Tussey mOUnTaiNBACK

At the USA 50 Mile Road Championships, held here on October 11, 40-year-old Eric Grossman, Emory, VA, raced to a 5:48:34, besting Coloradoan Chad Ricklef’s 2004 record by nearly five minutes. Grossman also shattered the masters’ course record of 7:19:01 set in 2006 by Randy Miller.

“I was second last year (running just over 6:06:00) and it was quite a bit hotter. I am glad it stayed cool,” said Grossman. “This was my PR.” Asked whether he took the lead from the start Grossman replied, “There were three of us together until around mile 12 (Zach Miller, Sean Andrish, and me). After that I was pretty much alone. I have had ten weeks of training after dealing with an injury for three months. I’d have to say the workouts I’m getting from coach Howard Nippert (who, in addition to coaching, has been the top US 100km Road Runner for nearly a decade) are paying off. I also had a crew this year. My Aunt Merrie handed me all the fluids and snacks I needed at the aid stations. It really made a difference.”

Grossman was awarded $500 for the win, $300 for the masters’ win, and a $300 bonus for new open and masters course records. Zach Miller, 32, Ann Arbor, MI, finished in second running 6:07:13. Of the course, Miller said, “It was challenging. There are some brutal climbs, one particular one at mile 40. I’m pleased with both my finish and my time. Eric and I are good friends. We’ve been going back and forth for years now. I ran the North Country Trail 50 Miler three weeks ago and there wasn’t much competition. Today the third, fourth, and fifth guys were not that far back. The only way you’re going to run a good 50 is to have the competition.”

Rounding out the top three was Jason Bryant, 36, Elkin, NC, finishing in 6:15:16. “Between miles 25 to 30 I thought this was a DNF day,” said Bryant, “I made it to the next aid station, and sometimes it turns into a different day. Alison (Bryant’s wife who is a physical therapist) worked on me at the aid station (primarily his back which was causing some leg pain) and I’d not have gotten through this without her.”

The women’s championships were won by a newcomer to the 50 mile distance. Sarah Vanderelli, 41, Latrobe, PA, ran 7:45:19. “I felt great,” said Vanderelli who has completed four marathons and three 50km events prior to today’s 50 mile effort, “I never had a problem getting lost. That was my biggest fear last night. This was a wonderful race. The volunteers at the transition zones were great. They didn’t know me and they were really cheering for me. The view around 43 miles was awesome and from mile 46 it was all downhill.” Vanderelli runs just three or four days per week since she has an active six-year-old son who has completed two 5 kilometer races this year. In addition, Vanderelli has a full-time career as a nurse. “I’m a wound specialist so if anyone gets scratched up today, I can take care of them.” Vanderelli, like Grossman, won both the open and masters’ prize money for an $800 payday.

Finishing in second was Morgan Windram-Geddes, 26, a local runner who spends much of her time in Scotland. “I’ve run the race four times and was about 15 minutes off my PR. I felt OK today.” Asked if she kept her position throughout the race Windram-Geddes said, “At about mile thirty miles I got passed by Sarah.” In third place, 42-year-old Diana Widdowson, Conestoga, PA, posted a time of 8:09:31. “My goal was 8:30:00 today and I ran 8:09,” said Widdowson. “It was my best time here (in three efforts). Maybe life is getting better for me. My last time was 8:47.”
Francesca Conte was the overall women’s winner, but is an Italian citizen and therefore did not qualify for the USATF prizes or championship designation. None of the women running today came close to the 2007 record set by master’s runner Anne Lundblad who blazed the course in 6:36:16.

The USA 50 Mile Championship records are held by Barney Klecker who in 1980 ran 4:51:25 at the AMJA Ultramarathon in Chicago, IL, and Deb Bollig, who ran 6:37:17 in 1999 at the Helen Klein Classic in Sacramento, CA. The inaugural Tussey mOUnTaiNBACK 50 Miler was held in October 2000 and the event also hosted the USA 50 Mile Road Championships in 2004, 2005, and 2007. The 2010 USA 50 Mile Championships will also be held at Tussey. The course is run on a mixture of paved, dirt, and gravel mountain roads (74% dirt/gravel and 26% paved) starting at the base of the Tussey Mountain Ski Area. The route heads past Whipple Dam State Park, Alan Seeger Natural Area, Penn Roosevelt State Park, Colyer Lake and Bear Meadows Natural Area, before returning to the ski area for the finish. Total elevation gain is 5,035 feet.

A total of $3,200 was awarded at the USA 50 Mile Road Championships, plus the course record bonus. The prize money was distributed to the top three open men and women - $500, $300, $200 and to the top three masters’ (40 and over) runners - $300, $200, $100.

Stay tuned for a separate post on the relay division event.

Expect the elite men to put on another show at the ninth annual Tussey Mountainback 50-Mile Ultramarathon on Oct. 11 in Central Pennsylvania’s scenic Rothrock State Forest. The race again will serve as the USA 50 Mile Championship, with nearly $4,000 in available prize money on the line.

Last year’s race produced four of the top six times in event history, with Mark Lundblad of North Carolina taking the victory in 6 hours, 3 minutes — the Mountainback’s No. 2 all-time men’s performance. Will this be the year that Chad Ricklefs’ 2004 mark of 5:53:37 finally goes down?

While an injury will prevent Lundblad from defending his title, Eric Grossman, last year’s runner-up in 6:06:41, is returning. Now at 40 years of age, Grossman, the 2006 Montrail Ultra Cup champion from Emory, Va., should at least have little difficulty breaking the Masters course record of 7:19:01, set by Randy Miller in 2006. The overall victory, though, certainly will be his top goal. A trio of first-time Mountainback runners stand in his way — Zach Miller of Ann Arbor, Mich.; Jason Bryant of Elkin, N.C.; and Sean Andrish of Leesburg, Va.

Miller, who won an Iowa state title in the 3,200-meter run as a high school senior in 1994, is now one of the top ultrarunners in the country and likely the biggest threat to Ricklefs’ record. In 2007, Miller won two ultramarathons — the North Country Trail 50-Miler in Michigan and the Mountain Masochist 50-Miler in Virginia. He also was the runner-up last year at the prestigious JFK 50-Miler in Maryland, where he clocked a personal-best time of 6:02:02 for the distance, just two weeks after his Masochist victory. This will be Miller’s first ultramarathon of 2008.

Bryant already has had a productive 2008, winning titles at the Frosty 50K in North Carolina in January, the Mt. Mitchell Challenge 40-Miler in North Carolina in February, the Bel Monte 25K in Virginia in March and the Capon Valley 50K in West Virginia in May. In August, he placed fourth at the USA 100K Trail Championships in Oregon. And before he tackles the Mountainback, Bryant defended his title at the Great Eastern Endurance Run 50K in Virginia on Sept. 27.

Andrish, 39, has been among the country’s top ultrarunners for years and is a former national champion. He won the USA 100-Mile Trail Championship in 2005.

Also in the field for a second straight year is Matt McDonald, who won the PIAA Class AA state cross country title as a senior at Greencastle-Antrim High School in 1987. McDonald, the seventh overall male last year in 7:18:49, said he is aiming to improve on that performance.

In the women’s race, Anne Lundblad (Mark’s wife), who won last year’s Mountainback in a course-record 6:36:16, is not planning to defend her title. But Penn State product Morgan Windram, the women’s champ in 2002 and 2003 and now the mother of twins, is back — all the way from Scotland. The favorite is Montrail-sponsored ultrarunner Francesca Conte, 36, of Charlottesville, Va. Conte, who has won a handful of ultras across the country, placed third at the JFK 50 last fall in 7:24:29.

Sponsors of the race include the Central Pennsylvania Convention and Visitors Bureau, Steve Bodner and Tom Cali of RE/MAX Centre Realty, The North Face, Anthony G. DeBoef Esq., Appalachian Outdoors, The Bicycle Shop, The Hartman Agency, Nittany Valley Running Club, McClarren Financial Advisors, The Resident Experts, Restek Corporation, The Sign Stop, and Tussey Mountain Family Fun Center.