Good Save 

Eric Herdman (Las Vegas, NV) let his body overcome his mind at last weekend’s Ruth Anderson 50 Mile in Sacramento, CA.  Eric had prepared intensely for the Mad City 100 Km on April 12, but the nationwide problem with airplane inspections left Eric at the Las Vegas Airport watching flight after flight being cancelled and his chances of getting to Madison, WI to tangle with the nation’s best 100 Km runners fade.  Eric ended up going home with no way of getting to Madison feeling anger, frustration, and fear in his mind of both losing and wasting his fitness.  Just a week later, the Ruth Anderson 50 Mile and 100 Km were contested and while there was no longer a problem with air travel, Eric still feared that his fitness had faded with another rest week before the race.  His fear soon was put to rest as he got the chance to prove his fitness added to just a taste more rest.

The race started out with a pack of 4 running between 6:50 and 7:00 per mile pace.  The pack held together for two and a half laps, with laps of 4.57 miles per.  When the pack soon broke up, Eric’s main competition ended up being the weather, which threw winds of 30-35 mph and gusts up to 45 mph.  Eric ran alone for the majority of the race.  With a lap to go, it looked like a sub-7hr was possible, but again the wind driving against ever-more-weary legs won out with Eric crossing the finish line in 7:02:50, still good for a 7 minute PR, a full 15 minutes ahead of his nearest competitor.

Hot Day at Bull Run 

It was a hot day in Manassas, VA at the Bull Run 50 Mile.  The temperature was in the 80’s but the competition was even hotter.   Mark Lundblad  (Swannanoa, NC) annihilated the men’s field by nearly 30 minutes with a time of 6:42:29.  He led from start to finish with only a few competitors able to keep up for even a portion of the race.  While Mark was running from the men’s field, Anne Lundblad (Swannanoa, NC) ran away from most of the remainder of the field, finishing with the women’s win, and a 4^th place overall in 7:31:17– a new course record by over 9 minutes.  Tim Long (Charlotte, NC) finished 7^th in a PR 7:49:56 and Nick Whited (Raven, VA) finshed 8^th with a PR 7:52:54.  Rick Moyer (Reading, PA) finished in 11:04:16, marking his return to fitness. It was estimated that the unseasonably warm temperatures slowed performances nearly 20 minutes.

Not Bad Despite the Weather 

Jessica Nakles (Arlington, VA) toed the line under cold, rainy conditions in this year’s Cherry Blossom 10 Mile on April 5, in Washington, DC.  Despite unseasonably cold conditions and rain, Jessica ran steady the first 8 miles and had enough left to push the last two miles to the finish line in 1:40:20, just slightly off her performance of last year, but still satisfying considering the tough conditions.