We’re up to 154 @Challengers so far, with a few recent additions—welcome to our July registrants: Marissa Colvin, JT Zimmerman, Xinyi Wang, Amalia Skilton, a Challenge regular who’s back from Scotland by way of Peru, and Teo Magino Chaban). If you haven’t gotten logged in to the leaderboard to submit runs yet, please email me at ace@tidbits.com so we can get you connected. And if you have only one or two runs recorded, this weekend’s a great time to pick up another course or enter those you’ve been sitting on (you know who you are!)
Kudos to Teo Magino Chaban in particular, because he took the excuse of a week-long trip to Ithaca for a high school reunion to sign up for the Challenge AND complete it in just seven days. And he joined last week’s Sights of the Heights group run, came to the post-run party, and then knocked off Waterfront Trail later in the morning. Admittedly, he had Caitlin Loehr coaching him on the details, but it’s still our quickest 10-course completion of the year.
The other person who continues to chew his way through Challenge courses (and singlehandedly support the local ice cream industry) is Dennis Stadelman. Fresh off completing his full 44-course Personal Challenge last week, he turned around and became the second person to complete the Tough Trail Challenge for the year. And because it’s Dennis, here’s the obligicecreampic he took before completing his final Treman Trailipop course.
The top of the leaderboard remains largely stable, with the main change being Sarah Woodyear moving into third for Age Grade, an impressive accomplishment given her lack of age, and Caitlin Loehr moving into third for Community Stars, perhaps due to runs with Teo. And look at the @Super-60s-70s in Team Points! With powerhouse performers like Caitlin, John Hummel (fourth in Most Miles), Matt Clark (eighth in Most Miles), Bob Talda, and Dennis (fifth in Most Miles), they’ve pulled well ahead of the @Fabulous-50s and @Fantastic-40s. Will it last?
Mileage-wise, we’re almost at 10,500 for the year, with Black Diamond Trail and Sights of the Heights both breaking the 1000-mile mark.
More notes:
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Treman Trailipop group run and party Sunday at 8 AM: Thanks to Verity Platt for hosting a post-run party on Sunday, August 9 after the group does the Treman Trailipop course. It’s a lovely excuse to hang out with all those people who aren’t quite the same pace you are during the run. Please RSVP!
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Pancake breakfast group run and swim next Sunday: On Sunday, August 16, you can come to our house and run your choice of Ellis Hollow Creek Crossings (2.2 miles, could be done twice or more), Triple Hump (9.2 miles), or Pseudo Skunk Cabbage (13.1 miles). Afterwards, take a dip in our pond to freshen up before enjoying pancakes made by Tonya Engst and Dave Kania, who have been looking for an excuse to flip some flapjacks. More details next week, but put it on your calendar—the more, the merrier!
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Photos of the Week: It’s not a record distance from Ithaca, but I love this shot from Julie Barclay on a track in Rawlins, Wyoming, home of the Outlaws. (Beware their mascot!) And how could I not share Heather Cobb’s lovely shot with so many yellow Challenge shirts before last weekend’s Sights of the Heights group run!
Until next week, keep covering the ground!