Subject: White River 50 Mile Trail Run, Results and Report Date: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 20:33:30 -0700 From: "Ron Nicholl" White River 50 Mile Trail Run Greenwater, Washington 7/24/99 (Trails, Logging Roads - 8,750' Elevation Gain) 1. Ian Torrence, 26, NV 6:48:23 ! 2. Steve Smucker, 45, OR 6:51:28 3. Scott Jurek, 25 6:54:51 4. James Kerby, 36 7:00:00 5. Nate McDowell, 27, OR 7:04:12 6. Dusty Olson, 26, OR 7:04:38 7. Paul Terry, 34 7:07:54 8. Scott Boettcher, 33 7:13:23 9. Mike Miller, 43 7:57:27 10. Jeff Tiegs, 29 8:08:20 11. Lindsay Elms, 41, BC 8:11:49 12. Murray Lancaster, 30 8:12:15 13. Curt Ringstad, 47, OR 8:18:25 14. Valerie Caldwell(F), 35, NM 8:19:11 ! 15. David Horton, 49, VA 8:22:19 16. Jason Moyer, 26, OR 8:41:50 17. Kendal Kreft, 40 8:47:38 18. Charles Thomas, 42 8:52:30 19. Rob Grant, 54, BC 9:03:27 20. Alex Swenson, 40, IL 9:06:37 21. Mark Bodamer, 40, OH 9:15:01 22. Doug McKeever, 51 9:15:11 23. Fred Stafford, 42 9:23:56 24. Ron Nicholl, 56 9:29:26 25. Rob Smith, 41, BC 9:41:18 Janet Green(F), 45, BC 9:41:18 27. John Bartley, 47, UT 9:41:36 28. Doug Beyerlein, 48 9:43:52 29. John Medinger, 48, CA 9:48:55 30. John Bauer, 57 9:51:25 31. Andy Witek, 45, CA 9:57:08 32. Pierce Cornelius, 68, OR 10:03:31 33. Max Welker, 57 10:05:16 34. Bill Close, 39 10:07:40 35. John Jones, 47, BC 10:08:35 36. Scott Krell, 39 10:13:50 37. Gail Snyder(F), 40, OR 10:15:48 38. Bob Maxwell, 49 10:15:49 39. Janet Stadshaug(F), 41 10:18:57 40. Dave Dutton, 42 10:21:31 41. Bob Dickinson, 44, CA 10:23:34 42. Rebecca Wallick(F), 42 10:24:14 43. Steven Burt, 48 10:32:04 44. Joe Dana, 63, OR 10:32:05 45. Leah Jurek(F), 23 10:36:37 46. James Gifford, 37 10:38:38 47. Charlie Hesse, 45, VA 10:38:58 48. Scott Diamond, 38, OR 10:41:34 49. Martin Miller, 43, MT 10:41:58 50. Mike Adams, 31 10:48:13 Mo Beaulieu, 54, BC 10:48:13 52. Bob Carpenter, 61, CA 10:50:15 53. Miller Myers, 60 10:59:06 54. Don Witek, 49 11:01:45 55. Gary Parcher, 52, OR 11:07:13 56. K. Schofer, 39, OR 11:07:47 57. Karen King(F), 42 11:22:30 58. Merrianne Brittain(F), 37, VA 11:33:28 59. Frank Fleetham, 56 11:44:38 60. Ellen Burnes(F), 31, OR 11:50:15 64 Starters; 60 Finishers; 94% Records were set at the seventh running of Washington State's premier 50 Mile trail run. Ian Torrence of Nevada set a new men's record by eight minutes with his 6:48:23. Valerie Caldwell from New Mexico's time of 8:19:11 shattered the women's record by almost 30 minutes. Never has the White River 50 Mile Trail Run had such a fast field. All three of the top male runners; Ian, Steve Smucker and Scott Jurek bettered Steve's 1995 course record and all three finished within 6 minutes of each other. It is even more remarkable that Ian and Scott are twenty years younger than Steve. Steve was not giving up his course record without a fight. At mile 16, after the out and back, the lead pack was incredibly tight. They were still all very close together as they went through the mile 25 aid station. It was after the 29 mile checkpoint that Ian opened up a lead. This portion of the course has a long climb up to Suntop Mountain, mile 35 and the 5,500' level. This is the high point of the second half of the course. In the final eight miles, Steve Smucker was closing in again on Ian, with Scott Jurek close behind to provide an incredibly fast finish. Valerie took the women's lead very early in the race and was never challenged as she seemingly glided through this challenging course. This was only the second time in the seven year history of the race that we were unable to see the breathtaking views of Mt. Rainier. As soon as we climbed above 500', right from the start, we were in the fog. The scenic vistas looking down on the White River valley from 2,000 feet were completely shrouded by the fog. The rocky vista overhangs looked especially stark as they dropped off into what seemed like an unending depth of gray. The fog and low-lying clouds persisted all day. At Suntop the drizzle turned into a light rain but as we dropped down the 7 mile road from the top, the precipitation turned back into drizzle and eventually returning to fog. The associated cool temperatures certainly made for good running conditions and were surely a help for the record-setting times. Due to the record winter snow pack and the late snow melt (It may not melt this year) the Corral Pass turnaround and aid station were moved to a corresponding point north of the usual location. This alternate route has some equally breathtaking scenery, which again we couldn't see through the fog. In the climb up to Suntop, there was more snow. A quick glance up one stream and I could have been convinced it was April not almost August. The amount of snow yet to melt in the Cascade Mountains is incredible for this time of the year. The race has developed a great team of volunteers that provided the runners with a very well marked trail, well equipped aid stations, great start/finish team and just an incredible number of support people. Thanks to Chris Ralph and Lynn-O'Malley Yarnall for the great organization and a very successful running of the 1999 White River 50. Ron Nicholl ronn@wolfenet.com ronn@gocougs.wsu.edu