 Vermont finishes. Results are on the Vermont 100 Web site Browns Win Big Bear Lake 12 Hour Trail Run: Rande and Kari Brown were the overall winners and took the top male and female prizes at the Big Bear Lake 12 Hour Trail Run in West Virginia. Mike Bailey and Dave Snipes were third and fourth giving the VHTRC the first four places. Results Badwater -- Congratulations to Alisa Springman: Alisa was 20th out of 73 finishers at Badwater, the 135 mile run from Death Valley to the base of Mt. Whitney in California. Alisa recently joined the VHTRC and, in 2007, did a great job running the Woodstock Tower aid station at MMT. Alisa's Results | Overall Results
Rattlesnake 50km: Russ Gill reports that it was hot and humid at the Rattlesnake 50km in West Virginia on July 12. Russ, Francesca Conte, Jay and Anita Finkle, and, of course, Dave Snipes finished. Results are now available on the Rattlesnake 50km Web site.
Happy People: Proving that the VHTRC is the the running club of love and happiness, Frank Probst submits his pictures from Highland Sky. These are very nice pictures of people having a lot of fun! Of course, they weren't running. Frank's Pictures
Big Horn: Gary Knipling reports that 15 of 17 VHTRC starters in the various Big Horn races in Wyoming finished. Award winners included Ed Demoney's age group win in the 50km, Gary's age group win in the 50 miler, and Sharon Lapkoff's second in her age group in the 50 miler. Marti Kovener was eight in a very strong and large women's 100 mile field. Cheerleading duties were performed by Ted Lapkoff, Helen Hipps, and Torstin [Note to Proof reader: Please check spelling.] Also, the Idaho VHTRC was there, Bill V. and Kim. Big Horn Web site Mohican: The Mohican 100 (and 50) Miler was held in Ohio on June 21-22. Russ Gill was sixth overall in the 50 miler. Jay Finkle finished the 100 and Anita finished the 50. Results | Mohican 100 Web site.  Age group winners: Vicki Kendall, Frank Probst, and Barb Isom. Photo: Frank Probst VHTRC Women Sweep at Highlands Sky 40 Miler: Frank Probst reports that the VHTRC women did well at the Highland Sky 40 Miler on June 14 in West Virginia. Justine Morrison was the woman’s winner while Annette Bednosky won the woman’s masters, Vicki Kendall the woman’s grandmasters, and Barb Isom woman’s supermasters Frank himself got the men’s supermasters title. Frank added, "[The] woman’s field was very tough. I think Annette was 5th or 6th woman and Sophie was next. Weather was good for this time of year. Staying at the Lodge makes for a nice weekend." Alan Gowen Report | Results | Highland Sky Web site  Flame Azalea Photo by Brian McNeil (click for larger) Seen at Highland Sky: Although Brian McNeill was much faster than this reporter would have been and finished only a few minutes behind the great Alan Gowen, he downplayed his run at Highland Sky as the result of no training or sleep, among other things. Brian did mention, however, that the "most important things [about the run] though are the treats of nature, otherwise, we'd all just run on treadmills while watching infomericals. Attached [at right -- click for larger] is an image of one of them -- a picture of a spectacular orange azalea about eight feet tall, which according to Rob Apple is called a "flame azalea" and could be either a Rhododendron calendulaceum or a Rhododendron cumberlandense. I vote for the former. Gary will have to weigh in on this important issue." Laurel Highlands: Results are now available for the Laurel Highlands 70 Miler in Pennsylvania, that was held June 14-15. This is a great, but challenging run. We saw some familiar names in the results. LHT Home page  Jamey Groff at Old Dominion Photo: Quatro Hubbard Nielsen Wins San Diego 100 Miler VHTRC member Tom Nielsen won the San Diego 100 miler on June 7. Also finishing the tough event were Bob Combs and Bill Losey. RD Scott Mills reports that things went well though it was "warm." Scotty has been in California too long. It was probably above 70 degees! Scotty has the results up already. SD 100 Web site Jason Lantz Wins Humid Old Dominion: It was quite a battle in the heat, but Jason Lantz of Lancaster, PA, pulled away from Keith Knipling to win the Old Dominion 100 on June 7. Jamey Groff was third and Marlin Yoder was fifth. Only 22 of the 49 starters finished. Word is that 20 people dropped out at Edinburg Gap alone. Liz Bauer-Walker was the woman's winner. The second and third women were the last two of the 22 finishers. Photos by Quatro Hubbard. Results are now available on the Old Dominion Web Site.
VHTRC Sweep at Promise Land 50km: Sean Andrish and Justine Morrison led a VHTRC sweep of the mens and womens championships at David Horton's Promise Land 50km near Lynchburg on April 26. Promise Land is thought by many to be David's best run. Other notable VHTRC performances included age group wins by Robin Kane, Herman Richards, Amy Sproston, and Sophie Speidel. Winning age groups that David didn't have were Barbara Isom and Ed Demoney. Congratulations to all! Results 24 Hour Adventure Trail Run: Susan Baehre was the second woman at Scott Crabb's and Alex Papadopoulos's 25 hour run in Prince William Forest Park on April 26-27. Sue ran 80 miles. There were other VHTRC participants. Results are now available. New Definition of "Double": Dave Snipes got second place in the 5th Annual Virginia 24 Hour Run for Cancer held on April 12-13 in Hampton, Virginia. He ran 95 miles. Fifty of those miles were run at Bull Run Run. (The event allows you to count miles are other events run the same day.) The winner was VHTRC member Herman Richards who ran 119 miles. The event uses a park trail so it is a "trail run." You can see a report and results if you search around on the Peninsula Track Club Web site
North Face Endurance Challenge at Bear Mountain: Meanwhile, at Bear Mountain, New York, Leigh Schmidt won the 50 miler at the "North Face Endurance Challenge at Bear Mountain." Leigh thus broke his three year string of Bull Run Run victories. Glen Redpath, second at North Face, was second last year at BRR. In the 50k, Russ Gill was fourth in the 50km and first master. He reports that "...the course was brutal. I've run over a lot ultras and this was the most rocky 50K I've ever run. The website classified the course as '5 out of 5' for 'Technical Terrain and Elevation Gain' and they weren't kidding. I also didn't help that they don't use SWITHCBACKS! Most of the hills were vertical ups and downs; several areas of hand over feet scrambling on wet rocks...and I still [it was] a BLAST!" You can find the results linked from this page if you look hard. Knipling Wins March Madness Contest: Kansas's win over Memphis was exciting, but it had no bearing on the winner of our contest. Gary had it locked. Jill Johnson led most of the way, but went down with UCLA, taking second. Patricia Zerfas was third. Thanks to all who played. Better luck next time! VHTRC March Madness final results
Chocolate Bunny Results: Speaking of Tom Corris, the results from his Chocolate Bunny 50km are now available. This event has become an annual tradition put on by Tom and a small group of volunteers whom he recruits with the promise of a party. 2008 Chocolate Bunny 50km Results  Kerry Owens at C2M Finish. Photo: Jill Quivey Coyote Two Moons 100 Mile: Chris Scott's inaugural Coyote Two Moons 100 Miler held in Ojai, California on March 21-23 was, by all accounts, a worthy replacement for the Coyote Fourplay. Though there were only a few VHTRC members there, they had very impressive results. Derrick Carr was second in the 100 and Amy Sporston was the female winner of the 100 km. The event is held in the mountains behind Ojai where the trails are very runnable, but where there are big climbs and descents. It is beautiful but tough running. Jill Quivey sent the photo at right that shows Kerry with her finisher's buckle, her "best blood" entry, and her "stinker award" for getting to the aid stations too soon. Here is Jill's picture of Dave at the bottom of Gridley. Chris has written a report that is best read while under the influence of something. The results are skewed by "bonus" and "boner" miles. (You had to be there.) . If this event is anything like C4P, there will be many pictures. Here are some. Two Moon Web sites: one | another. HAT Run: A large crowd participated in the 20th HAT Run 50km on March 29. There were many VHTRC members among the 327 finishers. Perhaps most happily, Alan Gowen was among them. It was also great to see that Phil Anderson, the "Anderson" of "Hinte-Anderson," finished. Results Terrapin Mountain Marathon: Is there life after David Horton? Apparently, yes. Clark Zealand held the Terrapin Mountain Marathon which, in true Horton fashion was estimated at closer to 30 miles, on March 29. Several VHTRC members participated. Results
 Male Winners Sean Andrish and Keith Knipling Elizabeth's Furnace 50km: Mike Bur reports: "We had a spectacular day for running on Saturday which is good since the order of the day seemed to involve falling on the rocks alot and getting off course. We had veterans convincing other veterans to take wrong trails. Newbies didn't stand a chance. But, that's trailrunnin'. Sean Andrish and Keith Knipling ran strong together all day and shattered the course record coming in at 5:29:22. Michele Harmon finished first female at 6:23:05. Results | The Sisterhood | more photos on Flickr Buzzards Marathon: Harry Smith and the Buzzards put on the 10th Buzzards Marathon in Pennsylvania on Sunday, March 16. This "non-event" is a late-winter tradition. There was light snow at the beginning and the course was wet and muddy, but that's par for this course. The snow stopped and the sun came out. It turned out to be a great day. This run proves that it's appropriate that Pennsylvania is the "keystone state." Thanks to Harry and his coconspirators for another great run. CCT Fat Ass: Mike Bur reports: "A small group of about a dozen runners showed up for this years version of the CCT put on by John Coogan. Runners 'doubling up' for the weekend, doing both Greenway and CCT, were Dave Snipes and Mitch Goodman. Eric Levy-Myers and son provided support at the turn-around. This year's event was around a marathon distance but next year it will be back up to a 50k and will likely again be the Sunday after Ed Schultze's Greenway." Web site with results Harmon Sets Course Record in Greenway 50km Win: Michele Harmon was the female winner of the Greenway Trail 50km put on by Ed Schultze and the Montgomery County Road Runners on March 1. Several other VHTRC members finished the 50km and the marathon. (It looked like most did the 50km.) Results | Event Web site Old Pueblo 50: Steve Core reports that Sean Andrish was 2nd at the Old Pueblo 50 miler in Arizona in a time of 7:59. There were other VHTRC members in the run, but we don't yet have information. Old Pueblo web site (there are other sites -- just Google it) Reverse Ring: The full Reverse Ring results are now available. They even include times in and out of each aid station. Jim Harris and Mike Dobies were first to finish in 20:04. Kerry Owens was the first female. Q and Bur did the results long ago. VHTRC.org just dropped the ball in getting them up. Yet another intern has been fired. Reverse Ring Results.  Co-RD Pam Gowen and Winner Joe Clapper at finish Clapper and Widdowson Win First Hashawha 50km: Pam and Alan Gowen put on an outstanding event in the Hashawha 50 km near Westminster, Maryland. After braving a very icy section of road, participants enjoyed a well-marked trail that was covered by a thin layer of snow, with a little ice. The aid stations were fantastic. Joe Clapper and Diana Widdowson were the overall winners. Thanks to Pam, Alan, and all of their many great volunteers! Results, Report, and Photos Mount Mitchell: Several VHTRC members participated in this tough event that goes to the top of Mt. Mitchell, the highest mountain in the East. Mike Mason was the leading VHTRC finisher in the 40 mile in ninth place. Annette Bednosky won the marathon. Results
Women Shine at Holiday Lake: David's Holiday Lake 50km was held on February 16. Justine Morrison was the female winner. Amy Sproston won her age group and was second overall. On the men's side, Derrick Carr won his age group. Several other VHTRC members participated in this well-attended event. Results. HURT 100: Alex Papadopoulos finished an impressive seventh at the HURT 100 miler in Hawaii. This event is noted for being very tough. Only 21 people finished. HURT Web site  Helen Hipps Receives award from James and Rebecca Moore Awards Party: The VHTRC held its annual awards party on February 9. A large group of club members gathered for companionship and the announcement of awards. The highlight of the evening was the announcement of the James Moore Award. This award, for service to the community in general as well as to the running community, went to the very deserving Helen Hipps. Keith Knipling, to no one's surprise, won both the male runner of the year as well as the performance of the year. His year was incredible including running three 100 miles on successive weekends -- winning two of them. He also ran both TWOTs. Keeps the Runner of the Year award in the family. Gary won it last year.
Amy Sproston was the top female honoree present. Annette Bednosky and Challen Edwards also received awards. Kerry Owens was responsible for the excellent food and Jaret Seiberg kindly arranged for the excellent facility. Joe bought the refreshments. Oh, and Mike Bur won the prestigious "Horton" award. TWOT: Results and photos from the Wild Oak Trail 100 held on February 2 are now available. No one went past two loops. Results Andrish Wins Uwharrie: : Jaret Seiberg reports that Sean Andrish won Uwharrie. Sean further reports: "Brian Schmidt came in 2nd, Harland Peele came in 4th, Steve Core finished 11th, and Jen Ragone was 4th woman." There were several other VHTRC finishers including Quatro whom Jaret described as "socializing." Uwharrie Web site. Schwartzbard Second at Rocky Raccoon 100: Aaron Schwartzbard got second at the Rocky Raccoon 100 held on February 2-3, in Texas. Jeff Holdaway and Prasad Gerard also finished well in the large field. Rocky Raccoon Web site. | Results
 Group at Start of Moonlight Run (click for larger) MLK Weekend Runs: It was cold, but many people had a great time at the various runs over MLK weekend in the Massauntten mountains. The weekend started out with the traditional Moonlight Run. A small group had good light from the not-quite-full moon. The next day, Tom Corris helped a large group check out the first part of the MMT course in the "Buzzards to Roosevelt" run. Finally, on Sunday, Bur and Quatro organized (?) a three ring circus of folks in the "Gap to Gap." Apparently, Mike Dobies was kidnapped by terrorists. Here is his ransom picture. See also Kirstin's photos of MMT training run #1. Several Finish Swinging Bridge 50km: Age group winners included Derrick Carr, Sean Andrish, and Steve Core. Bethany Patterson won the 35km. Results are available on the Richmond Road Runners site, but you have to look for them. (We can't link directly to them. Sorry.) Amy Leigh Brown Wins College Bowl Contest: John Shepard got second. Five people tied for third. Amy, aka "Flame," took an early lead and didn't look back, though she did make it close by picking OSU in the BCS game. Final Standings Frosty Fifty: Quatro Hubbard reports on the Frosty Fifty held January 5 in North Carolina. Redeye 50 km: A small group of hardy runners showed up for the annual Redeye 50 km in Prince William Forest Park. It was nice weather at first. Then it got breezy and a bit colder. But it didn't rain. Howard Nippert beat Robin Kane for the "win." Gary has done the results. Also, there are pictures on the Flickr Site. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Magnus Gluteus Maximus 50 km: The club's oldest event, its annual fat ass 50km, was held on a cold, but clear day on the Bull Run Trail on December 13. Fortunately, not all 160+ "entrants" showed up. It was a large, but manageable crowd. Joe Clapper put on a great event with assistance from two aid station crews. The only sour note was the questionable course marking by a certain volunteer whom we will not identify. (We are always covering for this person!) Of course, in the early days of this event, when men were men, there were no course markings. The VHTRC.org reporter didn't run, so we have many pictures, a few of which are not too bad. We left before all the results were known. But it was clear that a lot of people had a lot of fun -- and a lot of schnaps. (You will note the level in the Jagermeister bottle changed a bit.) The 
New Sandt: Evan Sandt reports: "Rae Quinn Sandt was born on September 30, 2008 at 5:05 AM. She was 6 pounds, 6 ounces and 19 inches long. Everyone's home, happy and healthy, enjoying back to semi-normal life." We send our best wishes to mom Karen, dad Evan, and brother Miles. See 
Andiamo: Dan Rose won the Andiamo 45 mile run of the W&OD bike path on October 4. There were 13 starters and 12 finishers on a perfect day. Results and photos are 
Hack Halts Harmon at Humid, Hot Half: Andrea Hack won the 16th VHTRC Women's Half Marathon Trail Run in very humid weather on September 13. Michele Harmon was only 9 seconds (sorry for earlier bad math where we said "11 seconds") back and Amy Platt was third. There were 204 starters and 195 finishers. Results and some pictures are available now. Aaron's pictures are coming soon! Everything will be linked from the 
Olympics Coverage: The VHTRC.org news team has completed its coverage of the Olympics with a wrap-up show. Read the 
Catherine's Furnace: Thanks to Jeff Reed (left) and all of his great volunteers for putting on the 10th Catherine's Furnace Fat Ass 50km on July 26. The weather was about as good as one could get in July. The course was well marked and there were refreshments at the finish line. Despite significant course cutting, the VHTRC.org correspondent did not make it to the finish line in time to see who won. So we have no clue. Photos by: 
John DeWalt Finishes 13th Hardrock: On June 13, 72-year-old John DeWalt finished his 13th Hardrock 100 with five minutes to spare. Other VHTRC finishers included Greg Loomis, Keith Knipling, Steve Pero, Howard Cohen, Mike Dobies, and Sean Andrish. (That was their finishing order -- if you go up from the back of the pack.) Several VHTRC runners were not able to finish what most rank as one of the toughest trail runs in the country. The course goes over 14 thousand feet one time and over 13 thousand a few more. VHTRC.org world headquarters has now received the first images from Colorado. Since Colorado is a long way away, they are blurry. But here is a picture of 
Fourth of July Run: A somewhat smaller group made it to the annual VHTRC Fourth of July celebration, the Browntown Loop. 
Walker and Knipling Battle for MMT Title While Amy Steals the Show: Todd Walker finally got his MMT victory after battling Keith Knipling all day in the 14th Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 on May 17 - 18, in Front Royal. Amy Sproston ran away with the women's title. It was a great day. 
Capon Valley 50km: Kendra Horger was the female winner at the Capon Valley 50km held on May 10. Robin Kane was second overall and Karsten Brown was third. Brian McNeill reports: "Cold, wet, foggy, misty. It never did get above 48 degrees until most everyone was done, when the sun finally came out. Good hyperthermia weather. At one point, I had to help Gaynor Bourgeois open her pack to retrieve salt capsules, because her hands didn't work anymore. Several folks, surprised by the March-like weather, improvised gloves and rain jackets from garbage bags. Yet the course was in surprisingly good shape. The many creek crossings were high but none were as violent as Turkey or Dead Runs inside the beltway after a summer thunderstorm." Brian sent some photos which you can see on 
VHTRC Work Party: The annual VHTRC work party was a great success. Twenty-eight VHTRC members were joined by workers from two different mounatain bike groups. We covered many miles of trail. The entire MMT course from Camp Roosevelt to Woodstock Tower is now clear. (Ok, there is one log in Duncan Hollow.) The 
Lundblads Win Bull Run Run: Mark and Anne Lundlad won the male and female crowns at the 16th Bull Run Run 50 miler on April 12. Anne set a new course record on a day when most competitors ran slower than usual. She also lost to only three males. The weather was a bit warm and the course a bit wet, making for tough going. Many hard working volunteers helped the runners on their long treks and continued the event's tradition of quality. Overall and age group results are now available. The first of Aaron Schwartzbard's photos are now up and so are good pictures from Mike Bur at the stream crossing. 
Eagle Run: Eagle Run Sunday saw cool but good weather for the 70+ runners who participated in the annual Eagle Run put on by Gary Knipling and supported by the VHTRC. We started off with a bang seeing several eagles on ice in the river. We didn't keep that pace, but still saw 25 eagles. At the end, there was a social hour around the fire. Thank you to Gary and all his helpers! 
