Subject: Sulphur Springs 100 miler 29May04 From: "Simpkins, Jeff (JUS)" Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2004 17:42:20 -0400 Stan, I ran the Sulphur Springs 100 on 29May04 in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada and thought I would send you a report on it for your use as you see fit. The race director asked me to submit something if I saw fit. Here goes! The Sulphur Springs 100 mile Trail race is early in the season by some standards. This race is held in the Dundas Conservation Area in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada. It coincides with the U.S. Memorial Day weekend. This year the race was held on May 29th, 2004. The race is held in a beautiful conservation area that exists for many reasons. Some of the trees in the area are endangered species and are well protected for all to see. The course is held on a challenging hilly wooded trail. There are few sections of pavement which allow the runners to traverse from one wooded section to another. The course is a 20 kilometre loop which is repeated 8 times to give you 160+km or 100 miles. The trail consists of cindered footpaths, single track pasture trails, single track wooded paths and gravelled bush roads. All in all the mix makes for a lovely runable course. This years event started with a mandatory pre-race meeting which coincided with the prerace carbo-loading dinner. The dinner was head at the Coach and Lantern Restaurant in Ancaster. This is where we were all reminded why we run these silly things. The friendships and stories shared are what fuel the ultra runner. The race director, Joe Hewitt gave a pre-race briefing which warned of steep hills and shoe sucking mud holes. Joe's love of the course and the sport in general was obvious during the meeting. He described the course to be beautiful and challenging. Upon awaking the runners were greeted with clear skies, calm winds and 44 degrees F. Perfect by a runners calculation. Promptly at 6:00 am the 100 mile runners were accompanied by the 50 mile runners as the clock started ticking of the seconds of our journey. The 100 mile racers included many of the great ultra marathoners which included but were not limited to: Rolly Portelance (his 67th 100 mile race), Ron Gehl, Monica Scholtz and Jim Morrison. I had the pleasure and honour of running with last years winner, Luke Hohenadel. For the first 1 1/2 hours the 50 and 100 mile runners had the trail to themselves. At 7:30 the 25km and 50km runners started. At 8:00 the 10km race started. The peace and tranquility instantly got a little busy. As the day progressed the shorter races finished and the 100 mile runners toiled under perfect weather conditions. The runners were greeted at the aid stations by helpful, friendly and enthusiastic volunteers. A fixture at many ultras is the aid station coordinated by Monica Schotz's father, Dieter. His aid station promised a buffet of body fuel that rivalled most restaurants. Each time we past the checkpoint at the 20km start/finish line we were serenaded by the race director singing and playing the guitar. As the day progressed I realized that it was understatement to say this course is beautiful. The course contained more natural beauty then imaginable. The promise of shoe sucking mud holes came to fruition. Each time we reached the 6km point on the loop the risk of never seeing your running shoe again was prevalent. At the 19km point in the loop we had the pleasure of experiencing the long steep climb of what I called the leg burning "RAVINE". With 8 loops we got to experience this 8 times. However with every cloud there is silver lining, which means the top of the climb marked the start of a long downhill enroute to the turn around. Runable daylight lasted until about 9:00pm. Shortly after that, lights were a necessity. The course is reasonably runable for night time running. The latter stages of each loop had some "rooty" sections. As darkness fell the temperatures dropped again to the temperatures experienced at start time. The beautiful thing was that the daytime temperature did not get above 65 degrees F. Last years winner, Luke Hohenadel lead the race for the first 2 1/2 laps until he experienced some stomach discomfort which forced him to throttle back to a pace that allowed him to fight through it. At this time I had the honour and pleasure of becoming the race leader. For the next 5 1/2 laps I was the hunted instead of the hunter. All the while Monica Scoltz was gaining strength as she always does. I was fortunate enough to survive a late charge by Monica. I had the pleasure of finishing the race as the race winner. My time was 19:10. This is a humbling thing for me as it is unfamiliar territory. My thoughts immediately turned to all other runners as I know they continued to toil. After I had a chance to shower I returned to the finish line and watch for other runners to have the pleasure of finishing. When I returned I learned that Monica Scholtz had placed second with a time of 19:40. As always she had a tremendous race. The runners continued to trickle in until the 30hr cut-off. The one thing that was obvious was that the longer they continued to toil the greater the pleasure of finishing. Each runner received their buckle and finishers certificate as they crossed the finish line. Each finisher received beautiful brass belt buckle which had the race logo emblazoned on it. Of note, Rolly Portelance had his 67th 100 mile finish. Also Helen Malmberg (the race director of the Haliburton 100) finished with her trademark smile after a hard fought race. Helen had trained hard for the race with Cathie and Bob Price. Cathie and Bob were in the their first 100 mile race. Cathie finished in 29:56 with Bob waiting at the finish line. After the 7th lap Bob had elected to not begin the 8th lap. He had learned what it takes to run the race, however he felt that there was a risk of not making the cut-off. As a result he elected to wait to cheer Cathie on to a finish in her first 100 mile race. The awards ceremony was held at the start/finish line with all runners being treated the same whether first or last. This race is tremendous race that everyone should try. Once you try it I guarantee you will want to be back again the following year.