Just spent a couple of days in the Seattle area. Most of my time in the Pugent Sound region has been in the summer; and, I've always found it to be a most pleasant place to run. I've always heard about the winter gloom of the Pacific NW; but, not having been in the region during this time of year, I hadn't had first hand experience with the phenomenon.
But - I can now say - Been There Done That. Was suprised by a couple of things. First, it's amazing how quickly the gloom can set in and get you down. Two days and I was already feeling less than chipper.
Second, the rain and wetness is relentless. No hard or driving so much - just a constant drip and drizzle that never really goes away.
On the upside - the running retailers must love it. There is no way that you are getting buy with just one pair of shoes at a time. During this time of year - two or three pairs must always be needed in order to make sure that you have a dry pair.
I'm sure as with everyting - you adjust and adapt and learn to deal with the conditions. But, have to tell you that I'm happy to be back in Montana and our style of winter weather.
Just my two cents for the day.
See you on the roads, tracks and trails
The Muddy Buzzard
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Sunday, November 08, 2009
The Buzzard Wakes Up
Actually, haven't been asleep. Just seriously underestimated the amount of time that coaching high school cross county would take. With a couple of hours devoted to practice every day, writing schedules, tracking times & spits, and meet entries. Then, most weekends traveling to a meet. Turns out it takes a lot of time to take care of a bunch of unruly high school harriers.
But, now that the season is behind us - the Buzzard has some time to get caught up on things. First off, a few musings from recent activities.
Loved the mudfest that was the Montana Cup. For the first time in the meet's history mud was the dominant theme of the day. And, I loved it. Mud-caked legs, globs on your face and in your hair - ahhh, it was glorious. You could tell who had the fastest times by the size of the rooster tail running up their butt and back. (For me - little rooster tail equal slow time. But, hey, I was happy to have had enough back kick to at least get a bit of mud on the back of the jersey:-). Sometimes we just have to go with the little victories.)
The New York City Marathon was last week - three words about the race ............................................... Meb, Meb, Meb. Keflezghi is the first American to have won the race since Salazar in 1982. It was almost shocking to see him pull away from the best africans in the last couple of miles. Equally shocking was seeing the top 3 pull away from Paula Radcliffe in the final miles of the women's race.
Now, there are those that will say that Meb isn't a real American. That's he's just a transplanted African (Meb was born in Eritrea). I'm throwing the bull-shit flag on that one. There was a post on Let'sRun.com that perhaps sums it up best - basically it said that here is a family that left their war torn country in search of a better life for their children. If that isn't the American dream, then we've really lost our way (the post at this link: http://http://www.letsrun.com/2009/navyMeb1105.php )
Did anyone else see how Heidi Turner flew past Alexa Aragon at the Class AA state XC championhsips? It was a fantastically executed race by Turner. As were the team races by the entire Bozeman boys and girls teams. On the boys side, they were nowhere to be seen at the first mile. But, with 800 to go, the front of the field had been transformed to a sea of black and red. Kudos to the Hawh coaches and athletes.
Mike Asay and Gavin Owens are clearly the class of the HS boys distance runners. Both dominated the smaller divisions and would have definately been capable of winning at the A and AA levels.
Kelli Dennehy of Butte - there's a stud. She doesn't run a meet all year due to IT band issues. But, in spite of that, she still holds on for a solid third place at the state meet. Couldn't quite pull off the Alec Brekke miracle from a couple of years ago; but, still - pretty damn gutsy run.
Back to the Montana Cup - John Zombro and the Bozeman crew did a great job of putting on the event. Too bad we had some course and technical issues that wrecked havoc with the results. But, the race committee will take these snafus, use them as a learning tool and tighten up some rules and protocols to hopefully avoid this in future editions. But, in the end - the race met it's overall goal. It brought together the best runners in the state in a friendly, competitive environment.
That's probably it for now. The Buzzard's wings are tired after not having posted in so long. Need to get back in the grind and get my feathers used to hitting the keys again.
See you on the roads, tracks and trails.
The Muddy Buzzard
But, now that the season is behind us - the Buzzard has some time to get caught up on things. First off, a few musings from recent activities.
Loved the mudfest that was the Montana Cup. For the first time in the meet's history mud was the dominant theme of the day. And, I loved it. Mud-caked legs, globs on your face and in your hair - ahhh, it was glorious. You could tell who had the fastest times by the size of the rooster tail running up their butt and back. (For me - little rooster tail equal slow time. But, hey, I was happy to have had enough back kick to at least get a bit of mud on the back of the jersey:-). Sometimes we just have to go with the little victories.)
The New York City Marathon was last week - three words about the race ............................................... Meb, Meb, Meb. Keflezghi is the first American to have won the race since Salazar in 1982. It was almost shocking to see him pull away from the best africans in the last couple of miles. Equally shocking was seeing the top 3 pull away from Paula Radcliffe in the final miles of the women's race.
Now, there are those that will say that Meb isn't a real American. That's he's just a transplanted African (Meb was born in Eritrea). I'm throwing the bull-shit flag on that one. There was a post on Let'sRun.com that perhaps sums it up best - basically it said that here is a family that left their war torn country in search of a better life for their children. If that isn't the American dream, then we've really lost our way (the post at this link: http://http://www.letsrun.com/2009/navyMeb1105.php )
Did anyone else see how Heidi Turner flew past Alexa Aragon at the Class AA state XC championhsips? It was a fantastically executed race by Turner. As were the team races by the entire Bozeman boys and girls teams. On the boys side, they were nowhere to be seen at the first mile. But, with 800 to go, the front of the field had been transformed to a sea of black and red. Kudos to the Hawh coaches and athletes.
Mike Asay and Gavin Owens are clearly the class of the HS boys distance runners. Both dominated the smaller divisions and would have definately been capable of winning at the A and AA levels.
Kelli Dennehy of Butte - there's a stud. She doesn't run a meet all year due to IT band issues. But, in spite of that, she still holds on for a solid third place at the state meet. Couldn't quite pull off the Alec Brekke miracle from a couple of years ago; but, still - pretty damn gutsy run.
Back to the Montana Cup - John Zombro and the Bozeman crew did a great job of putting on the event. Too bad we had some course and technical issues that wrecked havoc with the results. But, the race committee will take these snafus, use them as a learning tool and tighten up some rules and protocols to hopefully avoid this in future editions. But, in the end - the race met it's overall goal. It brought together the best runners in the state in a friendly, competitive environment.
That's probably it for now. The Buzzard's wings are tired after not having posted in so long. Need to get back in the grind and get my feathers used to hitting the keys again.
See you on the roads, tracks and trails.
The Muddy Buzzard
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Quality Of Life and The Root Festival
The last couple of weekends have seen a few good races on opposite sides of the state.
In Billings on August 22nd was the Annual Quality of Life Run 5-Mile sponsored by the local realtors. The women's race was won by MSU-B trackster Lisa Minnehan in 31:45. Lisa comes to the sport a bit later than most; but, si making up for lost time. She had a great track season this spring and has run several really good road races this year.
2nd place went to Jen Reiter in 32:28. The masters winner (9th overall woman) was Lori Christiansen in 38:10.
The real racing was in the men's race. The normal favorite in a Billngs area race would be Alan King. But, returning to his hometown for a family visit was professional triathlete Lewis Elliot (now living in Phoenix). They went head to head and down to the wire, with Lewis getting a 12 second win (25:20 to 25:32). The top 5 were rounded out by Cody Englert (29:01), Mark Bolt (29:31) and Justice Mack (30:53). The top master runner was the head of the Running Ricardi clan. Running in the 50-59 age group, Nick Ricardi was 13th ovarll with his 33:03.
Continuing a season long trend of having fast and deep events, the race of the month goes to the Roots Festival 4-Mile in Missoula this last weekend (8/30/09). Here's the top 25; and, they pretty much speak for themselves. (Full results at www.runwildmissoula.com)
1 458 Hendrick, Duncan 23 20:30.49
2 937 Grant, Jimmy 31 20:53.33
3 599 Foote, Mike 25 21:23.14
4 453 Garbett, Seth 17 21:48.12
5 443 Drobeck, Audy 27 21:58.18
6 904 Dumke, Chuck 43 22:05.08
7 817 Leavens, Moses 24 22:17.85
8 520 Babcock, Courtney 37 22:54.07
9 229 Lerch, Meg 25 23:11.70
10 868 Ridesatthedoor, Sancho 18 23:16.37
11 891 Hunt, Nicole 39 23:18.36
12 896 Morley, Steve 41 23:20.67
13 431 Plumage, Kevin 40 23:24.37
14 516 Anderson, Erik 16 23:28.71
15 525 Braun, Jeff 45 23:32.13
16 457 Brosh, Allie 24 23:38.53
17 822 Williams, Benjamin 22 23:44.93
18 216 Huse, Sue 35 23:47.37
19 280 Lipp, Dean 48 23:57.05
20 852 Fruit, Brian 47 23:58.97
21 461 Oyler, Jared 29 24:03.43
22 894 Palen, Rye 35 24;23.48
23 857 Mary Thane 46 24:32.35
24 815 Welzer, Michael 25 24:36.66
25 844 Johnson, Jessica 28 24:46.44
20 under 24:00. Two under 21:00. 2 women in the top 10. Look at the number of masters men in the top 20. Man, it was fast.
The route is really set for fast times. The first 800 is flat. Then, there is some pretty solid climbing over the next 1K. But, once you crest the top of the hill above Greenough Park, you have a nice flat to slightly downhill section to recover. Then, the next 2.5 miles are pretty much gentle downhill. Just about the right grade to really let the legs fly. And plenty of shade to help keep the heat at bay. And, the last 800 is on flat downhill streets. Plus, there is a big field and lots of excitement in the area with the Roots Festival that weekend. So, all the pieces in place to be have some fast and furious fun.
And, now, we hit the fall season, XC and Montana Cup. Running and Racing is into super high gear. Looks like some fun is just around the corner.
See you on the roads, tracks and trails.
The Muddy Buzzard
In Billings on August 22nd was the Annual Quality of Life Run 5-Mile sponsored by the local realtors. The women's race was won by MSU-B trackster Lisa Minnehan in 31:45. Lisa comes to the sport a bit later than most; but, si making up for lost time. She had a great track season this spring and has run several really good road races this year.
2nd place went to Jen Reiter in 32:28. The masters winner (9th overall woman) was Lori Christiansen in 38:10.
The real racing was in the men's race. The normal favorite in a Billngs area race would be Alan King. But, returning to his hometown for a family visit was professional triathlete Lewis Elliot (now living in Phoenix). They went head to head and down to the wire, with Lewis getting a 12 second win (25:20 to 25:32). The top 5 were rounded out by Cody Englert (29:01), Mark Bolt (29:31) and Justice Mack (30:53). The top master runner was the head of the Running Ricardi clan. Running in the 50-59 age group, Nick Ricardi was 13th ovarll with his 33:03.
Continuing a season long trend of having fast and deep events, the race of the month goes to the Roots Festival 4-Mile in Missoula this last weekend (8/30/09). Here's the top 25; and, they pretty much speak for themselves. (Full results at www.runwildmissoula.com)
1 458 Hendrick, Duncan 23 20:30.49
2 937 Grant, Jimmy 31 20:53.33
3 599 Foote, Mike 25 21:23.14
4 453 Garbett, Seth 17 21:48.12
5 443 Drobeck, Audy 27 21:58.18
6 904 Dumke, Chuck 43 22:05.08
7 817 Leavens, Moses 24 22:17.85
8 520 Babcock, Courtney 37 22:54.07
9 229 Lerch, Meg 25 23:11.70
10 868 Ridesatthedoor, Sancho 18 23:16.37
11 891 Hunt, Nicole 39 23:18.36
12 896 Morley, Steve 41 23:20.67
13 431 Plumage, Kevin 40 23:24.37
14 516 Anderson, Erik 16 23:28.71
15 525 Braun, Jeff 45 23:32.13
16 457 Brosh, Allie 24 23:38.53
17 822 Williams, Benjamin 22 23:44.93
18 216 Huse, Sue 35 23:47.37
19 280 Lipp, Dean 48 23:57.05
20 852 Fruit, Brian 47 23:58.97
21 461 Oyler, Jared 29 24:03.43
22 894 Palen, Rye 35 24;23.48
23 857 Mary Thane 46 24:32.35
24 815 Welzer, Michael 25 24:36.66
25 844 Johnson, Jessica 28 24:46.44
20 under 24:00. Two under 21:00. 2 women in the top 10. Look at the number of masters men in the top 20. Man, it was fast.
The route is really set for fast times. The first 800 is flat. Then, there is some pretty solid climbing over the next 1K. But, once you crest the top of the hill above Greenough Park, you have a nice flat to slightly downhill section to recover. Then, the next 2.5 miles are pretty much gentle downhill. Just about the right grade to really let the legs fly. And plenty of shade to help keep the heat at bay. And, the last 800 is on flat downhill streets. Plus, there is a big field and lots of excitement in the area with the Roots Festival that weekend. So, all the pieces in place to be have some fast and furious fun.
And, now, we hit the fall season, XC and Montana Cup. Running and Racing is into super high gear. Looks like some fun is just around the corner.
See you on the roads, tracks and trails.
The Muddy Buzzard
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Bad Buzzard
The Buzzard has obviously not been good about staying on top of things the last couple of weeks. Lots going on and not much free time...................so, something had to give. And, unfortunately, that meant posting on the Muddy Buzzard has been on a leeetle bit of a hiatus. But, let's get caught up a bit.
To begin with, I've just finished up my first week as the head coach of the Plains H.S. Cross Country Teams (the Horseman and the Trotters (that's right ----- the Trotters. Perhaps one of the more unfortunate team names)) It's been a bit of an eye opener to deal with the HS psyche. So far, I don't have full boys or girls teams (4 and 2); but, we're hoping to pick up at least one boy so that we have a scoring team.
On the up side, I do have one boy (a sophomore) who made State in the Class B two mile as a freshman on some pretty marginal training. So, with some good training, I'm hopeful that we'll see some good things out of him.
On to the statewide scene. On the 15th I was at the Huckleberry Run 5K in Trout Creek. It was a decent race (won by Jacob Naegeli of Trout Creek, sophomore to be at Earlham College in 16:59., the Buzzard won the masters at 17:57) - but, the weather was the news of the day. So, here it was in mid-August. Usually the dog days of summer. Still plenty of time to be out on teh lake, hitting the pool and catching some rays. Well, not this year. Race time was in the high '40's. Conditions were great for racing (no wind, cloud cover, crisp); but, not expected at this time of year. Not prepared to see my breath during a summer run.
But, the big news of the last two weeks would have to be the Ridge Run in Bozeman (also on the 15th). The men were chasing the almost untouchable record time of 3:06:30 by Scott Creel in 2007. First this year was Chad Andersen of Bozeman in 3:35:42. Chad has won at least 3 time previously (1993, 1994, 1996). Pretty impressive to come back 13 years later and get win #4.
Rounding out the top 5 me were Dewey Peacock (3:41:37), Kevin Murphy (MSU alum, now in Seattle) in 3:41:53 (amazingly close 16 second split after 20 trail miles), Justin Prigge in 3:42:46 and Douglas Wadle in 3:50:26.
First Master man was the 2008 winner and 52-year old Kyle Klicker running a 3:58:08.
The women's race saw a new record set. And, it should come as no suprise that the winner and new record holder is ultra queen Nikki Kimball. Breaking her 2004 record by almost 10 minutes, Nikki's 3:43:49 outpaced second place by about 50 minutes. She also finished 5th overall in the race and her time was only the second time a woman has been under 4 hours in this event.
A great day on the ridge for all involved.
See you on the roads, tracks and trails.
The Muddy Buzzard
To begin with, I've just finished up my first week as the head coach of the Plains H.S. Cross Country Teams (the Horseman and the Trotters (that's right ----- the Trotters. Perhaps one of the more unfortunate team names)) It's been a bit of an eye opener to deal with the HS psyche. So far, I don't have full boys or girls teams (4 and 2); but, we're hoping to pick up at least one boy so that we have a scoring team.
On the up side, I do have one boy (a sophomore) who made State in the Class B two mile as a freshman on some pretty marginal training. So, with some good training, I'm hopeful that we'll see some good things out of him.
On to the statewide scene. On the 15th I was at the Huckleberry Run 5K in Trout Creek. It was a decent race (won by Jacob Naegeli of Trout Creek, sophomore to be at Earlham College in 16:59., the Buzzard won the masters at 17:57) - but, the weather was the news of the day. So, here it was in mid-August. Usually the dog days of summer. Still plenty of time to be out on teh lake, hitting the pool and catching some rays. Well, not this year. Race time was in the high '40's. Conditions were great for racing (no wind, cloud cover, crisp); but, not expected at this time of year. Not prepared to see my breath during a summer run.
But, the big news of the last two weeks would have to be the Ridge Run in Bozeman (also on the 15th). The men were chasing the almost untouchable record time of 3:06:30 by Scott Creel in 2007. First this year was Chad Andersen of Bozeman in 3:35:42. Chad has won at least 3 time previously (1993, 1994, 1996). Pretty impressive to come back 13 years later and get win #4.
Rounding out the top 5 me were Dewey Peacock (3:41:37), Kevin Murphy (MSU alum, now in Seattle) in 3:41:53 (amazingly close 16 second split after 20 trail miles), Justin Prigge in 3:42:46 and Douglas Wadle in 3:50:26.
First Master man was the 2008 winner and 52-year old Kyle Klicker running a 3:58:08.
The women's race saw a new record set. And, it should come as no suprise that the winner and new record holder is ultra queen Nikki Kimball. Breaking her 2004 record by almost 10 minutes, Nikki's 3:43:49 outpaced second place by about 50 minutes. She also finished 5th overall in the race and her time was only the second time a woman has been under 4 hours in this event.
A great day on the ridge for all involved.
See you on the roads, tracks and trails.
The Muddy Buzzard
Sunday, August 09, 2009
One That Flew Under The Buzzard
Forgot about this event - and apologize for not mentioning it sooner.
On July 26th, the Cheyenne Canon Mountain Race was held in Colorado Springs. The event was a selection race for the US Mountain Running Team that will compete in the world championships in Italy. The races were limited to 100 men and 100 women - with the men doing 12K and the women at 8K. With limited fields and the positions open on the US Team, both races were filled with trail studs.
And, Montana (and some with Montana connections) was duly represented.
On the mens' side, former Bozeman resident Tommy Manning was 7th overall in 50:24, just a bit over 3 minutes behind Tim Park's winning time of 47:13. In 13th was Ryan Hafer in 52:36. Ryan grew up in Colorado Springs, ran at Harvard, has family in Billings and would spend time in Billings during the summers. One of his first tail races was an XTerra event at Moonlight Basin.
Thomas Jodoin of Helena was 20th in 56:20. Great race against the big boys.
Trying to return to the team she made in 2006, Nicole Hunt of Deer Lodge also took to the high altitude trails. Megan Kimmel of CO took the win in 39:23. Although competitive, Nicole finished outside of the top 2 (which was required for team selection) and her 43:19 placed her 10th among the women.
See results at http://www.trailrunner.com/results/race_results/2009_cheyenne_canon_results.htm
All in all, I would say that the Big Sky boys and girls made their mark at this national leval event.
The Muddy Buzzard
On July 26th, the Cheyenne Canon Mountain Race was held in Colorado Springs. The event was a selection race for the US Mountain Running Team that will compete in the world championships in Italy. The races were limited to 100 men and 100 women - with the men doing 12K and the women at 8K. With limited fields and the positions open on the US Team, both races were filled with trail studs.
And, Montana (and some with Montana connections) was duly represented.
On the mens' side, former Bozeman resident Tommy Manning was 7th overall in 50:24, just a bit over 3 minutes behind Tim Park's winning time of 47:13. In 13th was Ryan Hafer in 52:36. Ryan grew up in Colorado Springs, ran at Harvard, has family in Billings and would spend time in Billings during the summers. One of his first tail races was an XTerra event at Moonlight Basin.
Thomas Jodoin of Helena was 20th in 56:20. Great race against the big boys.
Trying to return to the team she made in 2006, Nicole Hunt of Deer Lodge also took to the high altitude trails. Megan Kimmel of CO took the win in 39:23. Although competitive, Nicole finished outside of the top 2 (which was required for team selection) and her 43:19 placed her 10th among the women.
See results at http://www.trailrunner.com/results/race_results/2009_cheyenne_canon_results.htm
All in all, I would say that the Big Sky boys and girls made their mark at this national leval event.
The Muddy Buzzard
Kenworthy Does Ashland
Craig Kenworthy was doing a west coast trip a few weeks ago and figured out how to squeeze in a race. But, not just any race........................how about 5,600 feet of climb over 13.3 miles. Second only to Pikes Peak in vertical gain, the Mount Ashland Hill climb is in it's 32nd year of quad-busting, lung-searing, gut-puking fun.
With this area becoming a current hotbed of trail running activitiy, it's also a race that attracts some of the best of the US dirt and mud crowd - people like Erick Skaggs, Hal Koerner, Ian Torrence and Jenn Shelton. And, our very own Mr. Kenworthy.
Craig did the Big Sky proud with his 10th place overall (3rd place master) finish in 2:11:23.
See a good story in the local "rag" at http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090802/SPORTS/908020338
You can also see full results at http://www.mtashlandrun.com/results.html
I don't know. Makes a guy a bit nervous when someone from Bozeman is working so hard on big hill climbs like this. And, Bozeman is hosting the MT Cup. Does Craig know something that we don't about what the race course will be like this year? Ominous indeed!!!!
The Muddy Buzzard
With this area becoming a current hotbed of trail running activitiy, it's also a race that attracts some of the best of the US dirt and mud crowd - people like Erick Skaggs, Hal Koerner, Ian Torrence and Jenn Shelton. And, our very own Mr. Kenworthy.
Craig did the Big Sky proud with his 10th place overall (3rd place master) finish in 2:11:23.
See a good story in the local "rag" at http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090802/SPORTS/908020338
You can also see full results at http://www.mtashlandrun.com/results.html
I don't know. Makes a guy a bit nervous when someone from Bozeman is working so hard on big hill climbs like this. And, Bozeman is hosting the MT Cup. Does Craig know something that we don't about what the race course will be like this year? Ominous indeed!!!!
The Muddy Buzzard
Bozeman Classic
The 31st Annual running of the Bozeman Classic was held yesterday (for us old-schoolers it will forever be remembered as the Sweet Pea Run).
The most competitive race of the day was in the men's 5K with John Ricardi (new Idaho State grad) taking his 3rd win in a row with a 15:41.7. John grew up in the area (went to high school at Manhattan Christian (in addition to some time in Gardiner and Bozeman) and has been running the race since he was a little kid (I can always remember the "Runnin' Ricardis" showing up to this and other road races in the area starting back in the 90's).
John's time gave him a 5 second + win over Steve Hickman (15:46) with Kurt Michels another 5 seconds back in 15:51.
The first master's man was Kirk Keller of Three Forks. With some renewed spring in his step since he has turned 50, Kirk ran 17:58.7 and became the first over 50 runner to go sub-18:00 at this event.
On the women's side, Elisabeth Driscoll (Bozeman High and MSU grad) won in 18:01.4 (good for 12th overall). The time gave her a comfortable 61 second win over Heidi Fry-Johnson (19:02). Keeping the masters titles in the over 50 category, Priscilla Flesch-Birtic of Bozeman (58) took the top slot in 22:07.
The 10K wasn't quite as competitive. Dan Jackson of Bozeman took the win over Birch Haraden of Billings as their 34:04 and 34:50 were the only two sub-36:00 times of the day. Lindsey Evans of Bozeman took a 42 second win over Renee Graham (Azusa, CA) - 40:11 to 40:53. Ultra-goddess Nikki Kimball continues to work on a return to race sharpness and gathered a 4th place finish with her 41:26.
Masters crowns went to Scott Snedden of Billings in 37:23 (6th overall) and Kisa Francis (Wilson, WY) in 43:36.
See www.perfect-timing.org for full results. And the Chronicle had a nice story about the event at http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2009/08/09/sports/000classic.txt
See you on the roads, tracks and trails
The Muddy Buzzard
The most competitive race of the day was in the men's 5K with John Ricardi (new Idaho State grad) taking his 3rd win in a row with a 15:41.7. John grew up in the area (went to high school at Manhattan Christian (in addition to some time in Gardiner and Bozeman) and has been running the race since he was a little kid (I can always remember the "Runnin' Ricardis" showing up to this and other road races in the area starting back in the 90's).
John's time gave him a 5 second + win over Steve Hickman (15:46) with Kurt Michels another 5 seconds back in 15:51.
The first master's man was Kirk Keller of Three Forks. With some renewed spring in his step since he has turned 50, Kirk ran 17:58.7 and became the first over 50 runner to go sub-18:00 at this event.
On the women's side, Elisabeth Driscoll (Bozeman High and MSU grad) won in 18:01.4 (good for 12th overall). The time gave her a comfortable 61 second win over Heidi Fry-Johnson (19:02). Keeping the masters titles in the over 50 category, Priscilla Flesch-Birtic of Bozeman (58) took the top slot in 22:07.
The 10K wasn't quite as competitive. Dan Jackson of Bozeman took the win over Birch Haraden of Billings as their 34:04 and 34:50 were the only two sub-36:00 times of the day. Lindsey Evans of Bozeman took a 42 second win over Renee Graham (Azusa, CA) - 40:11 to 40:53. Ultra-goddess Nikki Kimball continues to work on a return to race sharpness and gathered a 4th place finish with her 41:26.
Masters crowns went to Scott Snedden of Billings in 37:23 (6th overall) and Kisa Francis (Wilson, WY) in 43:36.
See www.perfect-timing.org for full results. And the Chronicle had a nice story about the event at http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2009/08/09/sports/000classic.txt
See you on the roads, tracks and trails
The Muddy Buzzard
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