The completions are starting to roll in, @Challengers. Congrats this week to Scott Dawson, Amy Dawson, Jamie Loehr, and Columbia Warren, all of whom completed the 10-course Classic Challenge! Another six people have just one course to go on the In Progress page, so I expect to see more completions in the next week.
Those completions catapulted Columbia Warren into the lead for Most Points for men and Scott Dawson into third, though last year’s winner, Chris Petroff, remains in second with a single course to go. Columbia also took over third place for Age Grade, and Tonya Engst moved into third in Community Stars. The @Super-60s-70s continue to run away with the Team Points competition, with the @Fabulous-50s well back and the @Fantastic-40s falling further behind. But the team competition can turn around quickly!
Additional notes:
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Shirts still available: Several people have been asking, so a reminder that the 2026 yellow Challenge shirt sales are now in the FLRC online store. If you missed getting one during registration, you can order again. Sizes in the four styles are pretty limited (2 or 3 of the most common sizes), so I recommend moving on it if you want one. After you order, connect with me to get it.
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Pancake breakfast group run and swim on Sunday: On Sunday, August 16, come to our house at 50 Hickory Road and run your choice of Ellis Hollow Creek Crossings (2.2 miles, could be done twice or more), Triple Hump (9.2 miles), Pseudo Skunk Cabbage (13.1 miles), or several non-Challenge courses. Afterward, take a dip in our pond (bring a towel) to freshen up before enjoying pancakes made by Tonya Engst and Dave Kania, who have been looking for an excuse to flip some flapjacks, sear some sausages, and brew some coffee. We already have 23 people signed up, so please RSVP so we can do our best to prep. Bring folding chairs if you have them—it will be a rolling party with pancakes from 9:00 to noon-ish, but we may not have sufficient seating at all times.
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Beware Six Mile Creek: Thanks to Melanie Smee and Lucia Chen for warning that there’s a 100m section of the Six Mile Creek trail that’s seriously overgrown. If anyone has a weed whacker and wants to clear it…
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Photos of the week: Two of my favorites come from Tonya Engst this week, a selfie and a shot of Steph Bailey, Amalia Skilton, and Diana Hackett on last weekend’s Tremain Trailipop group run. The third is Pete Kresock and a smiling kid—either Adrian or Joel, sorry!—after a Sweet 1600 on the 800m Cornell horse track.
See lots of you on Sunday, when I’ll be covering the ground with the group on the Ellis Hollow Creek Crossings course before the pancake breakfast!