Oops, We Did it Again!

Not to take away anything from Britney's breakthrough song, but we Trail Nerds did a pretty decent job of kicking butt at the last XTerra series trail race on Saturday.
Caleb, of course, won the whole darn thing; he did this at the first series race, also.
Rick Mayo got 1st in his age group.
Good Ben got bronze in his age group.
And I, against all possible odds, got gold (again) in my age group...who'da thunk? (Having only 6 competitors in my age group really helped, though).

Trail Nerds Rock the Trails...Rekonize!

Race Report: 2006 Psycho Night 10K Trail Run

The first annual Psycho Night 10K Trail Run went off pretty well.

Thirty-one runners started (and finished) the moderately-hilly trail race at Wyandotte County Lake Park, Kansas City, KS. By "moderately hilly", I mean an Elevation Gain (ft) +1,865 / -1,865, for a total of 3730' Elevation Change for the 10-Kilometer, wheel-measured course. The hills, humidity, and 90-degree weather took their toll on some of the runners.

The race started in the light, but most runners were using a flashlight or headlamp by mile 4 or 5. The course consisted of an out and back with a loop at the far end. The loop was the wonderful "Wyandotte Triangle" single-track trail section from the infamous Psycho WyCo Run Toto Run.

First place was had by Caleb Chatfield, (26), of Mission, Kansas. He took it "easier" than he normally does because he's still recovering from a 50-Mile trail race that he won 2-weeks ago, in Minnesota. (He was ahead of the 2nd Place spot by over 22 minutes in that race, in an awesome 7-hours, 38-minutes). Bringing up 2nd place was veteran ultrarunner Kyle Amos, of Olathe, Kansas. He also took first place in the M30-39 division. He was also recovering from the same 50-mile trail race in Minnesota. There was a strong third place showing by a fast Adventure Racer named Devin Martin, (27). Greg Burger, of Lecompton, Kansas, always seems to take 4th-place in all of our "Trail Nerd" events, and this race was no exception. He even picked bib number "4" at registration. Rounding out the top five was Kati Gosnell, (26), our top female finisher. She was just visiting the Kansas City area, and decided to kick some trailrunner's butts while she was in town. The second and third place women, Jacque Jackson and Melanie Galyon, were both veterans of this course in February's Psycho WyCo race. One of them said that it had been easier this time without the ice, snow, and mud.

Nobody was injured during the race, but I fell down after the race chasing my grandson around a tree!

All of this fun was had for a measly 8-bucks! Three different shirts were available for purchase after the race. See you at the next trail race! Photos are at Dick Ross' Site.

Happy Trails,
Bad Ben

ORDER OF FINISH: 2006 Psycho Night 10K Trail Run
Finish Time Name M/F Age Age Grp
40.27 Chatfield Caleb M 26 M20-29
43.46 Amos Kyle M 31 M30-39
45.53 Martin Devin M 27 M20-29
46.16 Burger Greg M 39 M30-39
46.37 Gosnell Kati F 26 F20-29
48.57 Cowan Dave M 28 M20-29
50.58 Reeves Ben M 32 M30-39
51.32 Bevan Gabe M 33 M30-39
52.36 Jones Shane M 31 M30-39
53.43 Koester Mark M 26 M20-29
55.32 PinkowskiKevin M 30 M30-39
56.03 Jones Cody M 22 M20-29
56.28 Myers Steve M 22 M20-29
56.41 Sidwell Paul M 29 M20-29
57.46 Jackson Jacque F 39 F30-39
57.47 Galyon Melanie F 41 F40-49
58.47 Holmes Ben M 49 M40-49
59.05 Bunch Jeremy M 31 M30-39
59.21 Rickey Glenn M 53 M50-59
1.01.05 Cowan Brooke F 27 F20-29
1.02.21 Nance Jessica F 34 F30-39
1.03.15 Rohrer Matt M 34 M30-39
1.04.54 GonteskyJake M 28 M20-29
1.04.55 GonteskyKelly F 26 F20-29
1.06.02 Mayo Kristi F 27 F20-29
1.06.03 Mayo Rick M 27 M20-29
1.07.22 Carroll Scott M 34 M30-39
1.12.12 Lynn Gregg M 40 M40-49
1.20.24 Amos Stacy F 31 F30-39
1.25.28 Maresek Danny M 30 M30-39
1.25.29 Davis Matt M 37 M30-39

Age Group Finishers: 2006 Psycho Night 10K Trail Run:
Finish Time Name M/F Age Age Grp
46.37 Gosnell Kati F 26 F20-29
1.01.05 Cowan Brooke F 27 F20-29
1.04.55 GonteskyKelly F 26 F20-29
1.06.02 Mayo Kristi F 27 F20-29
57.46 Jackson Jacque F 39 F30-39
1.02.21 Nance Jessica F 34 F30-39
1.20.24 Amos Stacy F 31 F30-39
57.47 Galyon Melanie F 41 F40-49
40.27 Chatfield Caleb M 26 M20-29
45.53 Martin Devin M 27 M20-29
48.57 Cowan Dave M 28 M20-29
53.43 Koester Mark M 26 M20-29
56.03 Jones Cody M 22 M20-29
56.28 Myers Steve M 22 M20-29
56.41 Sidwell Paul M 29 M20-29
1.04.54 GonteskyJake M 28 M20-29
1.06.03 Mayo Rick M 27 M20-29
43.46 Amos Kyle M 31 M30-39
46.16 Burger Greg M 39 M30-39
50.58 Reeves Ben M 32 M30-39
51.32 Bevan Gabe M 33 M30-39
52.36 Jones Shane M 31 M30-39
55.32 PinkowskiKevin M 30 M30-39
59.05 Bunch Jeremy M 31 M30-39
1.03.15 Rohrer Matt M 34 M30-39
1.07.22 Carroll Scott M 34 M30-39
1.25.28 Maresek Danny M 30 M30-39
1.25.29 Davis Matt M 37 M30-39
58.47 Holmes Ben M 49 M40-49
1.12.12 Lynn Gregg M 40 M40-49
59.21 Rickey Glenn M 53 M50-59

Psycho Night 10K Trail Run on Friday, Aug 11th

Details for our upcoming night trail race.



08/11/2006 (Friday Night)
Psycho Night 10K Trail Run
A KC Trail Nerd Series Race *6 Points*
7:30 PM Start Time
Wyandotte County Lake Park (near the main ranger station)
3488 West Dr Kansas City, KS 66109-3565
Directions: East of I-435 and north of Leavenworth Rd./K-5 on north 91st St., Kansas City, Kansas, turn left after entering park, first parking lot on left. Mapquest Map.
A night trail run on rocky, rooty and hilly trails. Out-and-back course with one water station.
BRING A FLASHLIGHT OR HEADLAMP.
No sign-up prior to the start of the race.
A measly $8 entry fee, SHOW UP AND ENTER DAY OF RACE, ONLY
Anybody can enter this race and have fun!
Checks to: Kansas City Track Club
If you want a "Trail Series" or "Trail Nerd" shirt, it's only 8 bucks, also.
Contact: Bad Ben at 816-810-0440

Kansas City Area Trail Runners...Onward toward world domination!

Some of the Kansas City Area Trail Runners picked a couple of tough 50-milers to run in, last weekend. The pieces are finally falling into place regarding our "10-year plan" for "total world domination."

A whole whole pot-load of them went up to do the Minnesota Voyageur 50-Miler. Toe-ing the line on Saturday morning in Carlton, Minnesota were Kyle Amos, Caleb Chatfield, Matt Decker, Phil Sheridan, Paul Schoenlaub, and Stuart Johnson.

This out-and-back course has a brutal section called "Powerlines" that photos and descriptions can't give any justice to. It is a hilly enough course without this ominous section. Well, the Kansas and Missouri contingent decided to go up and kick some Minne-butt, and they did it with ruthless precision. (Ruth was injured and couldn't race). Both KUS and SLUGs ultrarunners' groups were represented well.

Caleb Chatfield, in his first Trail Fifty-miler (ever), won the whole bunch of bananas outright! His time was 7-hrs, 38-minutes and change. Paul had a great run with a 8:30 or so. Phil Sheridan put in a 8:54. Kyle took 15th overall with a 9:08. Matt and Stuart finished in around 10 and 11 hours, respectively. Kyle and Caleb, not content to sit on their laurels (in Minnesota), decided to drive back directly after the race. After all, it's only a 10-hour drive! See newspaper article.

Last weekend, two more of us Trail Nerds decided to do a decently-hilly 50-miler in the Pacific NW: Patrick P. and yours truly. We both flew out separately and showed up on race day to run in the Douglas Fir and Hemlock forests of Oregon. Namely, we decided to run in the PCT 50/50 "Scott McQueeney Memorial" Trail Race near Mount Hood, Oregon. Wow, there were mountains out there! (And we got to run over more than a few). I had a good 50-mile race with a finish time of 10-hours, 30-minutes and change, and Patrick cruised-in with a 10:39, after taking a wrong turn. We dun goood!

The race had some dusty parts to it, and the dust affected my asthma somewhat. The views on the trail were spectacular; I'll have to take a camera on the run, next time. I reached the 25-mile turnaround point (at Timberline Lodge) in 5:10:00. During the race, I had one rough 1-hour segment of time, but other than that I felt okay. I really love technical trail, and this race was part groomed trail and part single-track technical trail, with NO ROAD running!

One fun adventure during the run:
Just 4 miles from the finish, I was held up by a herd of cows and a large bull. They had swam across a small body of water to get onto the trail. The cows moved off-trail by me yelling at them, but the bull stood his ground. A runner caught up to me and asked me, "what if the bull charges?" I said, "I'm not worried, because I know I can outrun you!" He didn't find it amusing. I picked up a large stick and started thwacking it on the ground. It broke with a loud snap and the bull snorted, then took off up the mountain (and off of the trail) with his herd of cows and calves in tow. I wasn't too upset for the delay. It only took about 3 minutes off of my finish time and it was comic relief, so what the heck?

My son and wife flew out with me. We also got to visit with my Nephew who lives in Portland, and is my son's age. The three of us Boyz went to the Oregon Brewer's Festival and had a good time. The hard part was going to the festival on Thursday and Sunday, with a 50-mile race on Saturday. I let my liver recover on Friday, at least. It didn't seem to affect me and my race at all, but my Sunday "sampling" was negligible. I guess that after a 50-miler, I'm a lightweight when it comes to alcohol.

I go to Portland often, so I know the area very well. I won't go into more detail; just let it be known that we had a real blast out there!

While some of us were running 50-milers, Good Ben and Shane ended up winning another adventure race out at Smithville Lake! They are way ahead of every other team in the series points standings.