The Wild Oak Trail 50 Miler

Holiday Lake 50 km

Hinte-Anderson Trail Run 50km

Umstead 100 Miler

Bull Run Run 50 Miler

Dogwood Half Hundred

Massanutten Mt. Trails 100

VHTRC Womens Trail Half Marathon

Andiamo 45.5 Mile Run

JFK 50 Miler

Bufu-Bufu Batty 50 km

Bufu-Bufu Batty Results: Great weather and a dry course marked the Bufu-Bufu Batty 50 km. Andy Peterson led a field of 43 over the course on the Bull Run Trail. Runners recieved a light breakfast and pizza at the end, and they will be talking about the aid stations for a long time. The Do Loop was well marked, by Scott Mills. Much thanks to Karsten Brown and Michelle Kane for great support. RESULTS

JFK 50: Ian Torrence led a large contingent of VHTRC members at the 36th JFK 50. Ian was seventh overall. Scott Mills, was 22nd and, at the 26 mile point earned a "triple Scotty." I am not sure what a triple Scotty is. I am only glad I wasn't there to see it. Other notable performances included Dick Good getting his 20th JFK finish, King Jordan, his 10th, and Carolyn Gernand, her second. Brenda took some good photos. I touched up the one of me finishing to make it brighter so it would look as if I finished earlier in the day. Kevin Sayers and Tom Green completed the "JFK 100" by starting from the finish on Friday night, running to the start, and then doing the race. Both finished, along with 765 others. Other VHTRC finishers were Bill Wandel, Phil Young, Frank Probst (whose 8:10 was only good for 4th over 50 year old), James Moore, Lou Jones, Prasad Gerard, Muffy Lanham, Karsten Brown, and Gerrie Wales. (I know I left several people out. Sorry.)  Photos | Results | Story in Hagerstown Herald-Mail

Potomac Heritage Trail Run:Larry DeHof reports: The run started around 8 A.M. with 13 runners. The weather was perfect, 40 degrees, cloudy and no rain. After a short briefing, the runners were all off to the Jefferson Memorial. Janice, Mathew and Bob staffed the aid stations at Rooselvelt Island, Ft. Marcy and Fletcher’s Landing. No runners attempted the extra loop on Rooselvelt Island and a couple missed the scenic views from Potomac Overlook Park. This worked well to keep everyone together this year. The runner’s thined out after Ft. Marcy and most went to see what the underside of the Beltway looked like. Jeanne greeted the finishers at the yacht club with hot wild rice soup and a video of the Peru trip. Overall, everyone had a great time. This is a list of runners by name since no times were kept: (See Photos.)

Joe Clapper Wimps out on his Birthday: Breaking a long tradition and mouthing some miserable excuse about running 150 miles in the four days before, Joe Clapper abandoned his B'Day Bike Ride on Skyline Drive. A forlorn Karsten Brown didn't get the word and waited fruitlessly for Joe to show. As Karsten looked at his watch, Joe was in Vienna in bed. This, of course, raises more questions about the moral authority of our president. I am sure he will appolgize.

Club Bags Strickler's Knob! If ever anything was "there" waiting to be climbed, it was Strickler's Knob. Most of us had looked left many years ago as we topped the end of the Duncan Hollow trail at OD and wondered what was at the end of that ridge. More recently we saw the knob from the south as we followed the Massanutten Mountain Trail north from Route 211 on the MMT course. (From the south, it looks just like a Teton.) Several of us wanted to follow the bushwhacking trail on the map so, on September 19, the tough crowd you see named to the left met at the Visitors Center. On the way to the ridge, we saw a bear (my first sighting in the Massanuttens--eat your heart out Gary!). As we started through the brush, it became clear this would be no piece of cake. Fortunately, there were not too many stickers, but there were some--as all of our legs can attest. Finally, after what must have been nearly an hour, we found the end--a rock outcropping with a fantastic view. At least it is probably a fantastic view sometimes, on this day it was overcast and hazy and we couldn't see squat. We decided that we did NOT want to go back the way we came, so we went straight down the mountain to the west and, after many rocks and more bramble, met the orange-blazed Massanutten Trail about a mile north of the Waterfall Mountain trail head. One highlight was the first female winner of a Scotty as Michelle whined and complained enough to join the illustrious ranks of the VHTRC Bad Attitude Award recipients. She was convinced that we were lost and all going to die! It was a great adventure and to those who couldn't make it and are not members of the elite Stricker's Knob Club, we have just one word--wussies!

Derrick Carr, Scott Mills, and Michele Kane, Lead VHTRC Contingent at Mt. Masochists 50 Mile Run Derrick and Scotty ran together all day to tie for 11th place in a tough Mountain Masochists Trail Run field on Saturday. Michele Kane improved her time of last year and was the fourth woman. (There is a good picture of Michele and Robin and one of Scotty and Derrick among the pictures on Horton's web site.) It was a beautiful day for the 221 runners who started the race. There where many other VHTRC finishers. Full results are available on David's web page.

Clapper Wins Andiamo Joe Clapper won the eighth Andiamo 45.5 Mile run on October 3. Jeanne Christie was the first woman and second over all. Thirteen of the 15 starters finished the event. More information and pictures coming soon. Results.

Twenty-four Hour Championships: Frank Probst did 111.629 miles at the USAT&F 24 Hour Run National Championship on September 20th. That was good for 15th place. Also finishing was new club member Ben Clark who did 101 miles for 34th place. Names from the past like Ray Krolewicz and Art Moore also did well. The results are available on the RRCA site.
Chris Kicks Butt at Wasatch! Chris Scott was 39th out of 152 finishers at the Wasatch Front 100 and did us all proud. Word is that Chris is even skinnier than Joe was after Hardrock. Also finishing were Kevin Sayers who becomes the third club member (after King Jordan and Frank Probst) who has completed the Slam. Former member Kevin Sawchuk was in second 70 miles into the event and ended up placing fourth. If you are interested in the list of people who completed the slam this year, it's here. Among the people on this list is Ann Trason who won every one of the four events she entered. For a picture of this group, check out Stan Jensen's site.
King Jordan Leads VHTRC Field at Leadville! King Jordan was in 59th place, Scott Rafferty in 178th, and Kevin Sayers in 189th. Collen Dulin, prepared by a training run we took her on two weeks before the event, was 100th. The results are on the LHT web page. See if I left anyone out!
Courtney Campbell Sets Long Trail Record: Courtney Campbell, who holds the course record at MMT, recently set the record for the Long Trail which traverses the length of Vermont. There is an interesting description of the feat on David Horton's web site. Be sure to check out the pictures of Courtney as he finished. I saw him set the record at MMT. He pushed hard all day at a very tough 100 miler. He never looked as bad at MMT as he does in these pictures!

Team Slug Run: It was a beautiful day with a small but determined turn out. Hopefully, Dan will send in a report soon. Douglas Durham and I saw a bear--on the way out crossing Route 211.
Boys Do Good at Hardrock: David Horton came in second while Scott Mills came in fifth and Joe Clapper sixth at the Hardrock Hundred. John DeWalt also finished. The full results are on Stan Jensen's page. You can read Joe Clapper's entertaining first and second pre-race reports. But, of course, David gets the last laugh. Read his account of the run and see some great pictures on his web site.
Vermont 100: Congratulations to Ian Torrence, Kevin Sayers, Marty Szekeresh, Lynn Gannon, and new member Ben Clark who finished the Vermont 100 Miler. Did I miss anyone else? The results are available on the Vermont 100 web site.
Western $tates Results Derrick Carr placed 19th with a time of 21:31:10 at Western $tates. Also finishing were Kevin Sayers, Scott Rafferty, Peyton Robinson, Shelly and Andy Wunsch, and former member Ian Torrence. Good work guys and gals! (Did I miss anyone? Probably did.) (Western $tates results.) Meanwhile, in the bigger event of the weekend, a stalwart crew attacked the Anstr Davidson B'day run course. Here is a picture of the happy warriors before the run.
Roy Goes To the Final Happy Trail: The VHTRC mourns the death of Roy Rogers, the King of the Cowboys. In a sense, Roy had nothing to do with the VHTRC. We just "borrowed" a few words from his song. On the other hand, Roy and Dale symbolized a good-natured happiness that the club hopes to emulate. Additionally, Roy's trails are ours--they are long, happy, and outdoors! Happy trails to you, Roy!

From Chris Scott on the West Coast! (Editor's Note: Chris messed this up as usual. Robin (picture left) got fourth place, passing Tom Possert in the last 13 mile segment. Tom is the former course record holder and passing him was no little feat. Congrats to Robin!) (Picture credit: Jeanne Christie. More pictures!)

"Just returned from whirlwind trip East.... From what I remember [of Laurel Highland] from yesterday, Courtney Campbell took another 10 minutes off the course record w/ a 10:39 blitz. He stayed ahead of the two storm systems that bombed everyone else on the course. I think Andy Jones and Tim Hewitt were 2nd and 3rd. Robin Kane, 1st VHTRCer in 5th place. Colleen Dulin, soon to be member of VHTRC, was only woman's entrant and finisher, putting her in the Top Ten All Time Finisher's List for Laurel, w/ time of 17:47. Larry DeHof was 2nd VHTRCer in 17:46. NOTE: This is wrong, Chris, as Prasad Gerard finished 6th in 14 hours and change.

As confirmed by RD Ted Massa, this was the prettiest year for the laurels, sections of the course bursting in white and pink. Heavy rains turned some trail sections into streams, but the humidity -- which often follows Laurel storms -- remained low.

Twenty six starters, seventeen finishers. Once again, Laurel proves its toughness. Think I'll go soak my wounds...

Happy Trails!"

180 Finish Bull Run Run! The weather held and a field of 198 tested the Bull Run trail on Saturday, April 18. Vasili Triantos won his second BRR and Gail Ierandi set a new course record for women. Frank Probst devastated the Seniors field. All of the previous members of the Five Star Club finished their sixth BRR. The full results, including updated all-time performance and performers lists are now available on the BRR page. Also check out the Reston Runners page on that club's participation in the BRR. They have a great picture of Scott Mills. Congratulations to Scott and all the volunteers for a great event! NOTE: I have corrected the injustice to Larry DeHof. He is a five time finisher but was left off the Five Star Club list. Sorry, Larry!
Umstead Results: Several VHTRC members finished either the 100 or the 50 at Umstead. Among the finishers at the hundred miler were Mike Fiorito (3rd place behind winner Eric Clifton), Marty Szekeresh, and Don Jans, father of Sharon. Fifty miler finishers were James and Rebecca Moore, Margie Schlundt and Stan Duobinis, Dan Grayson, Carolyn Gernand, and Terrie Wurzbacher. Did I miss someone? Full results are on the Umstead web page. The News and Observer in North Carolina had a very interesting article about the Umstead 100. Better check it out quick. Newspapers usually don't leave stories like this up too long.

At the Races: The weekend of March 28 saw two major events well-attended by VHTRC'ers. This was the tenth HAT run in Maryland. Jeff and Phil have a beautiful course and are well-organized. Many people were there including many in the club. The Kanes, Robin and Michelle, ran away with the big honors, each coming in third. Derrick Carr was fifth and Scott Mills was 10th. Jeanne Christie was fifth woman. Check out the complete results on David Blaikie's web site. Meanwhile, Frank Probst and Kevin Sayers were battling the heat at the GNC 100km run in Pittsburgh. Frank lost the battle with the heat, but Kevin finished and former VHTRC member, Ian Torrence, got 8th. See the full results. So far the only picture is from Bill Wandel and it's right above. Anyone have any more?
Mugu 50-50 Photos: The Mugu 50-50 had to be cancelled due to the heavy rains but we got pictures up the wazoo. Visit the new, fancy page that lets you view these pictures. There are pictures from Chris, James Moore, and me. Also, see this special picture of the gang at the start. (Warning, you must be 18 years old to view this picture. Kids, get Mommy of Daddy's permission to go here!) See the picture. Who is on the left? If you think that is bad, see what they do at Hardrock! (Go to the bottom of that page.)

Moonlite Run and Work Party: I was standing at the intersection of the Scothorn Gap and Massanutten Mountain East Trail, holding a bow saw and loppers, wondering whether Joe and his crew had gone through there yet. Two hikers came by and asked me for directions. As they left, they said, "And thanks for maintaining the trails!" I had spent the day doing something socially useful and it felt good. It was a great weekend.
On Friday night, after checking into to the Budget Host Motel in Woodstock, we went to do the Moonlite Run. As usual, we did not get a clear sky, but the cloud cover was thin and we were able to navigate fine. We started at the foot of the road up to Woodstock Tower. We ran up the road and then took the Massanutten West Trail north to Powells Fort Spring. At first, the trail was fine. After about a mile, however, the down trees became a real pain. The going was slow and not a lot of fun. We took the road back from Powells Fort. We were in bed by 2:30 am.
The next day, after breakfast, 21 stalwarts broke into six groups to work on trails. We cleared a lot of trail. See the full report to the Forest Service. Working on the trails is challenging, rewarding, a great workout, and a lot of fun. And if you are running MMT, you owe us big time!

Wild Oak: Wild Oak is history--thank goodness. Up to a foot of snow on several sections of the course made for a slow, long day. Our own Scott Mills got third with several other VHTRC'ers participating in the event. I finished in just over 17 hours to become the only person to have finished all Wild Oaks. Dennis had extended the cut off time to 20 hours. Check out the complete results with splits.
The VHTRC makes the big time. The October 30, 1997 Washington Post Weekend section contained an article that featured the club prominently. There was even a picture with Michele Kane mis-identified and a leaf in front of my face. President Joe and Robin Kane are also visible. You can read the article, but not see the picture, on line at the Washington Post web site. Go check it out fast, they probably won't leave it on line long.