Kansas City Trail Nerds: May 2009

Monday, May 04, 2009

Operation Wyco Makeover, Phase One

We had a great work day Saturday at our first organized trail work day for "Operation Wyco - Xtreme Trail Makeover." 13 Trail Nerds showed up to cut, hack and whack a new route from Shelter 11 down to Wolcott Rd. For those of you who may not be familiar with that area, it is the gnarly, deeply rutted trail on the east side of the dam. We cleared nearly 1/2 mile of new trail that will eventually replace the current trail. Don't be alarmed, we didn't make it any easier. There is still the same amount of elevation change but it will utilize a series of switch backs that should withstand erosion and the wear and tear of horses much better.

John Bower, Deputy Director of the Parks and Recreations Department for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County, addressed the group before we got started. Mr. Bower mentioned that our efforts will help make the trails a better place for citizens and visitors alike to enjoy the beautiful park. He said that the Parks Department appreciated our efforts and would also be working on the trails with us as we continue to make improvements.

Fueled by Starbuck's coffee and donuts, the Nerds completed cutting in the new trail corridor by 11:30am. We even took a few breaks to swing from grape vines, chat it up a bit and search for elusive morrels (no truffles spotted). Now we are ready for all the bench cutting that is planned for June 6th's National Trails Day Event (see attached flyer). If you haven't worked out your schedule yet, there is still time to get it on your calendar. We will be announcing an official RSVP line for the June 6th event in the near future so that we can track all the responses.

Thanks to the following Nerds for logging over 52 hours of trail maintenance on Saturday:

Sam Kevern
Deb Johnson
Stuart Johnson
Pat Robinson
Brett Hodges
Brad Bishop
Scott Dillon
Steve Myers
Greg Burger
Beth Hilt
James Barker
Sophia Wharton

Photos & Video

We may try to plan another maintenance day before June 6th (possibly May 23). So keep your eyes open for the announcement. Trail work may make your arms sore but it will make your feet happier later......

Thanks, Jim

Jim Megerson
Mrheatmiser@mindspring.com

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Free State Trail Run

Well, what can we say? Weather-related issues can be an "issue" in Kansas. Luckily, the marathon was completely finished prior to the 5 sets of tornado sirens going off. Results are below. I'm sorry they took so long to get up.

The 40-mile and 100K Ultra Race results were problematic, due to the sirens, high-winds, heavy rain and confusion that started at about 10 hours and 30 minutes into the race. If you have any additions, submissions, confessions, questions or problems with them, please email me. Thanks.

2009 Trail Marathon Results v2

2009 40-Mile Results v2

2009 100K Results v2

Thanks for your understanding with the closure of the race prior to the stated time limit. There were impassible streams on the trail due to rains / flooding, and there were also high winds, lightning, and certain Park officials that told us to shutdown the race and hunker-down in shelters. One person (not in the race) was hit by lightning, just a short distance from the course.

We have the best volunteers in the world, and they worked extremely hard to make sure that everybody who could get off of the trails, safely did so. A special thanks goes to Phil Sheridan, for risking life & limb to sweep 10 miles of the course during the storm.

Thanks again for a great Free State Trail Run.

Happy trails,
Ben & Sophia

Photos:

Dick Ross' Photos (http://www.seekcrun.com/)
Action
Fun

Brad Trimble's Photos

2009 Race Reports:

Jim M. (Marathon)
Dr. Mark E Ott (2nd Place, Marathon)
Bobbie (40-Mile)
Mircea (40-Mile)
A Girl Named Sam (40-Mile)
John (40-Mile)
Adam (40-Mile)
Nick (40-Mile)
David Wakefield (40-Mile, First Place)
Coleen (100K)
Lee from Topeka (100K)
Dan (100K)
Gary (100K)
Trail Zombie (100K)

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