(Granite Falls, WA - November 11, 2000) The Y2K edition of the Ron Herzog Memorial 50k has been completed. November
in the Pacific northwest is notorious for rain and cool temperatures, but race
day found the weather clear and cold. A check of temperatures in near-by
Granite Falls indicated a brisk 21 degrees. Twenty seven runners braved the
temperatures and enjoyed the best running conditions in several years.
With November's typical weather, no T, no awards, and one aid station at
about 15 miles, the Ron Herzog event is known for attracting the hard-core
runners in the area. This was true again for 2000. Cheri Gillis and Karen King
were running after having finished a rim to rim to rim crossing of the Grand
Canyon the prior weekend. Ian Torrence was out and about one week after his
fine finish at JFK. I wouldn't be surprised to learn of other similar stories
from other entrants.
After a short trail briefing by Chris Ralph and Tom Ripley, Chris said
"Go" and we all went. Ian and Rob Lang immediately went to the lead
position, where they ran together for the entire race. Karen King, Kevin
Palaski, Randy Gherke and I paced along just behind them for the first couple
of miles until we started up some more significant hills and then Ian and Rob
disappeared. For the next few miles our group of four hung more or less
together until Randy dropped off the pace a bit and then we were three. Most
of this race is on active logging roads, and the road side view changes year
to year with new clear-cuts and re-growth. Also, with the low temperatures,
the normally forgiving gravel surface was frozen to a consistency closer to
concrete.
My mileage has been a bit off in the past few months, so my uphill pace was
a bit slower than Karen and Kevin. I would drop back on the ups and catch back
up on the downs. After a road intersection at about 8 miles, the trend was
mostly downhill and Kevin and I started to pull away from Karen. A little past
the 9 mile mark, we reached the entrance to the infamous tank trap section.
This roughly 4 mile section of the race is the only portion not on a logging
road or highway. Originally a logging spur, it has been abandoned for many
years and all culverts were removed, creating the road cuts (tank traps). True
to previous years, we went from the road to nearly crawling on hands and knees
to get under the brush at the entrance to the "trail". This year the
brush didn't seem as dense as previous years. Perhaps this impression was due
to the fact that most of the leaves had already fallen and the brush wasn't
soaking wet.
Kevin and I ran together through this four mile section and on to the aid
station at 15 miles. The tank traps were almost disappointing this year. After
about 2 miles, we encountered an ATV trail that made traversing the remaining
distance much easier. Our four-wheeling friends had also cleared out most of
the brush as well. Finally, the water level at the one stream crossing was low
enough that you could cross on rocks and not even get your feet wet. There
were a few areas of light snow, but nothing that impacted footing at all.
Just prior to the aid station I looked back and saw a runner coming hard. I
new we hadn't pushed too hard through the tank traps, but didn't know who was
in the race that would be gaining ground so quickly. This question was soon
answered when I recognized the runner as Jim Kirby. Jim had thought the race
started at 8:00 AM instead of 7:30 and had spotted the rest of the runners
nearly 15 minutes at the start. The three of us came into the aid station
together and refueled. Jim and Kevin left slightly ahead of me and started to
pull away almost immediately. It didn't take too long before I was left to run
on my own.
The rest of the race was relatively uneventful. No one passed me and I
didn't catch anyone along the roads back to the Mountain Loop Highway. The
last 2+ miles of the run are along the scenic Mountain Loop Highway, back to
the parking area we started from. From the point you get on the highway until
you finish, there is a total elevation loss of over 400 feet. If you have the
legs left, you can really cruise. I felt pretty good until about ¼ mile prior
to the finish where my calves decided to lock up. Tough to run when you can't
bend your ankle, so I had to stop and stretch for a moment, then off to the
finish.
I was please to have run a 12 minute PR for the course, finishing 5th in
4:36:29.
Congratulations to Ian Torrence and Rob Lang who cruised to a 4:11:37
finish. Jim Kirby was gaining ground right to the finish, ending up third
overall in 4:15:00. Rob holds the course record at 4:06:43, so without his
late start, Jim would have set a new course record. Kevin stayed close,
finishing 4th in 4:17:46.
Karen King finished 6th overall with a strong 4:38:14. I am not certain,
but believe this is a new women's course record by nearly 30 minutes. Perhaps
someone else can confirm this.
The hot soup and munchies at the finish were very welcome as the
temperature never did get very warm. Congratulations to all who ran and thanks
again to Race Director Chris Ralph for putting on a fun event. The full race
results are presented below.
Ron Herzog Memorial 50K
Granite Falls, WA
November 11, 2000
Logging roads
27 starters
1. Rob Lang 4:11:37
Ian Torrence 4:11:37
3. Jim Kerby 4:15:00
4. Kevin Palaski 4:17:46
5. Kendal Kreft 4:36:29
6. Karen King 4:38:14
7. Greg Koenig 4:39:35
8. Michael Moser 4:50:06
9. Dave Dutton 4:51:07
10. Doug Beyerlein 5:02:12
11. Janet Stradhang 5:09:47
12. Randy Gherke 5:13:29
13. Donna Anderson 5:16:14
John Bauer 5:16:14
15. Jamshid Kajai 5:27:05
16. Steve Fredrickson 5:44:45
Fred Stafford 5:44:45
18. Jon McVitt 5:45:28
19. Andrew Flanagen 5:55:18
20. Stan Nakashima 5:58:12
21. Cheri Gillis 5:58:14
22. Charlie Crissman 6:07:13
23. Jonathan Kurth 6:11:08
Tom Ripley 6:11:08
25. Miller Meyer 6:13:58
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