10^th Annual

2005 Holiday Lake 50K++

February 12, 2005

by David Horton

 The Holiday Lake 50K is the first race of the Lynchburg Ultra Series (LUS).  Having an ultra on trails this early in the year is not possible in many places.  With the race held east and south of the mountains in Virginia; we usually have no problems with snow.  The forest in this region consists of rolling hills and relatively flat terrain (around 2000 total feet of elevation gain).  As a result of being relatively flat, the course can be VERY muddy.  But, because of a lack of recent rain and very little snow, the course was dry and the weather ranged from 30º - 50º on race day ... perfect racing conditions.

Race morning began with the singing of the National Anthem, sung by race participant, Caroline Williams (Woodbridge,VA).  Good job!  However, many runners commented on how much they missed the Race Director’s off-key, word slaughtering version for their morning wake up call! I’m touched!

The race start/finish and headquarters are located on the banks of Holiday Lake and the Holiday Lake 4-H Educational Center.  The Center prepared a delicious pre- and post-race meal and offered onsite lodging ... all you need for a perfect setting to conduct an ultra.  The race starts and finishes at the Center and is a two-lap course with the second lap going in the opposite direction of the first lap.

Both previous winners were back from 2004.  Aaron Swartzbard (Reston, VA) and Catherine Phillips (Lynchburg, VA) were ready to defend their crowns. One time recorder holder, Bethany Hunter Patterson (Lynchburg, VA) was returning and sure to give Phillips a run for her money.   Annette Bednosky (Jefferson, NC – who, the previous weekend, had broken Patterson’s course record at Uwharrie 40 Miler by an astounding 20 minutes) was here to just “cruise” the course ... so she says!  Several of the men had their sights set on de-throning Swartzbard as well.

Mark Lundblad (Asheville, NC) took the lead early and maintained a one minute lead over Swartzbard at the end of the first lap (15.7 miles).  Alex Kahl (New Brunswick, NJ) was 2 minutes back in third place and 4 other runners within 5 minutes of the lead.

At 22 miles, Swartzbard caught Lundblad with John Reynolds (Fairmont, WV) 6 minutes behind them.  At the last aid station (27.8 miles), Swartzbard had a one minute lead.  Lundblad could not make up the difference from there as Swartzbard took the win for the second year in a row with a time of 4:05:17.  Lundblad finished in second, only 50 seconds later.  Reynolds took third with a time of 4:11:12.

The women’s race was dominated by Phillips as she jumped to a 3 minute lead over Patterson by aid station 2 (6.3 miles) with Bednosky another 3 minutes back alongside Justine Morrison (Washington DC).

Phillips increased her lead to 9 minutes over Patterson, 12 minutes over Morrison and 14 minutes over Bednosky (remember ... cruise!) at the turnaround.  The race stayed exactly the same through 22 miles, but after that, the 3 ladies chasing Phillips begin closing in on the lead.

By the last aid station (27.8 miles), Patterson had closed to within 7 minutes of Phillips with Morrison and Bednosky 7 minutes behind Patterson.  However, time ran out and Phillips took first (again) finishing in 4:42:39 (8 minutes over her course record of 2004).  Patterson came in second, a little less than 6 minutes later (4:48:18).  Bednosky (I thought the word was “cruise”) ran the last section 5 minutes faster than Phillips and 4 minutes faster than Patterson taking third place in 4:51:55.  Morrison came in fourth also breaking 5 hours with a time of 4:55:25.

Robert Prom (Calloway, VA) took the Masters title finishing in 5:14:02 with Rebekah Trittipoe (Lynchburg, VA) taking the women’s Masters title in 5:33:27.  Herman Richards (Stockton, NJ) and Barbara Isom (Silver Springs, MD) took the Grand Masters titles in 4:58:17 and 5:58:43 respectively.  Kenneth Burns (Hudsonville, MI) took the Super Masters title in 6:26:23.

Two special awards that we give each year are “Fastest Fat Boy” and “Best Blood.”  The “Fastest Fat Boy” award is for the fastest runner over 200 pounds.  This year, it went to 20 year old, Virginia Tech student, Brian Mayer in his first ultra.  His longest race ever was a 10 miler.  On Friday night, he had to eat and drink and eat and drink to get his weight up to 201 pounds.  He finished in 9^th place overall in 4:39:58.  He was not a fat boy at all ... I would guess that he only had about 10% body fat.  Barbara Isom took a nasty fall that brought some good blood for her to take the coveted “Best Blood” award.

First place winners, Phillips and Swartzbard received embroidered Patagonia jackets.  Top 10 men and top 5 women, as well as age group winners received Patagonia stretch expedition weight tops.  All other finishers received light weight long-sleeved Patagonia shirts.

Besides Mayer, there were 10 other Virginia Tech students who ran and completed the race. They were loud and had a blast!  It is great to see young folks running ultras. Two students from my running class at LU also ran and completed the race.

Last year, 12-year-old Seth Trittipoe completed his first ultra (Holiday Lake in 6:12).  This year, at 13 years old and one growth spurt later, he ran a great time of 5:28 (34th place) beating his mother by a little less than 5 minutes!

This was the 10th year for the Holiday Lake 50K.  John Price (Virginia Beach, VA) had completed all 9 previous Holiday Lake races.  As he finished the 2005 race in 5:41:56, he became the first to be presented with a 10”x13” engraved clock on a walnut plaque commemorating his achievement.  Incidentally, John will be going for his 20th completion of the Mountain Masochist 50 Miler on October 15, 2004.  John is a great supporter of Lynchburg Ultras!

Of the four Lynchburg Ultras, I like this course the least.  However, because of the setting, lodging, meals, staff, convenience, etc., we plan on continuing this ultra.  It is a very good first ultra for many people.  The 11^th Annual Holiday Lake race will be held on February 11, 2006. 

I hope to see many of you at the upcoming Promise Land 50K on April 23, the Mountain Masochist 50 Miler on October 15, and the Hellgate 100K on December 10.