Ozark Trails 100 Mile Run Signup

[k0og]

Hi-

The 100 mile Ozark Trails run is coming up in November and our club
will be manning the finish line/race HQ at Bass River Resort outside
of Steelville. If you are interested in helping provide emergency and
race traffic, we are looking for volunteer operators to run the
station from 6 am Saturday 11/7 until 6 pm Sunday 11/8. The shift
schedule link is attached and if you see an opening that you are
interested in, please let me know. I also need your shirt size as we
get shirts! The shifts are in 6 hour blocks with 2 people-
preferably hams, but if you have a friend that would like to help out
during your shift- great!

http://rrars.org/100mi09/100mirun_signup.html

Radios will be provided and since we are in a low elevation (aka hole)
it will require some prework from some of our best and brightest
hams...may need to crossband? I will also discuss the event and
answer questions at this month's Club Meeting (9/14 NOT 9/7.labor day)
at Pizza Inn.



Please let me know if you are interested in helping out...or if you
would prefer to run the 100 miles...

73 and thanks, Steve N6RHQ
573-341-3892
smi...@rollanet.org

[k0og]

THERE IS NEW NEWS on the Ozark Trails run- WE have MOVED locations
and schedule has changed slightly- we do not need to staff for full 36
hours.

Due to some recent reorganization of responsibilities, our club will
be staffing the Berryman Campground (Aid Station 11) vs the Bass'
River Resort HQ. We fully support the move of net control to Bass
River and from our communication testing today- we will need only a
low power mobile radio (5w) and antenna to hit the Viburnum/
Cherryville Repeater. The Repeater will be available for the event
and we will not need to execute plan b- a temporary repeater on
Johnson Mtn.

Gary KF0TW and Nathan KD0DMH- is there another open slot that you
would like? If so let me know. Any other operators who are
interested in helping, please let me know if there is a open time on
the schedule or if you are open to any 6 hour shift. Link to
schedule:

http://rrars.org/100mi09/100mirun_signup.html

Again, we have reserved a cabin down at the finish line (approx 20 min
by car) and our site is a campground (for your adventurers).
Unfortunately, no electricity, so we will sing Kumbya around the fire
and use batteries as much as possible, then generator.

I have enclosed a couple pictures- the Sullivan ARC van which will be
net control, and a picture of our site. Full directions on how to get
to the site will follow. (See the pictures at http://rrars.org/100mi09/berryman/
).

PLEASE let me know if you want to help out...it will be fun (and
perhaps cold). Anyone with a camper is encouraged to participate!

Thanks, Steve N6RHQ smi...@rollanet.org

[k0og]

Greetings,

Steve (N6RHQ) forwarded updated documents for the 100 Mile Run which
will be held Saturday & Sunday, 7 & 8 November 2009.

Please take a look at the latest shift schedule, and if you can fill
in one of the blanks by operating at that time, please contact Steve.
The schedule is at:

http://rrars.org/100mi09/100mirun_signup.html

Also, a detailed communications manual has been prepared by the event
Communications Committee, and is posted at:

http://rrars.org/100mi09/communication_manual/

This manual explains the communication procedures, and what kind of
traffic will be handled for the event. You might find it interesting
to read, even if you do not participate.

73,
Joe, K0OG
(On behalf of Steve, N6RHQ)

[k0og]

Greetings,

Steve (N6RHQ) sends the following message about the 100-Mile Run.

Please call Steve at the referenced phone numbers, or reply to Steve
at smiller<at>rollanet.org (replace the <at> with the "@" symbol for
the correct e-mail address).

=====
RRARS-

Thanks all for your support on the Ozark 100 race coming up soon on
November 7 and 8 (Sat and Sun). We have a fully crewed station at
Berryman 11 aid station. Detailed info will be sent to volunteers
this week.
*An additional request has come from Peggy for anyone who might be
available to ride with the Race Director and conduct mobile
operations. The shift most needed is the hoot owl- 10pm Sat to 6 am
Sun morning. She is asking all clubs to see if there is a brave
soul. SO...if you are looking for additional adventure in your life,
please contact me asap if you want to help with this assignment.

73

Steve
573-341-3892 (h)
573-859-5505 (w)
=====

[K0OG - Joe]

Greetings,

Steve (N6RHQ) has provided an updated schedule for volunteers to help
support the 100-Mile Run on 7 & 8 November (Sat. & Sun.).

The schedule is posted at: http://rrars.org/100mi09/100mirun_signup.html

The volunteer staff is minimally filled, but it would be nice to have
some additional people. If you wish to come help with the
communications support, or even just to "hang out" - please feel free
to do so. If you plan to come, please let Steve know - or just show
up if you find that you are available.

It's always a beautiful day in the Ozarks to be outdoors!

73,
-Joe-

[K0OG - Joe]

Greetings:

Paul Smith, one of the race directors, sent this message of thanks to
those who helped with the Ozark Trail 100-Mile Endurance Run last
weekend.

Everyone did an excellent job!

73,
-Joe-

Paul Smith wrote:
> Peggy
> "I would like to add my thanks also to you and all the radio operators. I could not have told that this was the first time many of these volunteers had done this type of event. You were ALL very professional and efficient. There was not a single instance where I needed information and you were not able to provide it. You all made my job much less stressful than it would have been without the communications we had from start to end." Race Director Paul

[K0OG - Joe]

Greetings,

I apologize for the poor formatting of the previous message - Google
fouled up the line wrapping!

Here it is again, hopefully easier to read.

73,
-Joe-

On Dec 4, 7:58 am, K0OG - Joe <coun...@rollanet.org> wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> Peggy sent the following Ozark Trail 100-Mile Endurance Run final
> report.
>
> Thanks to all who helped with communications support.
>
> 73,
> -Joe-
>
> =====


INAUGURAL OZARK TRAIL 100 MILE ENDURANCE RUN IN THE MARK TWAIN
NATIONAL FOREST

NOVEMBER 7& 8, 2009

RACE DIRECTOR’S REPORT By Paul Schoenlaub

Three years ago, on Thanksgiving weekend, I set out to explore a few
miles of the Ozark Trail in the Mark Twain National Forest in south-
central Missouri. I ran about 12 miles of the trail on Friday and
another 42 miles of the trail on Saturday. That weekend I fell in love
with the Ozark Trail and decided a race should be run on this rugged
trail to showcase the beautiful forest to ultra runners across the
country. One and one-half years later, Stuart Johnson came on board to
work with me to organize the first 100 mile ultra marathon in
Missouri, resulting in the birth of the Ozark Trail 100 Mile Endurance
Run. My dream was for a point-to-point race on this single track trail
in November, when the views through the predominately Oak forest
reveal the stark contrasts of the ruggedness of the terrain and the
structure of the majestic trees is simply striking.

Fast forward a little over a year. The US Forest service issued a
permit for the race and we began accepting entries in March 2009. I
was shocked at the support we received initially from ultra runners
across the Midwest. Soon after entries began coming in, it was clear
we had interest from across the nation and beyond. Then, in May, a
tremendous storm called a derecho struck south-central Missouri,
devastating a portion of the Mark Twain National Forest. Literally
thousands of trees were downed by the storm. The southern 50 miles of
the planned course for the Ozark Trail 100 Mile Endurance Run were
impassable. With the trail closed, the future of this inaugural event
was in question. Immediately, the Ozark Trail Association began
assessing the damage to the trail and organizing work parties. The
United States Forest Service contracted with professional crews to
begin clearing the trail within weeks. Before Labor Day, the trail was
re-opened and the entire original route we had planned was again
available for the race.

It seemed everything was falling in place nicely for a clear trail on
November 7. Then came the floods in the weeks before the race.
Relentless rainy days in the weeks leading up to the race left the
creeks and rivers swollen with floodwaters just two weeks before the
race. The weekend before the race, we found many of the water
crossings were again impassable due to additional heavy rains late
that week. Then, just one week before race day, the skies cleared,
allowing the creeks and rivers to drop back into their banks by the
Thursday before the race. Once again, the race appeared to be well on
its way to a successful introduction.

The race had an entry limit of 150 and, within a week of race day, we
had 144 runners signed up from 28 states, Canada, and Singapore. The
race had been well received. Now, if we could just pull this off, we
would have something worth talking about. Thanks to the United States
Forest Service for issuing the permit; the Ozark Trail Association for
building and maintaining miles of trail; several amateur radio clubs,
spearheaded by the Current River Amateur Radio Club, who provided
emergency communications for the race; our sponsors: the St. Louis
Ultrarunners Group for providing many eager volunteers to help with
the race, Hammer Nutrition and Salomon, for providing products and
other support for this event; and volunteers from across Missouri,
Kansas and Arkansas, who helped with so many different jobs to support
the runners throughout the race . . . we were able to provide a great
race that flowed very smoothly on race day.

I had planned for cool weather for months leading up to the race,
knowing well that we could have a warm autumn day with the
unpredictable weather of Missouri. So, for the inaugural running of
the Ozark Trail 100 Mile Endurance Run, we had . . . HEAT! Yes, we had
an unseasonably warm day with temperatures reaching into the upper
70’s. With the leaves down off the trees and full sun, participants
were left with some very warm conditions with which to contend.

At 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning, 126 runners showed up at the southern
end of the Karkaghne section of the Ozark Trail and took off under the
starlit early morning sky, heading for the finish line at the Bass
River Resort, 101.5 miles away. Not long after the race began, the
participants realized what we had attempted to convey in our pre-race
information about this trail: there are plenty of technical sections
on this trail covered with leaves from the predominately Oak Forest
the runners would be traversing for the next 18 to 32 hours.

The day began to heat up early and, by the time the runners made it to
Sutton Bluff aid station at mile 17.6, it had warmed into the 70’s. At
the 8 mile aid station, runners hardly needed to even top off their
water bottles, but most were filling completely empty bottles at
Sutton Bluff. Later in the day, the early November heat would begin to
take its toll on the field.

Jeff Browning had begun to pull a lead by Sutton Bluff. He was
followed 8 minutes later by Ben Creehan, David Wakefield, and Ryne
Melcher. Gregg Buehler and Michael Adams were just 5 minutes back and
the men’s race was beginning to take shape. Theresa Wheeler led the
women into Sutton Bluff, with Rachel Furman just 5 minutes back. Ellen
Erhardt, Jen Foster, and Jennifer Aradi were another 5, 6, and 7
minutes, respectively, behind Rachel.

As the sun continued to rise through the clear autumn sky, most
discovered how hot this November afternoon could be in central
Missouri with the leaves off the trees, allowing full contact between
the suns warm rays and the skin of the runners hour after hour.
Through the next few aid stations, in the heat of the day, Stuart
Johnson and I were visiting aid stations restocking them with
additional water and ice to quench the runners’ need for these
necessary elements. By the Brooks Creek aid station at mile 43.5, Jeff
Browning had continued to expand his lead on the men’s field and was
now on pace for a 17 hour finish. David Wakefield and Ryne Melcher had
moved into second and third place 54 minutes back. Michael Adams had
moved up to fourth place, another 12 minutes back, with Ben Creehan
just 3 minutes behind Michael. Kyle Gibbs had moved into sixth place
just a minute behind Ben. As these men moved through the aid station,
it became apparent that the difficulty of the trail was taking its
toll on the lead runners as Michael Adams flew through the aid station
with what was presumed to be a broken finger. He appeared to shrug it
off though as he flew through the race with the ailing finger taped to
the finger next to it, proving that you can finish an ultra with a
broken bone, so long as it’s not a running part.

The women’s race had taken a dramatic turn by Brooks Creek as leader
Theresa Wheeler had dropped to fourth place due to a knee injury,
which resulted in the demise of her race. Rachel Furman had moved into
first place and was pulling away from the field with a 30 minute lead
over second woman, Ellen Erhardt. Jennifer Aradi was in third, 8
minutes behind Ellen and the top 5 were rounded out by Theresa Wheeler
and Susan Donnelly, another 27 and 28 minutes back, respectively.
Lucia Alzaga had moved into sixth place another 23 minutes back.

Many of the runners began to recover from the days’ heat as the sun
set on them coming into Brooks Creek. Being the first year for this
race, I had made a decision to eliminate the first cutoff for the race
this year at the 28 mile aid station, which most runners hit in the
heat of the day. The second cutoff was at Brooks Creek. I had hopes
that many runners who were dragging themselves through heat would
recover in the evening hours and begin moving better. With this in
mind, the cutoff at Brooks Creek was extended by 30 minutes, allowing
only 2 additional runners to leave that aid station, neither of which
would finish the race. Back to the front of the pack. At Hazel Creek
aid station, mile 68.5, Jeff Browning had pulled a commanding 2 1⁄2
hour lead and it looked like nobody was going to be able to touch him
now. As the day cooled, he had appeared to pick up his pace and was
moving forward with impressive determination. Michael Adams had moved
up through the pack and was now in second place with his taped
fingers, followed closely by Kyle Gibbs four minutes back, who had
also danced through the rocks to move well up in the field. David
Wakefield and Ryne Melcher were now 23 minutes behind Kyle, but
appeared to still be joined at the hip. The big question of this race
was whether or not these two of the men’s leaders would stay together
through the entire race. Ben Creehan had dropped back 28 miles from
David and Ryne as the heat of the day had appeared to take its toll on
him.

Arriving at Hazel Creek, the women’s race had not appeared to change
at all as far as the placement of the ladies leaving Brooks Creek. In
the spirit of Jeff Browning’s example in the men’s field, Rachel
Furman had built a commanding 1 hour 50 minute lead on the women’s
field. Ellen Erhardt was holding on to second place, with Jennifer
Aradi hanging tight just 9 minutes back. Susan Donnelly had dropped an
hour back from Jennifer, with Lucia Alzaga yet another 43 minutes
back. Beth Simpson-Hall had now moved into sixth place just 10 minutes
behind Lucia.

The night running had brought with it a new discovery for most
runners. The rocks that were so difficult to avoid as they hid under
the blanket of leaves on the trail during the day seemed even more
difficult to see at night. This trail has a mysterious majesty at
night though, as the trail corridor opens before you, which makes the
might running a captivating experience.

Many runners arrived at the Berryman aid station, mile 81.5, under
cover of darkness, but just under half the field came into this aid
station near sunrise or later. The cutoff for the Hazel Creek aid
station had been extended by 45 minutes and, in like manner, so too
was the cutoff at the Berryman aid station. Extending the Hazel Creek
cutoff had allowed another 11 runners to continue their quest for the
Ozark Trail 100 belt buckle, 7 of which made it to the finish line
under the 32 hour cutoff. Extending the Berryman cutoff also allowed
11 runners to continue the race that otherwise would have been pulled.
Amazingly, 10 of these 11 runners made it to the finish line under the
32 hour cutoff. The only one who did not make it to the finish line of
these 11 was Lucia Alzaga, who ended up having to drop due to an
injury after an amazing race at her first attempt at a 100 mile race.

Oh, yea: back to the leaders at Berryman. By 8:33 in the evening, Jeff
Browning had increased his lead to well over 3 hours. He certainly was
untouchable. Michael Adams was solidly in second place, with the
twins, David Wakefield and Ryne Melcher, 30 minutes behind Michael.
Ben Creehan had seemed to begin to pull out of his mid-race funk and
was in fifth place, just 9 minutes back, and apparently closing on the
dynamic duo. Kyle Gibbs had dropped to a distant sixth place at an
additional 50 minutes back.

The women’s race was not changing much, with the exception of Lucia
Alzaga dropping back in the pack with her unfortunate injury. Rachel
Furman continued to expand her lead by what was now almost 2 1⁄2
hours. Ellen Erhardt and Jennifer Aradi came into Berryman at the same
time, while Susan Donnelly was solidly in fourth place. Beth Simpson-
Hall had closed to within 42 minutes of Susan as she moved into fifth
place. As Lucia dropped back, she came in another 36 minutes back with
Jen Foster.

The final 20 miles of the race had some great runable trail, as well
as more of the leaf covered rocks that had been the theme for the day.
The final few miles of trail that had been scheduled for completion
prior to the race were not quite finished due to weather during some
of the scheduled trail building weekends earlier this year, resulting
in the last 2 1⁄2 miles of the race finishing on a gravel road. I
think most runners welcomed this unanticipated road section in what
had been planned as a 100% trail race. Rest assured, the final section
of trail should be completed some time next spring. Jeff Browning came
across the finish line in 18:38:59, setting the course record for the
Ozark Trail 100 Mile Endurance Run and pulling an impressive 4 hour
and 20 minute lead over the next closest competitor. Shortly after
Jeff crossed the finish line, he commented that he was on pace for a
17 hour finish, but as night fell, he found the rocks, as difficult to
see as they were under the leaves during the day, became virtually
invisible under the leaves at night, thus slowing his pace
considerably. Still, he had quite an impressive race for this
inaugural event.

Rachel Furman had an impressive first hundred, finishing first and
setting the women’s record at 25:28:21, all while maintaining over a 2
hour lead over the nearest competitor. This was good enough for
seventh place overall. Ben Creehan had moved up through the men’s
field to finish in second place, while PoDog Vogler finished tenth
overall to capture the men’s masters’ title. David Wakefield and Ryne
Melcher rounded out the top 5 men finishing together, as they had
started the race. Kyle Gibbs hung on to finish solidly in sixth place.
Ellen Erhardt pulled a 20 minute lead over Jennifer Aradi to finish
second in the women’s race, while Susan Donnelly was able to hold on
to a 12 minute lead over Beth Simpson-Hall to take the women’s masters
honors. Susan and Beth rounded out the top 5 in the women’s race as
well, with Lynn Saari moving into sixth place by the end of the race.

Interestingly, the second place men’s masters runner was Dale
Humphrey, a 50 year old and the second place women’s masters runner
was Beth Simpson-Hall, a 51 year old. Way to go for a couple of
runners with a combined age of over 100 years between the two of them.

I was impressed with the performance of all the participants in this
race and very pleased with the many positive comments they have made
about the race. Even among those who were unable to finish the race,
many have already told me they plan to return to run the race again.

It is very noteworthy that 11 of the first 20 finishers completed
their first 100 mile race on the Ozark Trail. I find that impressive
and, although I would not suggest that this is a great first time 100
mile race, it is certainly achievable as these impressive athletes
have proven. Once again, among the first time 100 mile finishers was
the women’s champion, Rachel Furman.

There were many other impressive performances and valiant efforts by
some who were unable to finish. I admire the toughness of all those
who toed the line for this event and am impressed with what each and
every one of them was able to accomplish. Though the finishers rate
was a low 44%, I am impressed that there was little difference between
the finishers rate of veterans at the 100 mile distance and first
timers.

Thanks again to all the participants, volunteers, sponsors, the Ozark
Trail Association, and the National Forest Service for their parts in
helping to make this race a reality and achieving my primary goal of
showcasing Missouri’s Ozark Trail in the Mark Twain National Forest to
the ultrarunning community



OZARK TRAIL 100 MILE ENDURANCE RUN RESULTS

NOVEMBER 7, 2009

Name Age Sex State Time
1 Browning, Jeff 38 M OR 18:38:59
2 Creehan, Ben 33 M MO 22:59:18
3 Adams, Michael 39 M TX 23:23:22
4 Wakefield, David 35 M KS 23:45:00
5 Melcher, Ryne 30 M BC 23:45:00
6 Gibbs, Kyle 31 M MO 24:12:57
7 Furman, Rachel 26 F IL 25:28:21
8 Doias, Tommy 38 M MO 25:39:01
9 Alaimo, Ian 32 M MO 26:22:29
10 Vogler, PoDog 43 M AR 26:50:04
11 Erhardt, Ellen 38 F IL 27:29:32
12 Aradi, Jennifer 34 F IL 27:49:08
13 Kuhn, Brian 36 M IL 27:55:32
14 Barron, Claude 23 M VA 28:08:20
15 Catalano, Andrew 22 M NJ 28:08:20
16 Coleman, Jason 32 M MO 28:09:22
17 Gallup, Kent 38 M NC 28:10:47
18 Bishop, Brad 24 M MO 28:44:53
19 Wynne, Jamie 35 M MO 28:54:56
20 Humphrey, Dale 50 M MN 28:55:30
21 Yue, Mun Sang 36 M Singapore 29:03:41
22 Sona, Jeff 46 M MO 29:14:43
23 Walch. David 31 M