The Wulfman's Fur Gets Wet

The only thing hot about yesterdays Wulfman's CDT 14K in Butte was the racing. The day started out cool and misty............................and things deteriorated from there. When I got to the bus pick up point at Homestake Pass off I-90, the car thermometer read 49 degrees. Then, the steady, drizzling rain got started in earnest and the temp began to drop. On the up side, once it hit 45 degrees or so it pretty much held steady and we didn't see any snow. (Hey, don't laugh - snow on the first day of summer isn't such a rare thing in Butte or the surrounding mountains!!!) The race's namesake (I think that John "The Wulfman" Wulf would have loved the conditions - cause all of us that grew up running in Butte know that weather like this makes you "Strong Like Bull") (BTW - the ghost of Wulfman was present on the course as evidenced by the empty Miller Lite can sitting trail side at about 3K - he must have been out keeping an eye on his people :-)

The organizers (The Butte Piss and Moan Runners) did a great job of pulling off the race. And, when you consider the conditions, their efforts were monumental. Some of the people that I saw working hard on race day included Ray and Nicole Hunt (man, they looked tired at the end of the day), Ray Matteson, Don Sundberg, Jim Ryan, Bruce Robinson and Eddie Walker. And, my old friend Jeff Thomas did a great job getting running out of the gate and doing the announcing at the awards. I know that there had to be others; but, wanted to give you an idea of how much the local running community came together to put on a great event for the rest of us.

And, I would be remiss if I didn't thank the Homestake Lodge for opening up their facilities to a bunch of cold, wet running freaks. They have a great facility located in a wonderful setting. Make sure you think of them the next time you're looking for a place to XC ski or snowshoe in southwest Montana (find out more about them at www.homestakelodge.com). And, as several of us discussed, it would be an outstanding location for a summer XC or running camp.

And now, on to the racing. The course was run (as it will be in all odd number years) from Pipestone Pass to Homestake pass along 14 Kilometers (8.70 miles) of the Continental Divide Trail. The first several kilometers are primarily uphill; but, then you get into some serious downhill sections in the middle part of the course. With the race being along the top of the Continental Divide, elevation is an issue (6,300' +-) and the thin air made it's presence felt on the more serious inclines.

The wet weather made the course conditions a bit treacherous in spots. Even the decomposed granite of the Boulder Batholith (the geology geeks among us will know what I'm talking about) couldn't quite keep up with the persistent rain. And, in some of the low spots, the mud was a bit slimy. And, the cool (but not quite cold temps) made it a challenge to choose the right clothing. (The Buzzard himself was wishing that he had gone to heavier gloves and a long sleeve jersey.) And, it was interesting to see the footwear choices. There were trail specific racing shoes, trail trainers, XC spikes, road flats and road trainers. You name it, somebody was probably wearing it. All thing being equal - if I had a good pair of trail racing shoes, that's what I would have worn on this course.

Due to the narrow trail conditions, it's necessary that this race be held in a staged, time trial type of format. With runners going out every 10 seconds starting at 9:00, it's not quite as clear cut as to who is actually running the fastest. The only thing for certain is that you're always trying to stay ahead of the folks who started behind you and trying to catch the runners who started ahead of you. (And, an interesting note on the tight switchbacks. Several times I found myself thinking that "that runner's not too far ahead, there they are right below/above me. But, by the time that you hit the corner and turn the opposite direction, it turns out that they have more distance on you than you thought.)

There were very few places on the course where you could really keep and maintain a good rhythm. All the terrain changes were one thing; but, the tight corners and switchbacks were crazy. At times, it felt like kamikaze running as you tried to maintain some semblance of speed and momentum as you cranked the turns. But, it was a quintessential trail race. And, when you have people who know the sport putting on a top quality race on a fantastic venue, the runners will show.

On the overall side, they almost met their 240 runner quota - I believe that they had 235 register and there were 217 actual finishers. To only have 18 runners not show up on a day like this is a testament to the depths of our obsession of outdoing the postal service. 92% of the runners duly made their rounds today.

On the front end racing side, it was sort of like a mini Montana Cup. The open men's and women's races had some of the top competitors in the sport as did the master's men.

Let's start with the open men. Matt Winter, Lynn Reynolds, Thomas Jodoin, Alan King, Keifer Hahn, Quint Gidley, Austin Chapin, Brian Weick, Mike Asay and Jeremy Franks. Those were the top 10 guys line up in the starting chute. If we could have added a few more guys like Jimmy Grant, Dewey Peacock and the Neil and Wirth brothers, we would have pretty much filled out the who's who of 2009 Montana racing. The studs took it out hard. They were in search of the $100 prize for a sub 56:00 time (4:00 per K). Matt Winter had the pole position; but, he indicated that after the first 8 or 9K his legs were empty and he just didn't have it in him to close out the race. Alan King has had a solid year; but, he's a roadie and hasn't done much trail racing. And, in spite of his prowess over the steeple barriers, Lynn Reynold's youth had to give way to the experience of the post-collegians.

In the end, it came down to a battle between Jodoin (who has been on fire this year) and Hahn. And, Thomas was pretty much able to keep the gap consistent between he and Keifer (TJ was out 20 seconds ahead of KH) and got the win - 56:29 t0 56:24. Next up were King (57:37), Reynolds (58:22) and Winter (58:38). [Quint Gidley joined them in the sub-60:00 club wit his 59:47 6th place finish.]

For the women, Nicole Hunt was on a Mission. Run fast and get the sub-66:00 bonus of $100. She went out hard and fast and wasn't to be denied. She had recently time trialed the course and new exactly how long it was going to take to get up and over the high point of the course. And, when she hit her time goal, she knew that she could crank it on the 2nd half and get the $$'s. Here 64:10 got her the bonus, an 11th place overall finish and a 3:00 + win over Kristina Trygstad-Saari (67:25). They were followed in by Michelle Bazanella (69:27), Marta Fisher (75:05) and Debbie Gibson (and first master woman) in 75:27.

The master's men's field was also loaded. New master Mike Telling, ageless Kirk Keller, John Herring, Ray Hunt, Marvin Speece, Mark Slater, Mike Roberts, Tim Dumas and Tony Banovich. In the end, there were really 2 races. Mike running against the open guys and then there was the rest of us. (Now, we do have to give some leeway to Ray who was really busy with the race coordination and Marv who had to take his wife to the ED for kidney stones.) Telling was well clear of the next master ( + 3:22) as he finished 7th overall in 60:36.

Then, things tightened up a bit. Kirk Keller (at 50) was 9th overall and 2nd Master at 63:58 and was followed by Herring (64:43), Speece (65:51), Hunt (67:17), Banovich (67:45), Slater (69:26) and Roberts (70:04). Not a bad showing for the old guys.


My only regrets for the day are that it's such a fantastic course and you can't really appreciate the setting or some of Ray's course quirks when you're in racing mode. But, I did notice the aforementioned Miller Lite can/ghost of Wulman past marker at 3K, Diamond Jim said howdy from the warming hut just around 12K and Suzie Kaluza in a Tech cheer leading outfit with a mile to go was Classic. And, although I missed it, Alan King said he received a scare from the trail monster.

All in all, it was a great day to be a runner. You won't get any pissing and moaning from this old buzzard.

See you on the roads, tracks and trails.

The Muddy Buzzard

Plains Day Follow Up

Just wanted to post the full results of the Plains Day 5K from June 6th.


PLAINS DAY 5K
June 6, 2009
Temp = 55º, Overcast, Mild Breeze
Loop Course, Total Climb = 225', Total Descent = 225', Net Elevation Difference = 0'

Place Name City Sex Age Time

1 Dennis Brands Missoula M 22 17:09
2 Jacob Naegeli Trout Creek M 19 18:10
3 Tony Banovich Plains M 46 19:04
4 Carter Montgomery Plains M 15 19:32
5 Austin Pullan Thompson Falls M 14 20:18
6 Ryan Archibald Bigfork M 27 22:06
7 Lucas Grewell Thompson Falls M 13 22:47
8 Morgan Allgood "Colorado Springs, CO" M 14 22:57
9 Logan Naegeli Trout Creek M 13 26:10
10 Michelle Yoshinaga Clinton F 36 26:13
11 Shauna West Plains F 23 27:24
12 Randy West Plains M 33 27:25
13 Molly Tingley Plains F 30 31:15
14 Rhonda LeClair Plains F 53 32:10
15 Shailyne Ames Plains F 12 32:10
16 Sarah Naegeli Trout Creek F 45 32:59
17 Zoe Banovich Plains F 16 33:17
18 Rory Grant Plains M 10 33:25
19 Erin McCarthy Plains F 46 33:27
20 Meghan McCarthy-Grant Plains F 37 33:55
21 Tammy Smith Somers F 42 35:51
22 Cole McCrea Plains M 8 37:16
23 Jim LeClair Plains M 49 37:17
24 Andrew Portzen Plains M 15 44:06
25 Austin Bladwin "Urbana, IL" M 12 44:09
26 Shephanie Keeney Kalispell F 37 51:38
27 Robert Ames Plains M 9 52:53
28 Teresa Ames Plains F 10 57:38
29 Donna Weyers Plains F 68 60:02

USATF Officials Certification Clinic

For those of you who can make it to Missoula this week and who are interested in USATF Officials Certification.


USATF Officials Certification Clinic

When: Thursday, June 18th, 3:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
Where: Sentinel High School, Missoula
Room: 227 (enter in front)
Cost: $15 plus USATF Membership fee
(if not already a member)

The Details:
Dennis Grue from Bozeman will be conducting the clinic to train Association and National level Officials for the current Olympiad through 2012. This is a great opportunity to learn the rules and regulations of the worlds greatest sport. Please call John Herring at 544-1742 to confirm your attendance or with any questions. You will need your USATF membership number prior to class.

Governor's Cup

The extravaganza known as the Governor's Cup took place this morning. New this year is that the events only included the 5K and 10K's. The 1/2 marathon, marathon and marathon relay will be held in conjunction with the Montana Marathon this September.

On the men's side, the race of the day was in the 10K. Thomas Jodoin continues his stellar season with a sub-33:00 10K. With his 32:53 he took a 9 second win over MSU Alum Kurt Michels. Just another 14 seconds back of Michels was Steve Hickman of Bozeman in 33:16 . 3 guys within 23 seconds of each other in a 10K in Montana - pretty exciting racing.

Then, there was a solid second-group race that was led by Greg Wirth of Helena in 36:07 followed by Brian Wieck in 36:29, and the Neil twins (Jake at 37:28 and Doug at 37:40).

9th overall was a Buzzard favorite and Montana Cup stud rick Judge in 37:54.

The men's masters race was tight with Chad Elkin (41) of Great Falls taking a 10 second win over 52-year old Kyle Kliker (P-burg) - 41:44 to 41:54.

The women's race was won by Genny Hanson of Helena in 40:38, getting the 20 second win over Kritina Trystad-Saari of Bozeman in 40:58.

Master's women winner was Debbie Gibson of Helena in 44:02.

In the 5K, Nicole Hunt of Deer Lodge continues her return to top level racing after the birth of son Eon Journey. Her 19:00 gave her a 37 second win over Heidi Johnson Fry of Bozeman. To top off their performances, they finished 8th and 9th overall, taking the measure of most of the men in the field. The overall master's winner (and 4th overall women and 17th overall total) was the ageless Butte wonder woman - Suzie Kaluza (21:01).

On the men's side, Michael Fisher of Ronan just missed a sub-16:00 time. But, his 16:04 gave him a 56 second win over Forrest Lewton of Cardwell (Whitehall metopolitan area). Trail ace Dewey Peacock of Bozeman was a close 3rd (17:10) and then came master's ace Peter Dan Sullivan. In one of his few forays into racing this year, PDS came home in 17:24. Rounding out the top 5 was teenager Michael Barker of East Helena in 17:46.

Full results can be found at http://www.racecenter.com/


The Muddy Buzzard

Plains Day 5K - Saturday, June 6th

Rain Or Shine – The Running’s Fine

In spite of early morning showers, 29 hearty soles (pun intended) toed the starting line for the annual Plains Day 5K Run. The run, which kicked of the days’ celebration of all things Plains, was held on streets in town and on the roads along the base of the “P” Hill.

Although a steady rain made course set up and registration a bit of a challenge, the skies decided to turn off the tap just minutes before the start of the run. And, with cool temps, overcast cast and just the slightest of breezes, the conditions were almost ideal for distance running.

And, no one made more of the conditions than recent U of M grad Dennis Brands. In town to visit his classmate, Valley Press reporter Matt Unrau, Brands took the win in 17:09. It was an outstanding time, when one considers the almost 200’ of climbing along Highway 28 and Hillview Road in the 2nd mile. In those first two miles, Brands ran in step with Trout Creek’s Jacob Naegeli. Using the speed he honed as a miler on the Grizzly track team, Brands let loose on the downhill 3rd mile and pulled away from Naegleli, winning by a margin of just over 1 minute.

Naegeli, who just finished his freshman year as the number one runner on the cross-country and track squads at Earlham College (Richmond, Indiana), is still working back to full fitness after a hip injury this spring. In spite of his lack of race sharpness, Naegeli still was almost a minute faster than Plains resident Tony Banovich (18:10 to 19:04).

Close behind Banovich was Plains’ Carter Montgomery (19:32), who recently finished an outstanding freshman year at Plains High School. Just one week ago, Montgomery was competing in the Class B State Track Meet in Kalispell. Rounding out the top 5 overall was Austin Pullan of Thompson Falls (20:18).

On the female side, Michelle Yoshinaga of Dixon decided to take in the Plains Day activities while visiting her parents in Thompson Falls. Running 26:13, she took first place honors in front of Shauna West of Plains (27:24) and Molly Tingley of Plains (31:15).

In addition to runners from Plains, Thompson Falls and Trout Creek, athletes from Big Fork, Missoula, Dixon, Kalispell and Somers also came to town to take in the wonderful Clark Fork Valley hospitality that can be found on the Wild Horse Plains.

Race organizers would like to thank event sponsors Sanderson Stewart and Quality Landscape Seeding, Inc.; the resources of McGowan’s Grocery, The Runner’s Edge and the Brooker family; and, race volunteers Carol Brooker, Erin McCarthy, Peg McCarthy, Bill Naegeli, and David, Lisa and Jessica Read.

State Track Highlights

Well, the state track meets have come and gone; and, as always there were some expected performances and some suprises.

Let me start with my vote for the Outstanding Performer.

It would have to go to Chris Wilson of CMR in Great Falls. He continued his hot sprinting and set all-class records in both the 100 and the 200 meters. His 10.67 took down the 10.74 of Steve Heberly of Havre. The race was run into a headwind; so, with a calm day or even a minor tailwind, he possibly could have been in the 10.5's.

But, I still have to say that his 21:06 All-State record in the 200 rates higher in my book. With that run, he won by almost 1 full second and took down a 28 year old record (Dan Hanley of Butte High ran 21:51 in 1981). 21:06 is smoking fast - especially for a sprinter from Montana who has a challenge with limited outdoor training and racing with the winter and spring weather taht sprinters in places like Texas, California and Florida don't have to content with.

Now then - what about the Outstanding Competiton?

As I had predicted - it was the Alexa, Keli and Dani show. The Aragon sisters (Junior Alexa and Freshman Dani) from Billings Senior and Junior Keli Dennehy of Butte High went head to head to head in the 800, 1600 and 3200 meter runs.

Alexa took the 800 in 2:12.41 - followed by Keli in 2:13.04 and Dani in 2:16.25
Alexa took the 1600 in 5:04.84 - again followed by Keli (5:05.39) and Dani (5:05.88). 4th was Heidi Turner of Bozeman in 5:08.97.
The 3,200 saw a reversal of fortunes as Keli took the win in a near sub-11:00 time with a 11:06.68. Alexa was second in 11:22.55 and Turner took third in 11:31.5 (Dani skipped the 3200)

Outstanding races, fast time, great head to head competition. After a vote by the Muddy Buzzard panel of judges - the Buzzard Beak goes to Alexa. 2 out of 3 over Keli with the 2 fastest times in the events this year.

Not to be overlooked would be the solid performances of Aurlea Fain - a junior at Billings Senior was 6th in the 800 (2:23.01), 5th in the 1600 (5:20.73) and 4th in the 3200 (11:33.28). What a tough group to have to compete against. She had a great set of performances across the board; but, still could do no better than 4th.

After all of that indivdual racing, the Butte and Senior Girls went at it one more time in the final event of the meet - the 4 X 400 meter relay. And, the team title was on the line. Dennehy was on the Butte team and the Aragons and Fain were on the Senior team. In the end, Butte pulled out a 3rd place finish with Senior in 4th. That was enough for the Bulldogs to end up with a 2 point win and the State Championship trophy.

Now then, on to some other notable performances.

The Billings West boys 4 X 100 relay - setting a new all-class record of 41.48 (breaking the old record of 42.27 by over 3/4's of a second).

Drew Coco winning the Class A 800, 1600 and 3200 meters to add to his XC title from the fall and a great wrap to his senior season.

Mike Asay of Manhattan with the fastest 1600 and 3200 meter times of the year with a 4:21.01 and 9:45.36 (winning both races by about 7 seconds)

Dillon Fryxell from the small school of Plains with the highest HJ of the weekend at 6-8.

Alexa Aragon adding a 3rd in the PV to go along with the other 4 medal that she won over the weekend. 5 All-State Medals in one weekend. With the hauls that she has made in XC and track over the last 3 years, she is building quite a legacy of HS performances.

The Muddy Buzzard

Strode Keeps On Striding

Thanks to Thomas Jodoin for giving me the scoop on another great performance from Kyle Strode.

At the Coeur D'Alene Marathon on Sunday May 24th, Kyle finished 2nd overall and 1st Master at the Marathon in a stellar time of 2:49:41 (and only 2:17 out of first overall).

Kyle has had a great "run" since Montana Cup last year and has really stepped up his game in the last 6 to 8 months.

Congrats to Kyle on his great performance.

The Muddy Buzzard