Slim Pickins' 2011 Results

Global Warming hit SP2011 hard this year.

Many were running in t-shirts and shorts.

We were worried when we saw quite a few hunters in the morning that this might have been the last SP on the Laurel Trail, but as the day wore on they all disappeared and it was just the NEOTC crowd and a handful of hikers left in the afternoon.

With the perfect weather conditions, Lloyd Thomas out at mile marker six with water and moral support, and the promise of a sweep by Kimba and Slim, there was no reason not to finish the Gate28X2 distance this year.

We listed everyone below who participated this year, if you don't like the comments, complain to Management.

Here are the results from the day's activities.

Cam Baker - 7:35:56 New OP50K FKT
Rich Vrboncic - 9:13 Despite perfect conditions, this was Rich's slowest time ever for this course
Chris D - 9:25 Web footed aquatics expert aces NEOTC debute
King Lefelhocz - 10:38 "Fairly Normal" event for the King
Kimba Love*Ottobre - 9:55 Earns * for first Female ever to finish OP50K
Jim Harris - 9:55 Kept looking for excuses to get more trail time
Jeff Musick - 11:12 DQ for leaving equipment on course
Brian Musick - 11:12 DQ for leaving equipment on course

Now on to the DNFs for the day.
Eric Deutsch - 22 miles Couldn't get finish despite bringing friend to hold his hand
Bill Thompson - 22 miles Followed Deutsch to DNF
Jamie Musick - 22 miles Couldn't chick the Musick Boyzzz
Chrsi Kalie - 22 miles Only Ultra Runner who never heard of Dean Karnazes
Bruce McMoose - 16+ Couldn't get what he wanted, but got what he needed
Wild Bill - 16 miles That's all he had
Tara S - 16 miles Pep talk by Slim bounced off her and stuck to Slim
Eric Harris - 16 miles Decided couch time was better than trail time
Allison Holko - 14 miles Should have stayed on trail instead of watching her team lose to Penn State
Rick Freeman - DNS Weather not epic enough to bother to show up

Special Kudos to LT for being an enabler for the day.

He hiked out to mile marker 6 with 200 ounces of water and spent the entire day lounging in the woods.
His effort for the day netted over 16 miles.
But his support for the day let Event Management rest easier knowing he was out there supporting the runners and for that we owe him our gratitude.

Plans are already under way for SP2012.
For those who participated, please feel free to offer suggestions for improvement.
For those who didn't make it to toe the line, your loss.

Changes to the qualification requirement for participation to Slim Pickins' will be different for next year.
Look to the SP web page for more details to be posted soon.

Slim Pickins 2011

Least epic weather ever led to 18 starters for the 6th Annual Slim Pickins.
The stated goal was the Ohiopyle 50K, also known as the "Gate to Eight x 2". (GATE28X2)
8 runners finished the OP 50K, more details to follow on that and more Slim Pickins chat.

Cam Baker, Kimba, and Baby Sasquatch Eric Harris.  Cam is coming down Big Hill at Mile 6, and Kimba and Eric are climbing it.

Allison about mile 7

Chris, her first time on the Laurel Highlands Trail

Jeff Musick, Kimba, Eric at the overlook around mile 7.5

Bruce McMoose Murray, Jeff, Kimba, Tara, and Wild Bill around mile 8

Jeff and Wild Bill at the turnaround.  You think they would be more happy.

The King-Paul Lefelhocz-and Slim

The Professor-Rich Vriboncic, and Slim, on the Big Hill (Mile 6)

The Musick Brothers-Brian and Jeff, on their way to Mile 8 for the second time

Rich Vriboncic

Pebble at the Overlook

It's Slim Pickins Time

Once upon a time, not so long ago, there were not that many ultra running events.
One of the oldest running events is the JFK 50 Mile Race.
The JFK 50 Mile was first held in the spring of 1963. It was one of numerous such 50 mile events held around the country as part of President John F. Kennedy's push to bring the country back to physical fitness.
When Kennedy was assassinated in November of 1963, most of these events were never held again. The JFK 50 Mile in Washington County, MD is the only original JFK 50 Mile Challenge event. The race is always held the weekend before Thanksgiving.

While many, many, many runners have run the JFK for years and years, others were not that enthralled at the course/race. But, for years and years, if you didn't run the JFK, there was no other choices.

Hence, "Slim Pickings" for the weekend before Thanksgiving.

But that was before NEO TC. This weekend became Slim Pickins, where runners assembled over a loosely orgainized plan to run miles somewhere on the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail.

The first year was 2006.
First year of SP was a target of a FA 100.

Following were present.

Bob Combs
Jim Harris
Mike Dobies (did not run as he was sick)
John Dewalt
Brad Compton from Indiana (who hit a deer on his way home and caused considerable damage to his vehicle)
We started at Seven Springs and went to mile marker 1, and then turned around to head back to Seven Springs for the first 50.

We all quit at that point except for John Dewalt, who was pissed that we all quit.
(Johnnie D quit too.)


One of the "Snow Years" on the Laurel Highlands. 2007:

This was an epic, backwards run on the Laurel Highlands Trail, starting at mile 71 and running to Ohiopyle.

Four completed the entire LHHT: Roy Heger, Tanya Cady, Jim Harris, and Brian Musick.

2008 was another snow year:

2008 was the double marathon from Ohiopyle to Seven Springs and back, which no one completed.

Global warming occurred in the late 00's, leaving us with much less epic weather for the 2009 Slim Pickings.

2009 was the 100K from Route 31 down to Ohiopyle and back. Several made the round trip: Jim Harris, Bob Combs, Cam Baker, Mike Dobies, and Brian Musick. Cam, Mike, and Brian also added some extra miles, proving you can get lost on the LHHT.

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The LHHT bridge was removed in 2009, prompting a change in our Slim Pickings plan for 2010. We elected to run on the north side of the LHHT for 2010.

We had the best staging area for the 2010 Slim Pickins. This year, cabins were rented in Linn Run State Park, just a few miles from Donegal, PA. This is on the north side of the PA Turnpike.


 




The Pennyslvania Game Commission neglected to consult with NEO TC before they changed their hunting dates for 2010.  We found ourselves in the woods on opening day of Bear Season in Pennyslvania in 2010:







All turned out well, no casualties were noted.

This year's Slim Pickings is being staged out of Ohiopyle.  This is the epic Ohiopyle 50K.  
The double out and back. 7400 feet of elevation gain.  Sounds easy on paper, less so on those hills at mile 5 and 3.


Slim Pickings The Western Version

Our brothers out west are also running Slim Pickings.  Their version is called the Vertical Monster Fat Ass, and Shubi is calculating 10175 elevation gain.

So it appears to be an awesome weekend of running with friends!

Bills' BadAss

NEO TC member Wild Bill Wagoner is half of the Bill Team that has organized and directed the Bills BAFA for the last two years. The other Bill is Chef Bill Bailey.

Once again, the Bills had a 'soldout' BA, with many local runners achieving their BadAss status on November 12.

NEO TC runners achieving BA status were:

Dave Peterman 5.57
Dan Bellinger 6.23
Kurt Osadchuck 6.27
Roy Heger 6.36
Tara Schweitzer 6.49
Brian Musick 7.11
Mark Anson 7.21
Chris Kalie 7.47

Thank you to the Bills for another quality running event in the woods!

Lottery Season

It's almost that most wonderful time of the year..lottery season, for upcoming ultra races.

The Western States Endurance Run Lottery is open until November 26. Make sure you have run one of the qualifiers on the List. The WS$R lottery will be drawn Saturday, December 10. The WS$R is June 23, 2012.

The Hardrock 100 is accepting applications to the lottery until November 30. The Hardrock lottery is December 4. Hardrock also requires a qualifier, and their standards are more strict than the WS$R. The Hardrock 100 will be held on July 13.

The east coast race, the Massanutten Mountain Trail 100 Run, is held May 12.
The lottery for MMT opens December 1st and closes December 7. Numbers for the lottery will be determined by the last numbers of the Dow Jones closure on December 8. Full details here.

Good luck!!

Weekend Racing Recap

There are still racing going on despite the shorter days of November.

Nick  did not waste any time after his splashdown back in the States by participating in the "Stomp the Grapes" 1/2 Marathon with his wife, Marjie.  They finished in 2.39.

A few NEO TC members went south, to Burr Oak State Park, for what may be the last Bob Cat Marathon.  The Burr Oak State Park Lodge will be closing down due to financial difficulties.  This trail marathon runs more like an ultra.

 Ron Ross finished the race in 4.55.

 Brandon Russell was not far behind in 4.59.

Courtney Russell must have let Brandon get ahead of her.  She finished in 5.03


And what did the King do, one weekend after his Double Marathon at Run With Scissors?

Run another 100 mile race, of course!

Paul Lefelhocz finished the Pinhoti 100 Trail Run in 28.50!   Congratulations Paul!  Rumor is that Paul now has (unofficially) 1085 Raced Miles for 2011.

Welcome Home Nick Billock!!

Welcome home Nick !!!

Thank you for your service.

Nick and Marjorie at Mill Creek Park

We look forward to sharing trail time with you soon.

Run With Scissors Double Marathon Race Report

By Todd Hanks

   I spent Saturday afternoon watching Cross Country Regionals in Boardman and wondered how they were running in that muck. Knew We’d be running in some mud at Run With Scissors the next day but had no idea what we were in for.

        I had one goal for RWS. Finish.

Picked up Jonathan “Scooby” Bolha in the wee hours of Sunday morning and headed to CVNP. He is a sub-3 hour marathoner who I somehow inspired to do RWS. This would be his first ultra and first trail race. 

Roy gave his pre-race spiel about course markings, staying off the road and dealing with horses and it was time to go. Clear and cold, about freezing, morning. Perfect race conditions. Started right at 5 and shot off into the night. Trip to Pine Hollow was pretty uneventful with some muddy spots but not too bad.

After Pine Hollow was a different story. Running beside the parking lots started the fun. As you got closer to the access between fields you would slide down the small inclines and then force through ankle deep slop. Maybe 4 spots like that until the Wetmore Trail. From there to Covered Bridge intermittent battles with shoe sucking tar pits. The fields before the farm were particularly bad. Many times my shoe started pulling off and filled with gruel. Bathroom after aid station was either closed or someone was reading a novel. Had to opt for some high weeds to take care of business. Plenty of leaves to use as TP. 

Perkins Loop was in good shape other than the last mile which got soupy. Guys book was called “Va-Voom” which was a nice attention grabber. Is it longer going from Covered Bridge to Pine Hollow? Damn that section takes forever. Wasn’t planning a shoe change, what’s the point, at turn around but socks or insert started balling up. Made Ledges Shelter in a little over 5 hours and changed shoes. Old ones felt like they weighed 10 lbs each. No thoughts at all of stopping and hit the second loop.

       Second loop started great. Hit Pine Hollow in just over an hour with almost dry feet and feeling good. Great run until mile 35-36 when left knee pain began on a steep decline. Ran/hobbled/walked until I saw someone on the bridge before the farm. Scooby was sitting on the guard rail. Said his feet hurt and was dropping. Got him to the Covered Bridge aid station and was on my merry way.

Reduced to a slow gimp and walking most of the way from here. Fell in a mud hole at some point, covered my water bottle and every time I took a drink it smelled like swamp. Solaced myself in the fact it was a beautiful day to be on the trails. Ran, some semblance of running, from the Overlook to the shelter and finished in 11:25. Woke Scooby up from a nap, had some of Bill’s fine grub, grabbed some candy for the road and we were off.  By the time I got home, I was pumped that I finished and ready to go a bit longer.

Run With Scissors Marathon and Double Marathon

NEO TC Members Shannon Fisher and Roy Heger are the Co-Directors of  Run With Scissors Marathon and Double Marathon, held October 30, 2011 in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

There were many NEO TC members who turned out to share a nice day in the parks. The trail conditions were less than stellar. The wettest fall in Cleveland history caught up to the runners who experienced mud, mud, and more mud.

Dave Peterman came in second in the Double Marathon, skating his way through the mud in 9.25.
Other NEO TC runners who completed the Double Marathon were:

Todd Hanks:11.26 This was Todd's first distance past a 50K. Congratulations Todd. Now you need to run a 50 mile course in less mud and see really how fast you could run it!

Ron Ross 12.13
Shannon Fisher 13.11
Paul Lefelhocz 13.41

Marathon Finishers at RWS were:

Courtney Russell 5.17
Brandon Russell 5.17
Christine Tokarz 5.17
Roy Heger 5.34
Bill Wagner 5.36
Tara Schweitzer 5.43
TJ Hawk* 6.17
Kim Love-Ottobre* 6.42
Mike Halkovich* 7.00
Cyrus Taylor* 7.38

* were runners that started the Double, then decided they had enough of the mud and stopped after one marathon. Roy's race allowed credit for dropping down to the marathon distance.

Course was very well marked and great volunteers at the Aid Stations.  Other than too much mud, a great day in the CVNP!

Nu-Race Trail Run Report

Nu-Race Trail Run Race Report

By Allison Holko

Nu-Race Trail Run was held at Camp Nu-Hop on Saturday, October 29. Camp Nu-Hop is a summer camp for children with learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, and behavioral disorders; a portion of the proceeds from this trail run benefit the camp.

This event had multiple distances for runners to choose from: 3.5 miles, 8 miles, 13.5 miles or 31 miles. I had been planning to do a training run at Mohican this same day, so it made sense to sign up for 13.5 miles as a training run.

The race started at 8am, and it was somewhat sunny and the temperature was just above freezing. I headed out with Rob Powell and a friend of his. The 13.5 mile course was out and back – for those familiar with Mohican, the course headed south along the western side of Pleasant Hill Lake, which had many hills; past Little Lyons Falls on more narrow and technical trail to the covered bridge; continuing south and uphill on the Hog Hollow trail, to the Fire Tower; then looping back in a northern direction on the mountain bike trail, full of hills and sharper turns to the covered bridge; then headed north again, past Little Lyons Falls, the lake and back to Camp Nu-Hop.

There were two aid stations on the course; at the covered bridge (which I ran past twice) and at the fire tower, both of which had water, Gatorade, bananas and quarter sections of peanut butter sandwiches. There were some muddy sections (particularly near the lake and on the mountain bike trail); wet leaves made some sections of the trail, especially downhill sections slippery; however, overall the conditions were good.
The course had plenty of hills which was the reason I had wanted to do a training run there on Saturday.

It had warmed up somewhat when I finished, and the camp had chili, beer, brownies, pastries, and fruit for every participant. The nice part about having this event start and finish at the camp was that afterwards, the runners could relax inside the heated lodge; it was good to catch up with Becky Connar, Rob, and also meet several new people.

It was a good training run for me, benefiting a good cause.

Eric Harris Advances to State CC Meet

Eric finished 11th over all at the Division 2 Boardman Regional to qualify to run at the National Trails course in Hebron, Ohio.

Number Nine-Stone Steps

Congrats to Billy Bob Losey.

He jetted back to Cincinnati, to complete his Ninth Stone Step 50K. Bill completed the race in 5:57:13.

Sad News

Dan Dunlap died on October 22, 2011 in an accident while cutting down a tree.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

His Intensity and Presence will be missed by all who knew him.


Below is a note from Bob Combs.

I was up in the High Country for the weekend and just finished a awesome run/hike of about 4 hours on Saturday.
When I got back to the room there was a voice message on my phone from a good friends (Dan Dunlap) ex wife.
I could tell by the tone in her voice that something very serious had happened. After calling her and leaving a message, she called me back.
Dan was killed instantly by a large falling tree branch. Dan had been working with a tree service company for many years, even when working a M-F full time he would work the tree service on the weekends.
Dan was always going 110 MPH.
Back in high school I knew of Dan from high school Cross Country, I ran for La Brae for 2 years, Dan ran for Py Valley. He was an All State runner in HS track and Cross Country.
Dan went to Ohio University and was an All American. Running 14:xx minutes for 5000.
I first met Dan when we worked together at a telecom company around 1998, we worked together and car pooled for about 2+ years. This is when Dan and I became friends. Golf outings, company dinners, good fun stuff.
We always kept in touch, never a quick phone call, we were both ramblers on the phone.
I remember when he called me to ask if I knew anything about some 50K trail run in Mill Creek Park. Of course I had him signed up within the week. Joined NEOTC as well. If we had more time I know I could have got him running his first 100, he was asking those questions.
Dan leaves behind a son in high school (Drew), I hope he lives and runs like his Dad!
I will miss you! My heart is heavy but my feet are light thinking of you.
Bob

Dyslexia Dash 5K

Congratulations to Race Director Courtney Russell for her successful Dyslexia Dash 5K Prediction Run, held Saturday, October 22.


“Prediction Run” awards and special prizes will be given to the ten runners who come closest to predicting their 5k finish time (regardless of age or gender) Runners will be asked to predict their finishing time when they register for the race. This race will be run without the benefit of watches, course timers or mile markers!

Over two hundred runners participated in this run.  NEO TC member  Lloyd Thomas had the fastest race time, a 5K in 18:17; but he did not win the race.  Lloyd predicted he would finish in 18:30; but ran a fast 18:17 instead. Lloyd ended up being 11th in the prediction run.


Brandon Russell came in third in the Prediction run, since he predicted he would run a 22:22, and ran a 22:25 5K, a difference of three seconds.




The next Dyslexia Dash 5K will be held October 21, 2012.  Thanks to all who participated.  This event will raise awareness for language-based learning differences such as dyslexia, and provide an opportunity for runners and walkers of all ability levels to have fun and compete on an even playing field. Proceeds benefit NOBIDA and Lawrence School.

Results are posted here:

The King Strikes Again

Paul Lefelhocz completed yet another race.  This time, it was the timed 12 Hour Event,   The Presque Isle Endurance Classic, October 15.  He came in second, with 53 miles.

Kurt Osadchuk also completed the race, with 50 miles under his belt.

Good going, guys! Way to rack those miles up!

Columbus Marathon

Congratulations to NEO TC Members that ran the Columbus Marathon Sunday.


Finishers were:

Dave Peterman 3.07.50  (smokin time!)

Ron Ross 3.26.06

Kevin Martin 3.26.33

Weekend Race Recap

Weekend Race Recap

There were numerous finishes at The Oil Creek Races held Oct 8 & 9th.

100 Mile Finishers:

Jim Harris 22.55
Eric Deutsch 24.14
Bob Combs 27.44
Brian Musick 31.11

100K Finishers

Cam Baker 12.35-also Cam was third place finisher! Nice work.
Mark Anson 16.38

50K Finishers

Chris Kalie 8.04
Gale Connor 9.18


The Towpath Marathon was also on October 9.  There were NEO TC members completing the marathon:

Ron Ross 3.30
Brandon Russell 3.50
Courtney Russell 4.01
Roy Heger 4.05
Mike Halkovich 4.42

Well done everyone!

Forget the PR 50K Registration for 2012 opens on Thursday, October 13th

The Forget the PR 50K race date will be April 15th, 2012.

Registration will open Thursday 10/13/2011 @ 6:00 AM.

More info here.

Rob Powell puts on a great race and the Mohican Trails are Great.

From river crossings to the four point climbs up Lyons Falls...

you don't want to miss this event.

Cam Baker at OC100K

Warning about this Blog Post...

It does not take much to amuse me.

Oil Creek 100K RD Tom Jennings knew that Cam Baker would be racing at Oil Creek this weekend.

So he had special signs made up to keep Cam on course while he ran the loops at Oil Creek State Park.

Any place that there would be chance for Cam to get off route, one of these signs were there to keep Cam from taking a wrong turn.

While I was out on the loop, everytime I saw one of these signs, I giggled to myself.

Ultra Weekend

The second weekend of October is a hotbed of ultra running.  There are three great races this weekend: The Oil Creek Ultra Series, Grindstone 100, and the West Virginia Trilogy.

Most NEO TC Members are staying closer to home and running Tom Jenning's fine event at Oil Creek.


Listed Starters for the 100 Mile Race:
Jim Harris
Bob Combs
Brian Musick
Roy Heger
Paul Lefelhocz
Eric Deutsch


100K Listed Starters:
Cam Baker
Mark Anson


50K Starters:
Chris Kalie
Gale Connor

Kimba is the only NEO TC Member to represent at the West Virginia Trilogy this year.

There are no NEO TC Runners listed for the Grindstone.  Too many races closer to home for that drive.

Best of luck to all runners, have fun on those trails!

Also NEOTC member Eric Harris will toe the line for a Cross Country Meet at the Stow Invitational.