Subject: Heartland 100/50 Race Report! From: Eric Steele Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2001 11:04:03 -0600 To: Ultralist Greetings: Here is the race report/results for the Second Annual Heartland 100 & 50 Mile Races. Eric Steele KUS Founder ------------------------------------- KANSAS ULTRARUNNERS' SOCIETY (KUS) Second Annual Heartland 100 & 50 Mile Races October 13, 2001 Cassoday, KS Running in the prairie is a new experience for many of the first time participants in the Heartland 100. William Least Heat-Moon in his book Prairie Erth describes the prairie as, "Whatever else prairie is - grass, sky, wind - it is most of all a paradigm of infinity, a clearing full of many things except boundaries, and its power comes from the apparent limitlessness; there is no such thing as a small prairie any more than there is a little ocean, and the consequence of both is this challenge." Temperatures were in the mid-40's for the start of the second annual Heartland 100 as a cold front had just moved through the area. Winds were out of the north and would become an obstacle that the runners would have to deal with throughout the event. The projected rain never materialized and the sky was crystal clear by late morning providing the runners with unsurpassed views of the Flint Hills tallgrass prairie. High temperatures for the day were in the upper 50's and by early evening the winds lessened. As the runners were enjoying an evening of running under the clear star filled skies Mother Nature decided it was time for some more Kansas wind. The increasing wind along with temperatures that were falling to the low 40' s caught many runners off guard between their drop bags. Returning champions Charles Stodter and Monica Scholz were in the field along with 48% of last year's participants. Phil Sheridan set the early pace covering the first 50K in 4:03. Mark Henderson and David Wakefield who was running only his second ultra followed him. By the turnaround it looked to be a two-man race with Phil reaching the 50-mile mark in 7:05 followed by Mark in 7:33. Phil was forced to retire from the race at 83 miles and Mark continued on his mission of redemption after his second place finish last year and finished in 17:17:50 with an impressive course record. Charles Stodter demonstrated the same consistent pacing as last year and finished in 20:40:06. At the awards ceremony he proudly displayed a perfect Indian arrowhead he had found on the course during the race. Early in the women's race, Monica Scholz and Molly Gibb were close, however Monica's consistent pace allowed her to gradually pull away from Molly. Monica went on to defend her women's title, set a course record of 20:32:34 and finish second overall. What makes her performance even more impressive was that she had an equally fine performance the previous week at the Arkansas Traveler. Molly continued on to finish second in 25:56:31. James Maher won the 50-mile race in 8:02:28. Dave McGuire and Raul Flores finished next and then helped crew and pace Monica to her victory. For runners looking for a different adventure, or looking for a good race for their first attempt at 100-miles, the openness of the prairie will present challenges and views that are uniquely different from other races. We look forward to seeing everyone next October for the third annual Heartland 100. Randy Albrecht RD Jack Menard adds: The October issue of Ultrarunning contains over 39 reviews of ultras across the nation. This attests to the number of races being offered. My wife and I wanted to run something different for my first 100 miler and her first 50 miler. The Heartland 100/50 looked good and was also within driving distance from our home base of Denver. It is easy to be humbled when running a mountain race. We were to find that same feeling while running beneath a blanket of stars where only the unending horizon fills ones vision. This race is unique, to say the least. It is no cakewalk. The 6042 feet of climb through the Flint Hills tallgrass prairie provides a serious challenge. Nowhere else can you run with a 360 degree field of view with nothing but open space. Occasional oilrigs churn with the same sounds they have made since the turn of the century. Cattle crossings become welcome distractions from the pace. Forget pasta at the pre-race dinner. This is Kansas and meat is king. The Cassoday Café (founded in 1879!) catered a great menu of home cooking'. In addition, the aid station at mile 31/62 offered Dave's famous " Prairie Power Pellets"-a unique blend of some prairie bean mixed of course with wieners. Our thanks go out to all the great volunteers. We made a lot of new friends who we hope to see again. KANSAS ULTRARUNNERS' SOCIETY (KUS) Second Annual Heartland 100 & 50 Mile Races Official Results October 13, 2001 Cassoday, KS 100 MILE FINISHERS (39 Starters) PLACE,TIME,NAME,CITY,STATE,GENDER,AGE 1,17:17:50,Mark Henderson,Seabrook,TX,M,41 2,20:32:34,Monica Scholz,Jerseyville,ONT,F,34 3,20:40:06,Charles Stodter,Emporia,KS,M,44 4,22:18:01,Butch Allmon,Fort Worth,TX,M,46 5,22:18:08,Max Roycroft,Rowlett,TX,M,37 6,22:55:19,Fred Dummar,Platte City,MO,M,32 7,23:26:34,Kevin Guest,Rea,MO,M,33 8,25:12:25,Dimitri Kieffer,Seattle,WA,M,35 9,25:18:10,Yen Nguyen,Houston,TX,F,39 10,25:19:21,Phil Wright,San Ramon,CA,M,57 11,25:21:40,Peter Bennett,Houston,TX,M,26 12,25:52:17,Conrad Pomykala,Chicago,IL,M,47 13,25:56:31,Molly Gibb,Oklahoma City,OK,F,40 14,25:56:32,Kevin McCormick,Dallas,TX,M,42 14,25:56:32,Jim Sullivan,Orlando,FL,M,49 16,26:58:23,Jack Menard,Denver,CO,M,51 17,27:34:12,Richard Maloof,Indianapolis,IN,M,40 18,27:38:09,Vincent Swendsen,Jacksonville,AL,M,39 19,27:55:31,Douglas Dziedzic,Binghamton,NY,M,39 20,28:06:02,Lee Norris,Bellaire,TX,M,53 21,28:18:56,Nels Bentson,Oklahoma City,OK,M,57 21,28:18:56,Rex Friend,Oklahoma City,OK,M,47 23,28:28:36,Louise Mason,Chicago,IL,F,48 24,28:31:58,Lynn Karner,Wadsworth,IL,M,44 25,29:06:19,Long Vu,Oklahoma City,OK,M,52 26,29:13:36,Anita Fromm,Colorado Springs,CO,F,30 27,29:18:54,Jim Perry,Enid,OK,M,52 28,29:29:22,Bruce Hilton,Brampton,ONT,M,63 29,29:29:40,Angela McEwen,Sellersburg,IN,F,33 50 MILE FINISHERS (11 Starters) PLACE,TIME,NAME,CITY,STATE,GENDER,AGE 1,8:02:28,James Maher,Overland Park,KS,M,46 2,8:29:28,Raul Flores,Leawood,KS,M,45 2,8:29:28,Dave McGuire,Kansas City,MO,M,47 4,9:31:57,Mark Crisman,Manhattan,KS,M,37 5,9:36:32,Scott Demaree,Houston,TX,M,50 6,11:22:52,Chris Haigh,Leavenworth,KS,M,36 7,12:55:16,John Blaylock,Montrose,CO,M,58 8,13:06:58,Dottie Duncan,Chicago,IL,F,47 8,13:06:58,Rocky Holly,Aurora,CO,M,47 8,13:06:58,Jerry Sullivan,Metairie,LA,M,40 11,13:32:55,Jaime Menard,Denver,CO,F,42