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Run on the Sly Report
By Margie Lopez Read
Run On the Sly is the one and only trail 50-mile race in El Dorado County, California, and it is easy to see that the race directors and Search and Rescue teams have a good thing going. Barry and Lucinda Fisher have shown that, in their fourth year of directing Run On The Sly (including the year they learned at the hands of race founders Bob Read and Margie Lopez Read), they are masters at good race management. Together with the team of Robert and Linda Mathis, they have produced one of the best ultra running events in California.
Sly serves as a benefit for El Dorado Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, and offers runners a 50 Kilometer, 20-Mile and 8-Mile races, in addition to the rugged 50-mile ultra distance event. Although this multi-distance feature is a tricky one for race management, it provides a family-oriented feature that is unique to Run On The Sly. Everybody can come to Sly and take part in a distance of their choice. Family members no longer have to wait for all eternity for the loved ones to complete the 50 miler – they can hike the 8-mile or the 20-mile, and still be back in time to greet their ultra runner at the finish.
Sly takes place in Pollock Pines, California every Sunday of Labor Day weekend, as it has for the past eleven years. It is likely that the trend will continue, as the race popularity continues to grow. This year’s registration was one of the highest at 410 runners with 374 actually coming to the starting line. Participants came from as far away as Indiana, Florida and even France.
On this year, the 11th Annual Sly, the temperatures were hot, reaching the low-90’s in Pollock Pines. The drought conditions that are plaguing this southwestern part of the county have resulted in heavy dust on some parts of the trail, and low water levels at Jenkinson Lake. Nonetheless, a coolish breeze, the natural beauty of the area, and the enthusiasm of the many race volunteers, kept runners on the move. The net result was that a number of race records were broken – while this may sound dramatic, this was only the second time the new courses have been used and so all prior records were established last year.
Red Bluff resident Beverley Anderson-Abbs won the 50-mile event – beating all other competitors, including the men, with her time of 7:58:36. Additionally, she broke the 50-mile course record by more than ½ hour, and the woman’s record by 35 minutes. Last year’s defending champion, Julie Fingar, placed second with a time of 9:03:07. Beverly’s husband, Alan Abbs, took second place in this 2004 event with a champion’s time of 8:34:02.
As a side-note, Beverly Anderson-Abbs is a studly adventure racer who will be competing in the Subaru Primal Quest with her husband, Alan, and other team members in two weeks. It is obvious that both Beverly and Alan are in top shape for the event, and their winning times are evidence of that. As further proof, Anderson-Abbs has been walking away with first place finishes in every single race in the 2004 Ultrarunning Race Series sponsored by Fuel Belt, of which Run On the Sly is one. She also placed second in the recent White River 50-miler behind only Nikki Kimball, the winner of this year’s Western States 100.
Brad Lael broke the 50-kilometer course record, previously held by Mike Sweeney. His time of 4:19:03 trumped the record by 21 minutes and has a good chance of standing for a long time. But it was Florencia Gascon-Amyx who became the woman’s champion this year in 5:24:44.
In the 20-mile event with a time of 2:25:33, Kenny Brown was still ahead of the second place finisher by 16 minutes. The woman’s event has a new record, however, with Jen Pfeifer from Folsom smashing the prior course record in 2:48:48.
Finally, in the eight mile the male winner broke his own course records by about one minute, Mitch Deshields from San Rafael finished in 0:59:45. Darcy Lee took first place in the women’s event in 1:04:41.
If anyone went away unhappy after the Sly experience – the trail running, friendly aid stations, BBQ, music, and refreshing showers at the finish line, they failed to let us know. On the contrary, the complements and happy faces were plentiful. One example was Sue Kirt from the state of Washington who finished her very first Sly 50K event and was completely enthralled with the whole experience. As she laid on Bob Whitehead’s massage table after the race, she gushed about the marvelous, helpful, courteous Search and Rescue teams, Nordic Ski Patrol and other race volunteers and proclaimed that if anyone deserved a race award, it was they.
Congratulations to all of the Run On The Sly Participants, Search and Rescue teams, Barry and Lucinda Fisher, Robert and Linda Mathis, and everyone who did so much to make Sly such a heartwarming, rewarding experience for all.