On Saturday August 2, the Harrisburg Area Road Runners Club sponsored its second ultra, HARRC’s Conococheague Trail 50K Run. The run was held in the Tuscarora State Forest, near Blain, Pa. and attracted runners from Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Washington DC and Ontario Canada. The course was run on two distinctly different loops, passing by the start finish area at mile 22. There were four manned aid stations and one unmanned station, stocked with donations from the runners, since there is no other entry fee for the run. The run uses forest service roads and very technical single track trails, with more than 4800 feet of climb, most of which occurs in the first 19 miles! The weather was as perfect, which was unexpected for an August race in central Pennsylvania. The temperatures were cooler than normal, with just a little humidity, no rain and mostly cloudy or hazy skies. The course takes the runners past several lookout areas with beautiful views of the valleys below, as well as past two historic gravesites, an abandoned attempt to dig a tunnel through a mountain for a railroad, and the opportunity, or curse, to run on a stony 1894 breastwork for a railroad that was never completed. There is ample opportunity to see wildlife, such as deer, bear, turtles and snakes. Two bear were sighted on race day and one rattlesnake while I was marking trail on Friday and another rattle snake scared Rebecca Cover and Carol Varano, as it rattled just beside Becky’s foot. As runners finish, my wife, Melanie and I host a little get together for the runners and their friends and family. Melanie prepared her famous “Veggie Chili” and also made turkey burgers, turkey dogs, and pasta salad, which was supplemented by any remaining items left over from the aid stations. Ultra runners certainly enjoy eating after a long run! Everyone seemed to have an enjoyable time, with only a few scratches and a few blisters to remind them of the battle they had just gone through. I want to thank all the runners that came out and share the trails with us. We also want to thank all the volunteers that sweep the course, manned the aid stations and a special thanks to members of the Perry County Road Runners who helped with some trail maintenance and trail marking. The winners are: Conococheague Finishers, 2014 50K Finishers Jesse Johnson 5:57 Eugene Gignac 6:54 Tom Kieffer 6:54 Erin McDougall 6:54 Clayton Bouchard 6:58 Mathhew Sinopoli 7:35 Jaret Seiberg 7:35 Diana Widdowson 7:35 Rik Keener 7:36 Jeff Shetler 7:36 Chris Pabian 7:50 Jeremy Hand 7:50 Bill Breidenstine 7:54 Joanne Van Horn 8:07 Elizabeth Glass 8:07 Sherry Riley 8:19 Brady Crone 8:19 Amy Sipe 8:19 Stacy Gautsch 8:19 Jeffrey Young 8:20 Samuel Bonacci 8:20 Sharon Fager 8:30 Chantel Bouchard 8:32 Michelle Cross 8:32 Ashley Butler-Carr 8:56 Brain Carr 8:56 Cassandra Lizza 8:59:07 Carol Varano 9:20 Rebecca Cover 9:20 Justin Flickinger 9:20 John Georgiadis 9:21 Jennifer Miller 9:21 Other Distance Shelly Perry 19 miles in 7 :10 Matheww Houseknecht Shad Moyer Michael Valone Kerry Owens Doug Sullivan Grace Raezer Katie Raezer Danielle Diantoniis Gary Bowman Leon Lutz Brad Leiser Luke Jacobs
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 00:32:13 +0000