Another Mohican Huge Success
By Colleen J. Theusch
Thanks to everyone who in a large way or a small way made the thirteenth Mohican 100 mile trail race an outstanding success. An event of this magnitude requires a tremendous amount of effort on the part of many. Some people perform many visible functions before, during, and after the race. Other people remain more in the background, e.g. handling deposits and expenditures, preparing wrist band with splits for the runners according to their predicted times, baking cookies.
This year ninety-five runners left the start line with sixty-two of these crossing the finish line before the thirty-hour time limit elapsed. Eight of the starters were women with five of them completing the full 100 miles. DNF (Did Not Finish) is the usual title given to those who do not run the total distance of a race. This year DNF does not apply in the case of Gary Fell, Jean Gerstein, and Debra Horn who all stopped after running 50 miles. This was their pre-announced goal, so this trio ran as far as they had planned. After her 50 miles, Debra Horn captained the Big Hill aid station, the last one before the finish line.
A chilly rain greeted the runners and volunteers throughout much of Saturday. While the rain was somewhat heavy at times, it was not of the driving thunderstorm variety. This made it easier on the runners who came though the morning aid stations more rapidly than when the weather is hot and humid. However, the rain left the aid station crews trying to stay warm and relatively dry. Rain disappeared mostly in the late afternoon. Clear skies at night gave everyone who was awake a chance to enjoy the myriad of stars and the crescent moon. Some runners turned off their flashlights on the road portion of the course so that they could better appreciate the heavenly lights. As dawn approached a cacophony of bird songs resonated throughout the campground. Daylight made it much easier for the runners to navigate Big Hill and time between finishers diminished rapidly.
For the first 45 miles Steve Godale (last year's winner), Terry Hawk (1997 winner), John Nichols, and Michael Bur entered the first 10 aid stations within 11 minutes of each other. At 35 miles Steve was just three minutes in front of the others in that group. Forty-five miles do not make a 100-mile race. By the mid-point, Michael was dropping back significantly. Godale remained minutes ahead of the other two throughout 82 miles. During the next six miles, he lost significant ground and entered Turkey Ridge 25 minutes after Nichols. Nichols had established a 6-minute lead over Hawk at mile 82 and gradually widened the distance between them.
Nichols crossed the finish line to win the 2002 Mohican run in 18:54:12, exceeding his 20-hour goal by over an hour. Hawk arrived forty minutes later to claim the number two spot. Another hour passed before Doug Hansel and Joel Fetterman crossed the line together in a tie for third place. These two met part way through the Mohican race last year, ran the rest of the race together, and decided to cross the finish line simultaneously. This year they ran the whole race together and became the first twosome to finish together two years in a row. Godale appeared another hour later to claim fifth place – for another enameled buckle.
While the men's race was extremely close throughout the first half of the race, Karen Shiley (first woman) was an hour and a half ahead of Rita Barnes (second woman) by the fifty-mile mark. Shiley finished the event just under the magical twenty-four hour time while Barnes finished about four hours later. The remaining three women finishers came in approximately at half hour intervals after Barnes.
In addition to the enameled buckles, both Nichols and Shiley received a certificate for a pair of Montrail shoes and a large magnificent chain saw carving of a runner of the appropriate gender. Since this was the thirteenth Mohican 100 mile race, Timothy Paroz and Kyle Felder who tied for thirteenth place also each received a Montrail shoe certificate. Robin Fry continued his streak of finishing every Mohican event. Robin is a distributor of Bison lights. He used a race number drawing to distribute the lights donated by the company.
Michael Bur, who had been in the top four during the first half of the race, reached the line in tenth place almost four hours after Nichols claimed first. Patrick McDaniel passed Bur to enter Giffen and Beck aid station at 82 miles a minute sooner. By the next station, Turkey Ridge at 88 miles, Bur had regained an eleven-minute lead over McDaniel. Then this cat and mouse game became earnest. McDaniel regained ground and entered the next two stations just one minute behind Bur. Big Hill stood between both of them and the finish line. McDaniel's hope of gaining on Bur at the last aid station were dashed as Bur passed rapidly through that station. As Bur tried to run up Big Hill he glanced back and realized that McDaniel had not stopped either. Bur, along with many other runners, preferred to walk down quad-buster Big Hill. He could not afford that luxury because McDaniel was in hot pursuit. Michael's time on that last leg of the race is under 42:23 right up there with winner John Nichols time under 43:12. Patrick McDaniel time is extremely close under 43:52. If these times do not seem super fast for three miles, recall that the course includes the ascent and descent of Big Hill and that the runners had already covered 97 miles of difficult terrain to reach this point.
Patrick Brock, Jim Cramer, Dan Distelhorst, Cole Hanley, Sean McCormick, Tina McCormick, Rich Mueller, Dan Petley, John Pohl, John Rehm, and Jim Skaggs happily finished their first 100 mile trail run in times ranging from 21:47 through 29:39. Karen Skaggs, Jim's wife, volunteered for many hours at the bridle staging area aid station. Kathy Ross, wife of multiple Mohican finisher Ron, also volunteered there. Tina and Sean ran the complete race together. Each time I saw them, including at the finish line, they had great big smiles on their faces though they admitted to trashed feet at the end of the event. They reported after the race: “Oh by the way we finished without one marital trail conflict.” We expect to see them back next year. Distelhorst was hurting all over frequently but gallantly continued from aid station to aid station. He walked the complete red loop the second time because of painful feet. At the end of that loop, he changed shoes that gave him new life. Cramer, Mueller, and Petley all had decided to run their first 100-mile trail run this year in honor of their upcoming fortieth birthdays.
Just before Patrick Brock completed the race, his wife handed him their little daughter, Sarah. Patrick proudly carried her as he crossed the finish line. The Brocks are from Alabama and were not prepared for the unpredictable Mohican weather. While Patrick was running in the early hours of the day, his family drove to Wal-Mart to buy sweaters, etc. so that they could stay warm. Patrick was running near the rear of the pack and was pleasantly surprised that even at that late time the aid stations were well stocked with a wide variety of sustenance. While Patrick was surprised at this, Mohican staff and long time runners know that Mark Shelton, supply coordinator, is as concerned about the slower runners as much as the faster ones and schedules movement of supplies accordingly.
Other runners attempted their first hundred-mile trail race but were forced to drop out for various reasons. The attempt itself makes these people winners. Some ran further than they've ever run before. All learned strategies for finishing next year and many plan to return. Twenty-nine runners received the Mohican medal for completing at least 50 miles but not the full 100-mile distance. Ken Priddy had DNFed Mohican in 2001. He returned to Mohican for unfinished business two weeks after finishing a different hundred miler. This year he earned the Mohican buckle in 29:20:36.
Last year Jerry Shepherd considered running his first 100 miler an awesome experience. He returned to recapture the ecstasy accompanying effort entailed in running far in the beautiful Mohican country. Jerry had become somewhat depressed early in the year - enough so that he stopped running and returned to smoking. Cause of the depression? In 1995 Jerry adopted Skinner, a rescued bullmastiff. Skinner needed to run, so his owner had to run with him. Then in January this year, Skinner developed leukemia and died. A couple months later, Jerry decided to get back to running and in Skinner's honor pinned the dog tags on his hat during the Mohican race. The jingling of the tags made him feel that his dog was still running with him. Anyone who has ever lost a pet can relate to Jerry's experience. He is taking his grief one step further by writing a book on grieving at the loss of a pet.
Regis Shivers, Sr., had injured himself while working on his new home. Missing his name on the roster as the race approached, people began asking whether he would run the event in order to get one year closer to earning the ten-time finisher buckle. The Monday of race week, Regis went to Mohican and ran 27 miles. Then he registered at the Friday pre-race activities. Even though he was not in top shape, he covered the course in just over twenty-eight hours. Throughout the race the appearance of Arthur Moore wearing his magnificent 1000-mile buckle made Regis realize why he was running.
Runners made many favorable comments about the excellent trail markings. When a couple runners strayed from the course, they backtracked and found that the spot where they had erred was clearly marked. Distraction, sleep deprivation, general tiredness, and other factors can cause anyone to miss clear markings. Tom Todrank & Karen McPeak had an extra helper this year. Parker, a large yellow lab, adopted Tom at the Rocky River Nature Center several months ago. To show his appreciation for all the love and care that Tom bestows on him, Parker volunteered to carry 30 pounds of lime to help mark the course. Leo, Zenek, Tyler (Zenek's grandson), and B.J. marked some of the trails before the race. Charlie Danielson, a Pennsylvanian who has run the Mohican event several times, also came to help with trail marking. While the rains this year did not obliterate the lime has had happened in the two preceding years, the crew checked the trail on Saturday and added extra arrows. Rich Oldrieve checked the orange loop after the race started and before his time keeping duties were required at the finish line.
Blue loop was changed to an out and back after the forest officials closed part of the trail used in previous years. The beginning of the red loop trail had also been moved. One veteran's comments: the blue loop was harder because it involved going both up and down those difficult stone steps; the red loop was easier because it bypassed that first really muddy section; the orange loop was harder even though the course wasn't changed because of the erosion along the river.
The runners had nothing but praise for the aid stations, both for the supplies and the helpful, encouraging volunteers. CWRRC could not handle this event by itself and appreciate all the help from Northeast Running Club, the Fort Wayne Track Club, Little Brown Inn owners and friends, Boy Scouts, friends and families of current and past Mohican entrants. Lynn Legacy from the Ludonville Chamber of Commerce handled the Sunday morning breakfast. Having earned his ten-time finisher1000 mile buckle last year, Art Moore captained the Station A this year. Mark Breudigam, Steve Novak, Terry Brown, Becky Cargill, Francine Greenwald, and Brenda Lightner again captained their traditional aid stations. Dan Bellinger took over the iceman job when Al White had to go to Houston on business. Kathy and Al Marshthaller continued to be great truck drivers.
Dr. Kathy Siesel, podiatrist, and her students from the Cleveland Foot and Ankle Clinic tended to tired, sore, and blistered feet. According to Kathy, there were more blisters & hot spots this year than last year, but not as many as in some years. Many runners commented that they could not have finished the race without the podiatrists to tend to their feet so often at the covered bridge station. This is a real win-win situation. The students have the opportunity to work on real live human feet under the watchful eyes of experienced doctors while the runners are enabled to continue punishing those same feet in relative comfort. The students also sense how much their work is needed and appreciated. In two days they probably see more relatively minor injuries of blisters and hot spots than they will see the rest of their lives.
Dr. Mark Elderbrock from Medical Asociates of Ashland kept a watchful eye on the condition of the runners throughout the race and counseled them regarding wisdom of continuing or dropping out. Since Mark is an ultrarunner himself, he's expert at understanding the up and down periods of long distance running. Scott Gottschling brought relief to aching legs by expertly massaging them both at the Bridle Staging Area aid station and the finish line. Stan Kinney and many amateur radio operators provided much needed communications to track runner's progress throughout the race.
Again Mark Shelton's performance as supply coordinator played a great roll in making Mohican a memorable event for the runners and volunteers. Mickey Rzymek handled the tee shirts and obtained many sponsors including the Mohican Wilderness Campground, Minnehaha spring water, Second Sole athletic footwear, ProTrans International, Gatorade, Mrs. T's Pierogies, Roadway Express, Montrail, DC Die CO., Team Run Amok Extreme Endurance Sports, Little Brown Inn, Pepsi, dri-release, Mohican-Loudonville Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Design Sports. Gary Fell made sure that the aid stations had captains and adequate volunteers. Rick Mead is the computer guru who maintained the records throughout the event and provided all the reports to the runners. His wife, Michelle, gallantly aided him with data input during the nighttime hours so he could get some much-needed sleep.
Accolades abounded from many runners and their crew/families to the volunteers who again made the Mohican 100 mile trail race a huge success. Many variations of “you're the best” were uttered. One woman exclaimed: “I never felt so welcome anywhere.” Another said: “The thing I really liked about it, was that I felt that all the runners were treated like they were special; not just the ones who had the potential to win...as a back of the packer, that scores big in my book! Thank you again for a wonderful run!” Did you miss Mohican this year? Too late to partake of that experience. But not all is lost. We are thinking about 2003 already. Mark your calendars for Saturday and Sunday, June 21-22, 2003 the first full weekend in June, our traditional weekend. Of course, the pasta dinner and check-in, etc. will be on Friday, June 20. The relatively mild rain this year helped the runners stay cool. Had the event been the following week with the temps in the 90s, the finisher percentage would have been much lower. What will 2003 deliver? Come to see. Whatever the weather, whoever enters, it will be a marvelous experience.
This article will be in the CWRRC newsletter for club members and also posted on the Mohican web site for runners. There will be a different article in UltraRunning, so if you subscribe to that, read the September article on the race.
John Prohira, one of the finishers, wrote an excellent article about his thoughts and feeling throughout the event. It's worth reading. You can find it at:
http://www.vhtrc.org/forum/mohican-prohira.htm