Thank you everyone who came out to Danby this past Saturday to stomp through the swamp and then crush your quads on some big descents. The forest had the sloppiest race day trails it’s had in years. It appears the crummy forecast didn’t scare everyone away. On the contrary, we had way more registrants than I expected and 141 total runners starting — 90 in the 10K and 51 in the 20K. We had a handful of first time trail runners and a bunch more new to the race. To all of you, I can (almost) promise the course will feel so much easier if you come back next year!
The FLRC Pebblehead, Stonehead, and Boulderhead winners and ranking will be announced shorty.If you have any pictures you’d like to share, tag us on Facebook @FingerLakesRunnersClub or on Twitter and Instagram @FLRCithaca.
Posted by Finger Lakes Runners Club on Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Several speedsters took home potable prizes for overall and age-group wins. Oliver Rapp and Greta Seive won the 10K race in 50:54 and 55:23, respectively. Also impressive was our youngest runner, 10-year-old Jack Barton, finishing in just over an hour.
Fresh off a dominating course record run at The Monster Marathon, Yvette De Boer was our women’s winner in 2:02:15. On the men’s side, Dan Timmerman was victorious in 1:32:36. Only a few minutes later, Xavier Salvador edged out Eric Sambolec in a downhill spring by one second, taking second place. The Cornell Running Club continued its trend, upping the competition at FLRC races this year. Rapp and Salvador both ran strongly while representing CRC.
This was my first go at directing a race, and overall I was pleased with how smoothly things seemed to go. I never could have done this alone, and want to thank the following people for their time and their help: Kathy, Dave, and Andrew Putnam, and Anne Shakespeare all came out early to help me set up the aid stations, signs, and starting area; Steve Shaum and Nancy Kleinrock took care of bib pickup and race day registration, arriving early to help out before they both ran the race; Mickie Sanders-Jauquet and Allie Jauquet also helped with registration, along with t-shirt sales and timing, and on top of that they stuck around to help clean up; Gary McCheyne helped out with all the equipment and without him I would have been totally lost figuring out all the little needs needed to put on the race. Gary was also a course marshal at the first turn off the road; Aaron Proujansky directed runners at one of the road crossings; Sheena Heise and Ashley Gresock handled the Mile 3 / Mile 10 aid station in the middle of the woods; Amelia Kaufman and Zoe Freer-Hessler directed runners and took care of the Mile 6 aid station near the finish; My wife Hayley Kresock helped out at the finish and with cleanup, helped me keep my sanity throughout, and most importantly, arrived on time with the beer; Gerrit Van Loon swept the whole course after completing the 10K, then stuck around to help clean things up and load the van; Adam Engst led the timing crew and helped with cleanup, and over the past two weeks was able to answer a barrage of question I had about race details; Captain Michael Salter and his Wilderness Search and Rescue crew kept track of runners and made sure everyone stayed safe and accounted for. Lastly, Andy Jordan wasn’t present, but as the previous Race Director he ensured a smooth transition and made things pretty easy for me.
It was great to see a ton of familiar faces out there and a bunch more new ones. I hope to see all of you on the trails again. Our off-roading resumes at the Thom B Trail Runs in May 2019. Next up is the Turkey Trot Prediction Run on — you guessed it — Thanksgiving morning. Then, stay tuned for the Winter Track Series and Winter Chill 5k series in January.
Happy trails!
Pete Kresock