1998 Holiday Lake 50K

1998 Winners

Courtney Campbell

3:51:45

Nancy Drach

5:35:41

The first Holiday Lake 50k was held in June and was extremely hot. The second race was held at the end of March and it was also hot! This year, with the race date scheduled for the middle of March, we finally had cooler weather. Actually for the very few (including my wife, other aid station workers, and me) who stayed in the unheated cabins, it was very cold! Most of the runners stayed in the heated bunkhouses. The lodging, showers, pre-and post race meals being in one location makes for an ideal race locale.

The race course is (was) a 15.67 mile loop in 1996 and 1997. We had four aid stations in the loop and one at the completion of the loop. At the end of the first loop, runners would run the second loop in the opposite direction. In 1996 and 1997, the course was on trails, dirt roads, and paved roads. From the last aid station to the turnaround was nearly all paved road. Many of the runners had expressed their displeasure with this section. After the 1997 race, I found a couple of other trails that I could use to take out the paved road section. I never got around to measuring the new section, but after running it and doing some trail maintenance, I realized it was slower (and longer), but decided to use it anyway. The times this year reflected that change. It is a much nicer (not everyone agrees) soft trail race.

Race weekend began on Friday night at the 4-H Center. The Director of the Center, Richard Pulliam and Program Director, Bryan Branch, are very supportive of our race. They also worked two of our five aid stations. For our pre-race meal, their chef, Frances, once again cooked an unbelievably great pasta meal. I thought last year’s meal was great…well this year was no exception. The pre-race meal was free to all runners and for only $6 a head for everyone else…it was a great deal! Also, the post-race meal of baked chicken, baked potatoes, green bean almondine, salad, and a fantastic peanut butter pie was a big hit!

Also on Friday night, I asked my wife to come up (supposedly to introduce her to everyone…which she didn’t particularly want to do) and announced that this was her 47^th birthday! SURPRISE! I presented her with a gold watch (that she had wanted for a while) that our kids and I had picked out for her, and our good friend, Rebekah Trittipoe had made her a birthday cake! Everyone even sang "Happy Birthday". Needless to say, she was surprised…and not real pleased that I announced her age to everyone!

After the pre-race meal, several of us built a big bonfire next to the lake and roasted marshmallows, and even had a few Smores (compliments of Seth Trittipoe) under a full moon. It was very relaxing and a fun thing to do!

The 4:30 alarm clock of the morning was "The Star Spangled Banner" sang (if you can call it that) over the loud speaker by a few (who shall remain nameless).

The 5:30 a.m. start was too early for many and required the carrying of flashlights. Daylight didn’t come till after 6:00 a.m. The course turns onto a single lane trail after one-third of a mile. Due to the early start…all the runners finished the race, ate together, had the awards ceremony and were packing up to leave by 2:30 p.m. We will continue to start the race early.

There were many well known and fast runners on hand in the men’s field such as: Courtney Campbell, Mike Morton, Eric Clifton, Dave Drach and Byron Backer. These runners have many victories between them. Other runners who have been running well recently were Cley Bullock, Greg Zaruba and Andy Peterson.

Nancy Drach (fastest women in the nation at 50k in 1997) was back to defend her title, as well as Jo May (winner in 1996). Local running star, Rebekah Trittipoe (1997 winner at the JFK 50 and the MMTR 50) was unable to race due to a stress fracture. All three years that we have had this race, has found Rebekah nursing some type of stress fracture and unable to compete in this event. Rebekah is also the co-author of the book, Quest for Adventure.

Even though there were a lot of big name runners in the field, it became apparent to me after talking to most of them, the Campbell was the one I thought would win. Campbell took the lead from the start and had a one minute lead over Zarauba at the first aid station. At each succeeding aid station, his lead continued to grow over Zaruba and the rest of the field (1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 12, 14, etc.) finally finishing in 3:51:46 (20 minutes slower than his winning time in 1997).

Zaruba ran 2^nd all day with Mike Morton close on his heels most of the way. Zaruba finished in 4:14:36 looking strong in the runner-up position. You could tell that Morton was being bothered greatly by a hip problem that has plagued him since early in the summer of 1997 (even before his record setting Western States run). I saw him several times throughout the race and you could tell he was in obvious pain.

Andy Peterson ran in 7^th place for the first half of the race, but moved through the field for 3^rd place (4:22:58), running the first half in 2:10 and the second half in 2:13. Dave "Big Gun" Drach (2^nd in 1997) ran a strong race to capture 4^th place with a time of 4:25:49. Morton held on for 5^th in a time of 4:32:06.

The women’s race was much closer and more exciting. The two women I expected to compete for the title, Drach and May, were joined in battle by local runner, Suzanne Duncan…a veteran of the MMTR 50 Miler.

All three women stayed close throughout the race. At the halfway point, Drach held a 2 minute lead over May and three minutes over Duncan. By 19 miles, Drach had increased her lead to 4 minutes on May and 8 minutes on Duncan. The race wasn’t over as May and Duncan closed to 3 and 6 minutes by the last aid station. Drach held on to defend her title in 5:35:41. Jo May finished 2^nd in 5:40:58, and Duncan was 3^rd in 5:47:34. Will Drach be back in 1999 for a three-peat? Will May come back for her second title and revenge? Will Duncan surprise them both? Maybe even Trittipoe will have it together for March of 1999.

All finishers were presented with a screened Ultimate Directions hand-held water bottle.

There were other interesting stories in the female portion of the race as well. Local runner, Paula Skulina finished 4^th (looking very strong) in her first ultra, with a time of 6:12:38. Two of my Exercise Science majors and advisees at Liberty University, Jaci Collins and Lara Witte, finished their first ultra (no marathon finishes either) in a time of 6:31:27. Amy Thompson (wife of local runner Andrew Thompson) finished her first ultra in 6:51:34. There were many others who finished their first ultra as well.

Local runners, Steve and Debbie Bozeman finished together in 7:20:09. Steve and Debbie either conned, cajoled, or whatever to get several (8-10) other Hash House Harriers into running this race. I heard a lot of "on, ons" and "true trail" being shouted out during and after the race.

First place in the male masters went to Eddie Midkiff, finishing in 4:50:30. First place female masters went to Gardenia (Faye) Pittman, finishing in 6:58:56. The grand masters title went to David Grider in 5:36:16 and the super masters title went to local legend Bernie Davis with a time of 6:11:07.

Note of interest: Dr. George Wortley, Medical Director for the MMTR 50 and Holiday Lake 50k, conducted pre- and post-race tests on twenty runners trying to determine the incidence of exercise induced asthma.

Also, a special thanks goes out to Jim McFarland, Muscle Therapy Inc., who gave much needed massages to runners after the race. Jim has helped many runners for several years after the MMTR 50 in October as well.

I do need to thank Norm Klein and his requirement of 8 hours of trail work for entry in the Western States 100 Miler. David Brown is entered in the 1998 W.S. 100 and needed to work to fulfill his 8 hours. David came out two weeks prior to the race and helped me cut trees and clear sections of the trail. He was the only one that day who helped me. David stayed around after the race and along with several others, helped take down all the streamers, and clean up any trash that had been left behind. Thanks for your "trail tax" Norm, it helped me out!

This race is an excellent entry into the ultra world. I invite you to the 1999 race to be held hopefully on March, March 13. If you are looking for a challenge sooner than next year, consider the 1998 MMTR 50 to be held on October 17, 1998.

**Because of the new course changes (lengthened), I consider Campbell’s and Drach’s times to be new course records.