From owner-ultra@caligari.Dartmouth.EDU Sun Sep 8 20:47:24 1996 Date: Sun, 08 Sep 1996 20:42:17 +0100 From: Ron Nicholl To: "Ultra (Articles)" Subject: The "Eagle" 100 Miler, Full Report (Long) HAWKE wins the "EAGLE" The "Eagle" Canada's First 100 Mile Cross Country Run Apex Alpine Ski Area Penticton, B.C., Canada August 31-September 1, 1996 Trails, Logging & Mining Roads Finishers: 1. Ferg Hawke White Rock, BC 21:46:29 1st < 40 2. Alfred Bogenhuber San Mateo, CA 22:39:16 1st 50+ 3. Jim Swadling North Vancouver, BC 25:06:33 1st 40-49 4. Gene Thibeault Colfax, CA 25:06:33 2nd 50+ 5. Edith Bogenhuber San Mateo, CA 26:01:27 1st Woman 50+ 6. Gerry Van De Wint Surrey, BC 26:33:28 3rd 50+ 7. Lyle Lutton Chico, CA, 26:42:49 50+ 8. Sally Marcellus Delta, BC 26:44:50 1stWoman 40-49 9. Kristina Irvin Sarasota, CA 26:56:17 1st Woman < 40 10. Steven Burt Richland, WA 27:22:01 40-49 11. Bob Morrison Surrey, BC 27:53:48 < 40 12. Red Fisher Portland, OR 28:05:39 40-49 13. Max Welker Tacoma, WA 28:28:01 50+ 14. Chris Cole Temecula, CA 28:28:38 < 40 15. Bill Roehr Grass Valley, CA 28:43:30 50+ 16. Tom Brown Coquitlam, BC 29:24:22 40-49 17. Ron Nicholl Gig Harbour, WA 29:42:02 50+ 48 Starters Special mention should go to Max Welker, who did a sub 24:53:10 at Leadville one week earlier! Ferg Hawke, 38, of White Rock, B.C. won Canada's first 100 Miler with a time of 21:46:29. This was his first attempt at this distance. Ferg battled off Steve King and Steve Smucker before taking the lead at 64 miles. Alfred Bogenhuber, 55, San Mateo, California, ran a smooth steady race to finish second with a 22:39:16. Just to keep it in the family, Edith Bogenhuber, 51, San Mateo, California led the women with a 26:01:27. Edith took the women's lead like Ferg, at mile 64. Sally Marcellus, 42, Delta, B.C. claimed the second women's position with a 26:44:50. Hawke and Marcellus were the top Canadians in each division, while the Bogenhuber's took the family award. It was a real treat to have the race start and finish at a ski resort hotel. The race started right in front of the hotel at 3:59am. After three miles of ski resort roads the route entered 12 miles of abandoned logging road, now pretty much a trail due to tree growth. This portion of the course dropped from 6000' to 1500'. It was also in the last five miles of this section that there were 11 stream crossings. Three actually had log bridges to tip toe across but the rest were up to waist deep with swiftly moving water. All I could think about upon seeing the first log bridge, was one of my training partners back home. Frank would have turned around and gone the 13 miles back to the start, rather than proceed across such a narrow bridge. The streams were the highest they have been in ten years due to the late snow melt in central British Columbia. Hedley, a small town survivor of better gold mining days was our first major aid station. This town could have been transported right from the California Mother Lode country and no one would have known the difference. The Western States runners felt right at home. Just a few miles out of Hedley is the Similkameen River crossing. It was about twice as far across as Rucky Chucky at Western States and deeper. Some runners were in the water up to their shoulders. There was a line across to help guide the runners but the occasional extra stretch of the line added to the crossing fun. The next aid station, at the Ashnola River, was approximately ten miles down the Similkameen. This was essentially where our ascent began, up to the Quiniscoe Lake high country. Starting at 1500' the course topped out at 8100'. This was the end of the race for fifteen runners. The climb was very tough and unrelenting. Temperatures were in the 5-10 Centigrade range compared with the 37C one week earlier. The normally hotter temperatures would have made the climb even more uncomfortable. As it was, the 5-10C allowed the lead runners to see some snow flakes on the 8100' ridge. To add to the discomfort there was a 40 knot wind blowing over this treeless summit. Once clearing the high point, many runners, including myself, found out that a trail less area was just that. We were running (carefully) down the other side from rock cairn to rock cairn. I had envisioned a trail less area to mean terrain so clean that you didn't need a trail. Wrong again. The scenery and vista views were breathtaking but the running was slow. Picking up my flashlight at the Quiniscoe Aid Station at 3pm seemed a little funny but for safety sake, "OK I'll do it." I had used my flashlight for over 2 hours before getting back to the Ashnola River Aid Station. From the Ashnola River we retraced our steps back to the Similkameen River Crossing. The near full moon along the river made for a pleasant stroll through the night. The lead runners made it to the river crossing just as it was getting dark, while the rest of us got the immersion in the dark treatment. All the volunteers were great but Bryan Beel, in his wetsuit, stands out (pun not intended), in the middle of the river from 7pm until 5am. Bryan's help was very much appreciated since the river looked "really big" in the minimally lit darkness. We now had one hurdle left. Back up to the Apex Alpine Ski Resort Area at 6000.' The route was up the Nickel Plate mining road for 17 miles. If hypothermia didn't get you, insomnia would try. A number of runners reported doing some sleep walking. I found that a fanny pack makes a good pillow when you lay down in a gravel road for a five minute rest. Thank goodness for a pacer to make sure that those rests don't go over five minutes. The last 8 miles went up and behind the ski slopes. More climbing but reassuring in that one knew that there had to be some downhill since the lodge and start were now below us. It was sure a welcome sight to see the lodge. Finish line was right at the porch. A unique tradition was started, especially for me, since I was the last finisher. All the runners and guests in the lobby came out to see the last runner through the finish. The "Eagle," Canada's first 100 Mile Cross Country Run was definitely a success, not only to the 17 out of 48 runners that finished but to all who participated or volunteered. Those runners that had to drop out all felt that they had become victims of their own mistakes and a course much more difficult than they had planned upon. The success of the race can be measured by the community support, the volunteers that are already signing up for 1997, and the desire of the race director to do whatever he needs to improve the race. On behalf of all the runners, our hats are off to Maurice (Mo) Beaulieu (who was one of the 15 DNF's at Quiniscoe as well as the Race Director), Joe Marchand, Bob Hazell, Enzo Federico, Ken and Dawn Greenaway and countless other volunteers that made the "Eagle" a resounding success. The Canadian hospitality was outstanding. And to quote Gene Thibeault, "If, you have done the other Western 100 mile trail runs, you now have another adventure to undertake. Go for it!" I, for one, am looking forward to the "Eagle" in 1997. Ron Nicholl ronn@wolfenet.com