Trails Collective

Trails Collective Weekly Rundown | April 30, 2021

Trails Collective Weekly Rundown

April 30, 2021

Opening this week’s Rundown of Trail Running in the Northeast, I’d like to lead with Emily Shaffer’s short film titled the Godfather. It was an interview with and homage to the beloved PA Trail legend, Carl Undercofler. Carl tragically passed away at the summit of one of his favorite places and in the context of running one of his favorite races, Hyner View, this past weekend. It’s no doubt a tough time for many, but, also, taking stock in knowing an amazing individual moved on doing what he loved.

Results

• The Valley Trail Series crew ran their inaugural Sundown Trail 4 and 6 milers in Alpine, NJ. Michael Celona edged Athony Bertollo for the overall 10k win of 56 finishers in 52:03. Joanna Kadieva finished on top for the women. In the 4 miler Renee Perry was overall and top female finisher of 12 entrants in 37:47. Results are here.
• The Broadway Ultra Society in New York City put on the inaugural Lucky Seven 7 Hour over three loops in and around Queens, NY. No results listed yet but will be at this link.
• The Johnston Running Club put on the inaugural On the Dam Trail 34M. The event runs some beautiful sounding trails around the Quemahoning Reservoir and is based at Camp Harmony in Hooversville. For the 34 mile solo, of 29 finishers, Aaron Keckley took the overall win in 4:58. He edged out second place William Huber by less than a minute. Top female finish on the day went to Candice Lockard in 6:27. Results are here.
• The trail running debauchers, the Yeti Trail Runners, put on their inaugural Seven Trails Ultra Festival 25k, 50k, 100k, and 100m in Damascus, VA. True to Yeti format the schedule slated a food truck, beer garden, bands and a tattoo shop. Of 182 finishers Morgan Mahn and Kate Sidoli accrued the most mileage with 100. Results are here.
• C&O Canal 100, headed into the weekend 158 entrants strong for the flat and fast 100M in Knoxville, MD. Of the 98 finishers, Brian Zickefoose took the win in a speedy 14:46. Cortney Boyce laying down a quick 20:48 for the women’s win. Also in the mix, top old dude went to Michael Wardian in 17:14 Results at this link.
• Six03’s Dixon’s Revenge 5k, Canicross, ½ Marathon ran Rollinsford, NH. In the ½, of 107 finishers, Brandon Newbould took the win in 1:18:55 with Sam Gray on his heels less than a minute back. Alyssa Anderson ran a solid 1:36 for the women’s win with second place Caroline Driscoll also hot on the chase less than a minute back. With a notably stout 34 finishers in the Canicross Division Leendert Van Dorp took the win in 17:58 followed by Haley Heinrich in 20:14. Results are here.
• Hyner Trail Challenge 25k, 50k ran in Hyner, PA. One of if not the largest race in numbers in our region ran with nearly 1200 entrants. Hyner’s a beautiful and tough course and always some solid efforts. To intro what Hyner is and about we wove in a clip from Marc Lauber of the Allegheny Trail Runners. Jill Dennes on her first trail race and with running only being one day a week in her training mix of Cross Fit and HITs, raced to a second place woman behind the studdess Katie O’Regan. MY fast and tough teammate Steve Lange on raced to second place chasing Ben Robinson. Reagan McCoy was the overall and men’s 50k winner. Close out or coverage of Hyner, the always wicked tough and fast, Nicole Yokum weighed in on her women’s 50k win. Results can be found at this link.
• Promise Land 50k ran in Bedford, VA. A VA and Horton classic. This year’s field was possibly the deepest ever, both men’s and women’s. This race has been on my bucket list since getting into ultras about 20 years ago and it didn’t disappoint especially as I’ve been able to get to know more and more people in the VA scene since starting the Trails Collective a year ago. I had the opportunity to catch up with Michael Owens on his overall win on the day in 4:42 with the newcomer with road marathon trials chops Sarah Biehl demolishing the prior course record in a time of 5:03. My day went as I’d hoped, running with top seated woman Rachel Spaulding through just over 20 before dropping back a bit as she stayed on the consistent effort to finish only seconds outside of the prior course record in 5:24.  Results are here.

In the Media

An article from the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript titled Rindge Man breaks Mountain Monadnack summit record, shares journey from rock bottom to peak performance. Shares a bit on Larson Ojala’s journey from the depths of drug addiction to a 24 hour summiting record of Mount Monadnock.

Upcoming Races and Registrations Opening

Upcoming Races:

UROC 25k, 50k, 100k set to run Skylark, VA on April 30th. Gil and Francesca consistently field a solid crew. Of 117 100k entrants, the favorite I think would be Mark Hammond though I’m rooting for the humble young gun David Hedges. In the women’s field, Maria Miller has the top seed, though, if she’s on, Aliza LaPierre might be where my money would be…but she’s gotta be on. Two strong Canadians, if they’re permitted to race per COVID travel restrictions, are also there to shake up the day. There’s 131 slated to run the 50k, and 115 in the 25k.

UltraSignUp Hotlist:

• The Bloodroot Ultra 50 Mile slated for May 15^th in Pittsfield, VT is holding steady at 94% full.
• The Dirty German Endurance Fest 25k/50k/50M, slated for May 8 in Philly is 95% full.
• Batona Trail Race’s First State Trail 25k in Wilmington, DE, slated for June 12 is 91% full.

On the FKT Front:

CT:

• Kate Gelineau 8h 23m for the 16 mile Ives Trail, lowering her own unsupported female mark by 8 minutes.

DE:

• Lisa Gesualdo, 7h 52m for a supported effort over the 36 mile Historic Brandywine Trail, one which traversed my hometown territory growing up.

NJ:

• Andrew Gelston, 2h 12m for the 17 mile Blue Mountain Trail in Stokes State Forest, taking 5 minutes off the opening unsupported mark from last year.

NY:

• Katharine Spector, 54m 48s on the 5 mile Bull Hill Full Loop, a loop on my original Breakneck Point Trail Marathon course.
• Samantha LeBlanc, 8h 19m for the 36 mile Taconic Crest Trail, shaving 21 minutes off of Kehr Davis’ women’s unsupported mark from 2017.
• Tom Staradoj, 2h 14m for the beautiful Tri-State Tri-Mountain Loop, shaving a burly 20 minutes off of Richie Rodriguez’s time from only a week ago.
• Justin Kousky, 1d 12h 32m for the beautiful and technical 71 mile Shawangunk Ridge Trail, picking off the one-way in 17h 18m to lower the prior unsupported men’s mark by 12 minutes, then, deciding to just keep on going, running back to the car for an opening out-back mark on a 142 mile journey.

PA:

• Justin Villere, 5h 27m for a portion of the Schuylkill River Trail