Ten....More....Miles! Challenge

Similar to the One....More....Mile! Challenge that ran through the month of November and was won by Erik Barr of El Paso, TX, Mike Keller is putting on the Ten....More. ...Miles! Challenge.

The Premise: Each month in 2009 you have to increase your long run by 10 miles to stay in the challenge, starting with 10 miles in January. Runs done and posted by midnight (local) of the last day of the month.

The Entry: $10. All proceeds to charity, split (50/50) the same as the One Mile Challenge between the race decided charity and the winner's charity of choice. The One....More....Mile! Challenge winner also received a small prize package from Vertical Runner.

The Entrants: So far Don Baun, Ted Niemann, and Jeff Genova. How about we get some NEO Trail members to sign up (and win it for the club!!)? If you want an entry form just email Mike Keller at mailto:ultragomer@gmail..

New DVD - "The Distance of Truth"

The Badwater Ultramarathon and its participants is the focus of a new documentary on DVD called The Distance of Truth. Ferg Hawke is one of the runners featured in the amazing story. Ferg had been the runner-up in the 135-mile run across Death Valley and returned the year the documentary was filmed to see if he could claim the top spot.

Click Here to listen to a podcast featuring Ferg Hawke as he talks about the film, the race, and what makes people endure such an extreme event.

"The Distance of Truth" can be purchased at www.thedistanceoftruth.com

175 Mile Ragnar Relay

A new event will take place next May in the New York region, from Woodstock to the Bronx. Click here to visit the event website for more details.

One More Mile Challenge Wrap-Up

On November 1st, nine runners embarked on a charitable journey to give a little back to the world in the One.....More.....Mile! Challenge. Organized by NEO Trail member Mike Keller, the Challenge was a fairly simple (yet grueling) exercise of adding one more mile to the daily run each day until the last runner quit. So on Nov. 1 they all ran 1 mile, the 2nd - 2 miles and so on. With runners entered from 5 different states they pressed on day after day until they started dropping out.

With 9 runners and an entry fee of 20 dollars (all money to charity) they had raised 180 dollars. This was then augmented by a donation from Mohican Don Baun to 200 and then Mike and Josh Dillingham threw down the gauntlet that if anyone could make it out of November and make it an ultra, they would double the pot.

On November 29, two runners were still going, Ted Niemann of Columbus, OH and Erik Barr of El Paso, TX. Ted succumbed to shin splints on day 29 and Erik completed day 30, meaning he could pack it in, OR go for day 31 and double the charity pot. He made the ultra day and 400 dollars was split between two charities - Mercy Ministries of Fenton, MO and NAMI Hawaii. Ted was even interviewed by the Columbus NBC affiliate of Channel 4 and made it on the evening news. Erik also received a prize package supplied by the events sponsor Vertical Runner. This challenge will be run every November as long as there is interest and participation.

URINEO FA 50

The 3rd Annual URINEO FA 50 Miler took place today in Mill Creek Park (Youngstown, Ohio). This fun run, organized by the NEO Trail Club, starts at the Lily Pond parking lot and is run on an 8.3 mile loop that is primarily all trail. Click here for more info.

18 total runners showed up today, including the following NEO Trail members - Jim Harris, Frank Dwyer, Bob Combs, Eric Deutsch, Greg Murray, Brian Musick, Jeff Musick, Joe Novicky, Kim Love-Ottobre, Rich Vrboncic, Dave Peterman, Lloyd Thomas, and Bruce McIntosh.

MMT Lottery

Yesterday at 4:00 pm the 2009 MMT 100 lottery took place. NEO Trail members that were chosen to participate in next year's event are Roy Heger, Paul Lefelhocz, Brian Musick, and Lloyd Thomas. Those on the waitlist are Bob Combs, Bill Losey, and Dave Peterman.

Matt Carpenter wins North Face Challenge

Matt Carpenter, one of the best trail runners ever and still running strong at age 44, showed up yesterday at the North Face Challenge 50 mile championship in San Francisco and was able to hold off last year's winner, Uli Steidl, to win the top prize of $10,000 with a time of 6:49:36. Click here for complete results.

6th Annual Tecumseh Trail Marathon Race

This past Saturday, Nick Billock completed the 26.2 mile Tecumseh Trail Race in Yellowwood State Forest in Bloomington, IN. The course provides a scenic and challenging route in Morgan-Monroe and Yellowwood State Forests. A major portion of the Tecumseh Trail is used for the race with surfaces including wide fire roads, gravel, dirt, and paved roads with a total elevation gain of approximately 3500'. This was Nick's 23rd marathon finishing in 4hrs, 28 mins.

Nick's Race Report - Tecumseh Trail Marathon Home Page

MMT Entry Open

The Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 Mile Run entry process is now open. You will have a week to apply for the MMT lottery as of 8:20 Monday morning. There is no need to be the first to apply, but don't put it off and miss the boat. A few NEO Trail members have already signed up for the race.

MMT Entry Page - Applicants List - MMT Home Page

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from the N.E. Ohio Trail Club!

We should be very thankful to have such a great group of runners to spend time with. Hopefully everyone had fun at their local turkey trot... even if it was on pavement! =)

Slim Pickins FA

On Saturday the following NEO Trail members participated in this year's Slim Pickins FA run... From left to right: Dan Kuzma, Jim Harris, Brian Musick, Kim Love-Ottobre, Bob Combs, Les Martisko, Roy Heger, and Eric Deutsch

Run reports - Brian Musick - Kim Love-Ottobre - Jim Harris

Ultracentric 2008

Can't find the results for this year's Ultracentric yet but a few things have been mentioned on the Ultralist. The 48 hour race was won by Tony Mangan with 202 miles. John Geesler won the 24 hour with 124 miles and second was Dan Rose with 120 miles. Nikki Kimbal pulled out early as did Scott Jurek who reached 50 miles.

One... More... Mile! (Day 17)

Today is Day #17 of the One More Mile Challenge and there are still 6 runners trudging along out of the original 9, including N.E. Ohio Trail Club member Dave Peterman. So far each runner has logged 153 miles. To read the concept behind this run and the rules, click here.

Sleepy Hollow 12 Hour Rogaine

Tonight at midnight Mike Keller will be participating in the Sleepy Hollow 12 hour Rogaine orienteering event in Chillicothe, Ohio (Scioto Trail State Park). Following this event Mike will be posting a detailed report on his blog.

If you're not familiar with rogaining, it is a sport of long distance cross-country navigation, in which teams of two to five people visit as many checkpoints as they wish in a set time period. The traditional Rogaine is 24 hours in duration, however, there are also shorter events of 6,8 and 12 hours. Most rogainers are on foot and held in attractive bush and farmland locations, however, some events are held in metropolitan areas (Metrogaines), or on bikes (Cyclegaines).

The parts of the course you visit are entirely up to you and your team members. There are no set routes and you don’t have to spend the whole time on the course. You can return to the ‘hash house’ at any time for hot food and rest around the campfire, or sleep, before heading out again. Some competitive teams may cover 50km in a 12 hour event and even more in an event of 24 hours duration. However, the distance you travel is entirely up to you. The satisfaction comes in finding your way around the course according to the route you have chosen and navigating back to the finish within the time limit. For more information, check out the US Orienteering Federation website.

Run with Scissors Results

Click Here for complete results of the Run with Scissors Double Marathon & 60K which took place on October 26th.

NEO Trail Club members that participated were Dave Peterman, Rob Truscott, TJ Hawk, Paul Lefelhocz, Tanya Cady, Frank Dwyer, Michael Kazar, Ron Ross, and Bill Wagner.

The Ghost Town 38.5

Two NEO Trail Club members, Don Baun and Greg Murray, will be participating in The Ghost Town 38.5 mile race in Sierra County, New Mexico on January 18th. The course is run mostly on dirt roads and trails and features a 300-ft. elevation gain up a 1.3 mile hill. Click Here to view who's running the race.

Festivus Fat Ass 50K

The Festivus Fat Ass 50K will be held December 14th at 8:30 AM at the Worthington Hills Park in Worthington, OH (just north of Columbus). This is THE holiday run you've waited all year for, put on by the Columbus RoadRunners Club. The entire course follows the Olentangy Bike Path.

Pinhoti 100

Bill Losey will be participating in the first inaugural Pinhoti 100 trail run this weekend November 8th and 9th. The event starts in Heflin, AL on the Pinhoti single track trail and continues through the Talladega National Forest. The course will consist of 80.62 miles of single track trail, 16.98 miles of jeep road and 4.52 miles of pavement and will finish on the rubberized track in the Sylacauga High School Football Stadium.

Run Across America

Marshall Ulrich finished his trans continental run today at 7:10 PM. He broke the grand master’s as well as the master’s record. Marshall averaged 58 miles a day over the entire 3045 or so miles. That’s 58 miles every day for 52 and a half days. Equal to just over 116 marathons. To view his blog - click here.

Mountain Masochist 50 Miler

Yesterday, Nick Billock completed the grueling Mountain Masochist 50 Miler in 10:50:08. In its 26th year, this race has earned the reputation of being the "best trail races in the east" with 9200 ft of gain and 7200 ft of loss. Click here to view Nick's race report.

Winter Buckeye 50K Sold Out

The 2009 Winter Buckeye 50K has sold out. A Wait List will be taken based on the order the entries with payment were received. Post a message on the Vertical Runner message board to be added to the Wait List. Click Here to view a list of the entrants.

Lloyd breaks 3 hours!

Yesterday, Lloyd Thomas broke the 3 hour barrier at the 33rd Annual Marine Corps Marathon by running an overall time of 2:58:16. He will be posting a more detailed race report on his blog soon. To view race photos - click here.

Potomac Heritage 50K

Bob approaching an aid station

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Last Sunday (Oct. 19) Bob Combs and John DeWalt participated in the Potomac Heritage 50K Trail Run in Washington DC. This run is organized by the Virginia Happy Trails Club and allows runners the opportunity to receive bonus points for completing various tasks such as consuming doughnuts, anchovies, and spam, naming countries in a bizarre geography game, hula hooping, and other unreported tasks. This year bonus points were also awarded for various other things including volunteering in addition to running, getting very lost, but still going the distance, and giving the race director gifts. Click here for a report on the run, as well as results and photos.

Grindstone 100 Video

Jim Harris can be seen running 7 minutes and 22 seconds into this video which was taken at this year's Grindstone 100....

Born to Run

N.E. Ohio Trail Club member Dave Peterman was featured in today's Akron Beacon Journal. To read the article - click here.

Stone Steps 50K

Bill Losey finished the 6th Annual Stone Steps 50K in Cincinnati, Ohio with a time of 5:33:13. Click Here for complete results or download a spreadsheet with splits.

Presque Isle Endurance Classic

Brian Musick completed 60 miles during the 29th Annual Presque Isle Endurance Classic and finished in 6th place overall with a time of 11:49:06. Brian's Race Report - Brian's Splits - Complete Results - Event Website

Jim Grinds It Out

Jim Harris finished the 1st Annual Grindstone 100 Miler in 7th place overall with a time of 23:11:06. With over 23,000 ft. of elevation gain, this course is advertised as the "Toughest 100 miler east of the 100th meridian". Jim's Splits - Complete Results - Race Website