West Virginia Mountain Trail Runners

First ultra of 2009 anyone? No registration fee, no shirt, just two (or one if that’s all you want) 15.5 mile loops up and down the chilly hills of Kanawha State Forest. There will be aid consisting of water, Hammergel, and maybe a pretzel or chip at mile 5, mile 10, and 15.5. There will be a pot of hot soup at the finish to warm your bones.

Update…The WVMTR and North Face will be sponsoring the race this year.

More Information

The 7th Annual ACE New River Gorge-ous Trail Run (13.2 or 7.5m) Oct 25th will be the final event for the 2008 Mountain State Trail Run Series. ACE is a fantastic venue for the finale with nice camping, a scenic course run on well travelled trails and great post race atmosphere/food/beverage. Come for the race, stay for the weekend! The mens and womens series titles remain close enough to be contested on the 25th with many variables coming into play such as who races, what distance they run and whether or not the leaders have a good day on the New River trail system. Following awards for the ACE New River Gorge-ous Trail Run the MSTR Series awards ceremony will be held recognizing the overall series M/F champs/runners up,age group award recipients and those die hard runners that competed in all 7 series races. In closing I would like to thank Dan Lehman, Katie Wolpert and Ashley Dolin for assisting with the series during my time out of the area during the Helvetia Mtn Run and Mountwood Challenge. Your posts to the WVMTR website and updating series results were much appreciated. Hope to see many of the WVMTR members at ACE!

Robin Weiner, WVMTRer from Logan County, took First Place Women in the inaugural New River Trail 50k in Fries, NC this past Saturday. Congratulations girl! Below is her race report reprinted with permission.

Hi, Dan. Thanks for asking. You can check annettebednosky.blogspot.com for preliminary results. I had a good day and won with 4:29 (17th overall). 100 of 102 finished. The winning man ran 3:25…. Ideal weather conditions with a cool (lhigh 40’s), foggy morning start, a course that was mostly shaded beneath a canopy of trees and a sunshiney finish (low 70’s) beside the New River. Annette must be a detail-oriented person; every part of the race, from check-in to post-race activities, was well planned and executed without a hitch. The volunteers were enthusiastic, the aid stations were well stocked with a variety of foods (some home-baked) and the scenery was beautiful. We saw wild turkeys, water falls, quiet fishing ponds, walnuts the size of tennis balls (volunteers warned us to watch our footing) and met some fine folks biking and strolling along the trail. My award - a beautiful, hand-crafted pottery medalion - was one-of-a-kind. Annette did not spend her enthusiasm with race preparation….. She stood at the finish line, yelling accolades and jumping up and down for every participant that crossed, as if each of us was the most important person running that day. I have to give special thanks to Alan, who rode the course and crewed for me, and to Richard Kern, a comrade from North Carolina with a great sense of humor and a keen sense of pace… both kept me moving to a strong finish. This first-time event was as well-organized as any traditional event and as beautiful as any off-road run I’ve done….. the flat course was actually challenging (no excuse for walking here). I also appreciated Annette’s passion for a “green” event; we did, in fact, take our own bowls and spoons to the post-race meal…. the best chicken noodle soup I’ve ever tasted (truthfully). I would recommend this race to beginners and experienced runners alike.
RW

Preliminary Results   New River Trail 50k

While studiously doing my morning perusal of the news for work today, I came across this article from the Spartathlon over in Greecian-land. The 246 km race (152.52 miles for those imperially-inclined) has a 36 hour cut off. This article is no Scott Jurek, 20 hour story, but offers some interesting insight into the race and ultra running in general.

Perhaps you’ll enjoy reading it, only because of the similar memories it brings to your mind.

Article (http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/feedarticle/7847003)

Have a good one!