17th Annual Cornbelt Running Club 24 Hour Run
Eldridge, Iowa
May 2-3, 1998

Short story followed by finish order and mileage.

Under cloudy skies 50 runners took the challenge to run 24 hours on an all
weather track.  While comfortable temperatures greeted them early on, the
runners would experience sun, rain, calm, wind, hot and cold before the
clock had run out.

Macolm Gillis started made it clear from the opening lap that he had a plan,
his goal was to run track records in the 60-64 age group before he turns 65
in a few weeks.  Smartly, no runners followed his pace for more than a lap
here and there.  Weaving through the crowd of runners, Malcolm just barely
missed his goal on the 50k split and regrouped for the 50 mile, the two that
were his specific focus.  Slowing some, but never losing form or humor, he
circled the track.  He was the first of the runners to reach 50 miles and
declared that he was shifting his goals to take home a 60+ mile placque for
his day of effort.

While this entertained the lap counters, some of the planned 24 hour runners
were kicking over consistent miles.  The experienced group stayed tightly
bunched until by the 50 mile mark some leaders began to surface.  All
running smartly and adjusting to the changing weather, and dealing with the
emothional highs and lows.  Robert Palmer, the youngest runner in the top 12
at 40,  relinquished his 3/4 mile lead to Bill Seldomridge just shortly
after reaching 100 miles in PR time.  Runner placement would change little
after midnight as most of the runners kept tabs on any one close to them and
kept moving.  Ed Rousseau sucked it up to finish strongly, never hinting at
the pain that his broken arm might be causining.  Running partners Ron
Grimes and Bo Pheffer stayed close, and Ron continued his 100+ mile streak
at this run.

Upon her return, Debbie Jones experienced success in reaching a 100 miles
and then keeping her lead throughout the day.  Susan Rozanski's persistent
effort yielded her another 100 mile run for the year.

Of specific note was the increased miles put in by the middle of the pack.
Many of these runners have been toying with the 24 hour for a few years and
obviously learning from there experiences.  Many added 20 miles to there
past performances.  Graduating to a new level, Dan Hawthorne's 100 mile
finish celebrates the thrill and effort of a good day done.

No major medical problems were noted by race management.  Of course the
legion of volunteers, 10-15 per each of the 3 hour shifts, and race sponsors
along with a great group of runners made this "family"-feeling running
possible.  Change in resturants for the pre and post race dining was a major
improvement for this year.


123.51  Bill Seldomridge
110.63  Ed Rousseau
109.48  Ronald Grimes
108.60  Debbie Jones -F
101.65  Susan Rozanski -F
101.43  Dan Hawthorne
101.28  Bo Pheffer
100.02  Robert Palmer
 90.17   Glen Zirbel
 88.07   Al Edmunds
 86.82   John McRell
 85.62   Ashish Sen
 80.82   Ron Warner
 78.30   Jeff Snicker
 77.29   Roger Friede
 75.01   Mark Lucas
 74.26   Jim Ingalls
 73.24   Robert Risser
 70.72   Rick Gill
 68.95   Therese Wiese -F
 68.70   Alex Swenson
 68.45   Stuart Arey
 68.23   Robert Finin
 67.44   John Surdyk
 66.68   Ben Branson
 65.67   Malcolm Gillis
 64.66   Alex Bobroff
 63.65  Michael Hartman
 63.14   Andrew Lovy
 63.14   Rollin Perry
 62.69   Aziz Uras
 62.64   Harvey Lewis III
 61.12   Gutdyzke
 60.87   John Vermeulen
 60.87   Terry Hawkins
 60.65   Scptt Hoag
 60.62   Don Olson
 60.62   Jim Arzigian
 60.36   Rick Marlowe
 60.11   Scott Tooley
 59.61   Jack Paslay
 56.58   Carey Stoneking
 51.27   Bonnie Busch -F
 50.51   David Hughes
 48.24   Sara Risser -F
 45.46   William Hawthorne
 37.38   James Krips
 26.27   Brandon White
 25.26   Bob Lyon
 19.70   Thomas Cinqire