Mohican 2006

By Colleen J. Theusch

The seventeenth Mohican 100 Mile Trail Race was spectacular despite the doubt that surrounded its existence six months ago. Ryan O’Dell accepted the challenge to keep this traditional event alive. Ryan parlayed his experience with directing many mountain bike events, including some starting at the Mohican Wilderness Campground, to the foot race. With guidance from many previously associated with this race, including Don Baun and Joe Jurczyk, Ryan produced an outstanding event. While the race was not perfect, Ryan is already planning improvements that will benefit the 2007 event and those for many years in the future.

Mother Nature always plays a role in the outcome of this event. The ideal running weather of the preceding weekend turned to 90-degree thermometer readings. The heat definitely was one cause for only 51 finishers from the field of 130 starters. However, the finishing percentage would have been even much lower if the storms that started Sunday night and continued all week had started a day earlier. Roy Heger took Robin Fry’s roll of organizing unofficial training runs in the Mohican area for months preceding the event. The word from those runs was “MUD!” To alleviate some of the muddy areas forest maintenance crews spread large stones on many of the trails of the red and green loops. Eventually the horses, mountain bikes, hikers, and runners will cause these stones to sink into the muddy areas and produce a more stable surface. Unfortunately, the stones had not settled at race time and running in those areas was extremely difficult. This in turn led to many more falls and twisted ankles/knees than is usual during a Mohican race. Runners had to decide whether the accompanying pain was something that could be endured or something that would cause damage if they continued on the course beyond the next aid station. DNF was the only choice for some. Hopefully all have recovered fully. Some runners commented that they never want to see gravel again.

Regis Shivers, Sr. earned his ten-time finisher 1000-mile big buckle several years ago during a break from running the Appalachian Trail. For several years Regis has been fighting cancer. Nevertheless, Regis and Diana Shivers continue to be very involved with the Mohican 100 Mile Trail Run. They provided much aid during the training runs. Even though Regis is still showing the effects of recent radiation therapy, during the event they were at some of the aid stations cheering and aiding the runners. The finish line saw Regis and many long time running friends in bear hugs. Hopefully Regis will cross that finish line after his own 100 miles soon.

While Ryan O’Dell as Race Director was responsible for the event, he needed the help from many volunteers in this Herculean task. Tom Todrank and his trail marking crew again did an outstanding job on marking trails. As one runner commented, “The trails were so well marked, that no one could get lost without trying.” Of course, that’s never true. Fatigue, sleep deprivation, and other physical/mental factors can cause a person to go off even the best-marked course. Some of Tom’s crew have been marking trails for years: Karen, Leo, Fred, Zenek, Charlie, Nick, etc. while Parker, Tom’s adopted dog, and others joined the crew more recently. Some of these people have finished the full 100 in past years. Some were at the start line and ran all or part of the race this year. Any runners who want a first hand look at the course conditions immediately before a race are welcome to help mark the trails in upcoming years.

Arthur Moore, a very well known ultra runner, decided that upon earning his ten time finisher buckle it was time ‘to give back’. Since that time he has been volunteer coordinator assisted by his very capable wife, Edina. Many CWRRC members plan to spend much time at the aid stations each year. As in the past, runners heaped accolades of praise on these volunteers who genuinely care about the well-being and progress of the runners. Kathy Ross and Karen Skaggs, wives of runners Ron and Jim, again volunteered at the Covered Bridge and Grist Mill respectively throughout the day. This year several other family members responded to a request for more volunteers. Mary Lou Thornton, Tom’s mother, spent much time at the fire tower. Runners will remember this cheerful lady with the lovely white hair who gently put wet towels across their necks and backs to cool them off and encouraged them in many other ways. Remember hearing the traditional greeting, “Welcome to the Rock”? This year the voice of the rock much of the time belonged to Ben, son of first timer Linda Barhorst. Ben and his girlfriend volunteered at the rock and after their official stint ended at 8:00PM, continued welcoming the runners until Linda came through the last time after 5:00AM. Ben is now headed for duty in the army – we hope his tour will be as safe as that at the Rock. Several times during the race RD Ryan mentioned a lady who had this magnificent smile every time he saw her on the course. From his description, I correctly surmised that it was Linda. Amanda, Sherry Meador’s young daughter, helped with registration very professionally. The following day found Amanda efficiently aiding runners at the Fire Tower. Preceding the event, Sherry had been assured that Stephen Sherwood’s wife would watch over Amanda while Sherry was on the course.

Some volunteer work requires special training as well as willingness and desire to assist at an event of this magnitude. The area amateur radio clubs have been providing communications at the Mohican 100 since its second year of existence. How did we manage the first year without them? Nightmare! Some individuals have been there each year; others not as long. This year John Quinn even took over as the computer results person. He’s tweaked the program so that next year the splits results provided at the end of the race will all be in more readable format and posting of results will occur in a more timely fashion. The operators add so much to this event besides tracking the runners. They communicate the need for supplies by the aid station to the supply depot, request medical assistance for runners, etc. Cell phone technology was in its infancy at the time of the Mohican inaugural. While it has greatly improved since then, it still leaves much to be desired on much of the course. The radio operators win hands up over cell phones.

Bob Fehlner with two EMT teams from North East Ohio Medical Reserve Corps checked many runners with twisted ankles and other problems. They were at the Grist Mill when Tom Mauger came limping off the short steep loop behind that station. One knee was badly scraped and a little swollen, but the other knee pained when he put any weight on it. Of course Tom had no desire to stop a third of the way into the course while he was in the top third of the runners. Finally his son made the decision: “Dad, enough!” Wise young man. Justin McCoy was barely recognizable when he appeared at the pasta dinner this year. He continued with the incredible weight loss that he had started before the 2005 event. He struggled towards his goal of 100 miles even though the heat was taking its toll, and his stomach was not cooperating. About half way through the race he sat down on the trail. Upon standing up he completely blacked out to the degree that he does not remember hitting his head on the ground when he fell. Fortunately a lady who saw this had a working cell phone and called 911. A runner passed Justin and reported “Runner down” at the next aid station. The radio operator summoned the EMTs who along with Ryan went to the location of the report. After conferring with a ranger in the area, all determined that the downed runner was indeed Justin who had already been transported to the hospital. All’s well that ends well! After being rehydrated via IVs, Justin returned to the campground and will be ready for the 2007 Mohican.

Kathy Siesel has brought her podiatrist students to Mohican every year. This is a WIN-WIN situation. The runners have their feet treated under Kathy’s watchful eyes while the students have the chance to work on live human flesh in need of repair. Over the years Kathy and her group have enabled many runners to finish the race who would otherwise been in too much pain to do so.

Chef Tom Hayes provided special expertise at the campground despite an accident in which a car ran over him after he was thrown from an encounter with a deer. Though not fully recovered, he brought his new grill to the campground and prepared chicken for the runners to eat when they finished. Before retiring, he prepared a tray for Helen Malmberg who had gotten off course, flagged a police car and hitched a ride back to race headquarters. Sunday morning found Tom back at the grill preparing pancakes for all.

Zach Gingerich was a contender for first place throughout the race. Early on Zach and first timer Ben Bowman played leapfrog with other first timers Jay Smithberger and Wendy Zamzow-Masters pounding at their heels. While this was Ben’s first 100-mile race, his list of previous running accomplishments includes the Grand Canyon. When Jay dropped at the 83.3 Bridle Staging mark and Ben twisted his ankle shortly afterwards, first place practically belonged to Zach (20:35). At the finish line, someone said to Zach: “We’ve been waiting for you.” His succinct reply, “Sorry it took so long.” While Ben’s bad ankle dropped him to sixth place, he had a strong finish even somersaulting over the finish line. A hip problem disabled Wendy at ninety miles, twenty hours into the race. This left the women’s first place to Kim Martin who while running strong had been trailing Wendy by well over an hour. Kim (23:21) is the only woman to have ever been first woman finisher at Mohican twice.

The heat really crushed time goals, including Zach’s who hoped for 18 hours and Kim who had wanted 20 hours. Just finishing this year in the heat and with so many loose stones on the red and green loops was a great accomplishment. Michael Heider became the 2006 Last of the Mohicans crossing the finish line (29:43) and running into the pavilion to deafening applause. His award was an eagle figurine to signify that it takes the strength of the eagle to be on the course almost 30 hours and with the hope that in future races Michael may soar over the course like an eagle. Each finish counts as ‘one’ towards the number of finishes needed to earn the BIG Buckle, whether the finisher is a winner or the Last of the Mohicans. This is finish number six for Heider.

Other monumental finishes: Rita Barnes completed her 5th Mohican tying Irene Weston for that accomplishment. Since Irene’s Mohican days appear to have ended with the severe ankle injury several years ago, Rita may become the first woman to earn the 1000 mile ten time finisher Big Buckle. This year Rita joined the first man and first woman in receiving a Montrail shoe certificate. Early in the race Roy Heger stubbed his big toe so badly that a part of his shoe was cut away to ease the pain. Remembering the words of Ron Ross, “You have to finish number 9 before you can do 10”, helped Roy endure the pain. Last year Terry Hawk had been “the man without a pulse” before finishing the race. This year he ran a steady pace, passing many along the way to finish in second place. For the last quarter of the race Marty Fagan from the Seattle area remained about 15 minutes behind Terry and claimed third place while still feeling pretty good. After hooking up with a dozen miles left in the race Greg Trapp and Dave Corfman helped each other through the low points. Greg found some feathers that he wore with the theory that they would help his feet float over the rocks like birds over trees. While they increased their pace when they heard “Welcome to the Rock” shortly after they left and enjoyed passing others along the way, including Ben Bowman, Dave said that if they had been able to catch T.J. Hawk they would have just stayed with him because they respect him so much. Mike Jacolenne joins Roy Heger and T.J. Hawk as the trio who may earn the ten time finisher big buckle at the 2007 Mohican.

Before and during the race I always attempt to discover which runners have never completed a 100-mile trail race. This year over a third of the 130 starters were were in that category. At the end of the event fifteen known first timers had crossed the finish line: Ben Bowman, Dennis McDougall, Stephen Sherwood, Michael Conrad, Charles Jackson, Brad Compton, Angela Forster, Dannis Hughbanks, Neil Philips, Ray Boviard, Linda Barhorst, Jeff Schmidt, Matthew Kennedy, Mark Calcatera, Toland Wilkins. The first four of this group even finished in less than the magical 24-hour time frame. The two lady first time finishers, Forster and Barhorst, comprise a third of the six female finishers.

At the Grist Mill Angela Forster’s husband expressed how proud he was of her. Her rising at 3 or 4 in the morning so that she could run before being “Mommy” to their 15 month old particularly impressed him. Though this was less than a third of the way into the race, he emphatically stated, “I know that she’s going to finish.” She not only finished, she was second woman. Proud hubby was at the finish line to share in the joy of her accomplishment with hugs.

Matthew Kennedy was running his first 100-mile race. Mono squashed a son’s plan to join him in that endeavor. Nothing could squash the family’s support for Matthew. Knowing that he enjoys tee shirts for every occasion and that he would be wearing yellow, they all surprised him at the Fire Tower wearing yellow tee shirts with black lettering: front “Kennedy Crew”, back “First 100”.

John Rehm has worn his 2003 Mohican buckle so much that it was beginning to wear down from brushing against tables, etc. He told his wife that he had to come back to earn another buckle so that he could continue wearing the first one daily while having a “good” one to wear for special occasions.

Matt Sidel, Andrew Durniat, and Corey Volz have enjoyed riding in 100-mile mountain bike events. This was their first time entering a 100-mile run. Andrew and Matt ran together and stopped together after 45 miles. Corey ran faster reaching the Grist Mill at 29.7 miles an hour and a half ahead of the duo. Though feeling the heat, Corey left the Grist Mill in good spirits. The sun beat on Corey as he ran along the unshaded road. He realized he could not continue so stopped at the ranger station and hitched a ride with the police back to the Grist Mill where he relaxed before accepting a ride back to the campgrounds. Which is harder? A mountain bike race or a foot race? Each has its own set of difficulties.

Prior to December 2005 Ray Bovaird was a casual runner doing occasional treadmill miles in the single digits. That month he did his first ten miler. In early January he joined the Cleveland FA50 run and completed the 50K, an impressive jump from his previous ten miles. Soon he was into trail running and finished the 50K Louisville Loving the Hills. The ultra bug had definitely infected him as he tried Massanutten, where he completed a respectable 60 difficult miles within just a few months of his first ten-mile run. Mohican beckoned. He ran strong for the first three fourths of the race, on just over a 25 hour pace. However, three quarters does not make a whole. Blisters and abrasions developed in the last quarter. Despite the extreme pain Ray kept telling himself to keep moving and that stopping was not an option as he walked the last nine miles. The difficulty of those miles fell into oblivion as he experienced the exhilaration of crossing the finish line.

Stephen Sherwood and his wife decided to get back in shape. He dropped 90 pounds from his 265-pound frame and trained for the 100 miles at Mohican. He accomplished that distance with a sub-24 hour finish time. After also losing significant weight, his wife is ready for the half-marathon.

Frank Dwyer’s daughters Allison and Ashley want to be runners just like Daddy when they grow up. That may include accepting the challenge of attempting to run a 100-mile race. Since they are now only 3 and 5 years old, they have many years to train. After running the Appalachian Trail Tom Strait read about ultras and knew he would try the 100-mile distance. The experience he gained on the first half of Mohican this year should aid him during his next attempt at that distance. Steve Garand had finished the Laurel Highlands 70 miles and set a goal of 22 hours for the 100 miles at Mohican. He was running close to that pace when forced out at the Bridle Staging area station. Peter Penzone trained for six hours after coming home from work at 1 AM because it was too hot during the day. Race day heat made Peter another casualty at the Bridle Staging area. The Grist Mill claimed Jay Smith who has been running since high school; track, cross-country, marathons - completing Boston over a dozen times. He decided on trying Mohican 100 several months ago and had run over 45 miles while training. As a very competitive person, he had set 18 hours as his goal – a doable time in decent weather conditions, but those were lacking this year.

Some runners had thought that Bob Pokorney could be a contender for first place this year. The heat on the road stretch to and from the Grist Mill took its toll on Bob. He could not cool down from that heat even after he was back in the woods. Despite his hopes that everything would be fine when the sun went down, it stayed hot. Suzanne, Bob’s ultra runner wife, did not enter the race because she was recovering from a stress fracture. Despite her encouragement Bob succumbed to the heat at sixty miles even though he was in the top ten at that time.

Kim Love- Ottobre joined many of the Mohican training runs in spring and reported trail conditions to the Yahoo email Mohican group. Many appreciated her witty reports on the trail, on the runs, on Regis and Diana, and her own quest for her first 50 miles. While her goal was 50, she also intended to stay on the trail as long as possible. Thus she had surpassed her original goal by over 20% when she finally stopped after 60 miles. Kim took off her wedding ring before the race in case her finger would swell up. Her husband joked that she did it because if she kept it on, no one would pick her up. Sherry Meador joined the chatter on the group email several weeks prior to the race. Sherry’s detailed advice on many topics (running down hills, heat, supplements, etc.) provided many with a plan of attack on race day.

Some had superb encounters with nature during the race. The firefly phenomenon is unique to the Midwest. One runner described them as covering the trees looking like flash bulbs exploding during a concert. Runners enjoyed sightings of a fawn nursing in a clearing, several fox, raccoon, wild turkey, and other animals. Many were in awe of the spectacular blue loop with its hand-over-hand climb up tree roots and the magnificent Lyons Falls.

Runners and volunteers meet each year for a memorable weekend during the Mohican 100 mile trail run. Thanks to all who participated this year. There would be no race without the runners. There would be no race without the race director and his myriad of volunteers. The runners appreciate all the volunteers’ dedication before, during, and after the event. The volunteers enjoy the determination of the runners. There are many in both the runner and volunteer groups who often have made this a priority weekend. Some who volunteered for the first time this year are hooked by the experience and plan to be back. Some runners who originally planned on doing the Mohican 100 only this year enjoyed the camaraderie of the runners and volunteers so much that they are making plans for the 2007 Mohican. Everyone is welcome to be part of the next event. Mark your calendars for race days, Saturday-Sunday, June 16-17, with Friday, June 15 pasta dinner, etc. What will Mother Nature serve next year? Heat? Thunderstorms? Mud? Cool mist? Cold? Floods? Mosquitoes? Ideal conditions? Whatever the conditions, the weekend will again be memorable for everyone. Check the website www.mohican100.org for further information throughout the year. If you’re interested in mountain biking in the area, that website is www.mohican.net. This article is written for the CWRRC newsletter and will also be posted on the Mohican100 website. A different article, with some overlaps, will appear in UltraRunning – most probably in the September issue. Watch for it.