We’re almost halfway through the Challenge this year, and our stats are looking good! We’ll exceed 1400 runs tomorrow, and if we continue to average about 700 miles per week, next week will break 7,000 miles. At this rate, we should exceed 13,000 miles for the year. That’s partly thanks to having so many runners—we just hit 193, matching the high in 2021.
The big news for last week came from Dennis Stadelman, who joined Pete Kresock on the FLRC 100K Ultra Challenge list by running all ten courses last Saturday. From his star post stories, it sounded like a thoroughly enjoyable day, complete with on-course BBQ chicken and ice cream.
That effort qualified Dennis for his Challenge medal, and two other runners also claimed their medals this week. At age 62, Jamie Loehr tied with Dennis and David Cutter as the oldest finisher. On the other end of the age-group spectrum, 29-year-old Adrian Haws completed his second Challenge. In 2022, he finished sixth overall in Most Points for men, but he’s on fire this year, with first- or second-place finishes on all courses so far, giving him a commanding lead in Most Points and Age Grade. Who’s going to give him a run for his money?
We have our first double finisher: Rebecca Lambert! She has run all the courses twice and needs only three courses to finish them all for a third time. I’ll have to see if Steve Desmond can figure out a leaderboard badge for such an accomplishment.
Photos of the week go to Dennis Stadelman for this moody track shot for his first Ultra Challenge course:
To Melissa Plank and Matthew Plank, who know how to dress for success on Duck Trails.
And to Paula Klaben and Coal, who had a good time on Lakefront Loops despite the heat.
This weekend’s group run will tackle the Hammond Hill Hoctathon on Saturday at 8:30 AM, so join us for some morning trails tomorrow. There will be post-run watermelon! And the best way to pick up your shirt from me is to come to the group run!
Until next week, keep covering the ground!
PS: Finger Lakes 50s needs more volunteers on June 29. Please sign up to help—you’ll get a great custom T-shirt.
