KUS 12/24 Hour Ultramarathon
April 29th & 30th, 2000 / Hesston Track
By Eric Sharpe
What usually turns out to be an experiment in sleep deprivation and a test of
basic math skills, turned out to be a major snoozefest this year at the KUS
annual 12 / 24 hour runs. With the combination of a ChampionChip lap counting
system and more volunteers than runners for a change, there was nothing left
for most of us to do but eat, drink beer and speculate on how whether or not it
was going to rain after the sun went down. Fortunately for us, there was a
liquor store nearby, an unlocked bathroom on site and aside from being windy,
no rain for the entire event.
Returning to the field this year were many faces familiar to KUS events
including such names as Bill & Jan Shirk, Dennis Haig, Richard Golden,
David Dinkel, Tony Bridwell and Jim and Nancy Davis, along with a couple of new
faces, Frank Dayton and Ron Jansen. A field of12 runners, two of which opted for
the 12 hour race, were on hand as we kicked the whole thing off at 8 oclock
sharp Saturday morning.
After 2 hours, Scott Demaree led the field and seemed to be well on course to
bringing home the proverbial bacon. Just behind Scott, Tony Bridwell had found
his pace early and motored through lap after lap as our once cloudless sky
began to become not-so cloudless anymore. Dave Dinkel, Dennis Haig and Dann
Fisher were all warmed up gathering steam as well.
By the four hour mark, the sky had filled with a foreboding cloud cover and the
temperature had decreased significantly. Memories of the mini-hurricane that
swept through the 1996 event began surfacing in my mind as I watched many of
the runners retire to their tents for warmer clothes. It seems like just
yesterday we were watching tents, clothing, lap sheets and race directors
disappear into the woods beyond the race course. Fortunately the wind seemed to
be leveling off and for the moment it was merely very dreary.
Heading into hour 5, Scott Demaree led the field with 25.5 followed closely by
Dave Dinkel and Tony Bridwell both with 22.0 miles and Dennis Haig behind them
with 21. 12 hour competitors, Jim and Nancy Davis continued to build steam
turning in 20 miles . The lack of sunshine and usual Kansas heat was an
advantage to most as the afternoon began to wear on and the question of rain
dominated our minds.
Over in the corner, the grill was being assembled and the grocery list was in
the process of being made. With all of this extra time on our hands, we were
looking forward to plenty of reasons to run next week. Chowing down, being the
primary one, of course.
The 12 hour mark rolled around to milder weather, full stomachs and the sounds
of the various radios and groups of supporters and crews that were now camped
on the infield of the Hesston High School track. Groups of children frolicked
on the football field as the sun went down and the lights on the field were
turned on . No one knew how to isolate just one or two of the lights, so all of
them were on and it was like the midday sun was shining into your tent when it
came time to sleep.
Scott Demaree was leading the pack with 66 miles, but seemed to be nursing his
right leg as his pace slowed ever slightly. Tony Bridwell had now locked into
what would eventually be a very successful groove pulling in behind Scott with
57. Bill Shirk, Dave Dinkel and Dann Fisher all continued to hold strong behind
the leaders. 12 hour competitors Jim and Nancy Davis finished together with
54:18 miles. The Sun sank behind the hills surrounding the little sports
complex, as the Chip counter continued to faithfully log lap after lap. The
coffee machine was unpacked, and the first of many pots of mud began brewing as
the chilly night air sent many to their tents.
Somewhere around the 20th hour Scott decided to call it a night. He had
experienced some hydration problems early on and never really found his game,
he later said. Tony Bridwell ended up the winner with 100.66 miles. While Dann
Fisher followed closely behind and nearly hit triple digits himself. Both Dann
Fisher and Ron Jansen were both raising money for their favorite charities
during the event. I believe both fellows earned in excess of $1,000 each for
their charity-way to go guys!
All in all another excellent KUS event, even though we only had twelve
competitors, it was a quality field and fun as always. Eric and the KUS board
has yet to determine if the ChampionChip system will fulfill our needs for
multi-lap events in the future as unfortunately, we ran into a few difficulties
around hour 19 with the system picking up a few runners laps. I am confident
they will reach a conclusion soon. Stay tuned to the KUS website for details
and information regarding KUSs ownership of a Championchip system and potential
dates for next years event. See you in September at Flat Rock!
Event Place Miles Name CityState Age
24 1 100.66
Tony Bridwell Mead
OK 34
24 2 94.95 Dann
Fisher Manhattan
KS 36
24 3 89.97 Scott
Demaree College StationTX 48
24 4 88.73 Richard
Golden McPherson KS
53
24 5 79.04 Bill
Shirk
Salina
KS
54
24 6 74.32 David
Dinkel Olathe
KS
51
24 7 66.86 Frank
Dayton Manhattan
KS
36
24 8 63.38 Jan
Shirk
Salina KS
43
24 9 61.88 Dennis
Haig Wichita
KS
40
24 10
51.95 Ron
Jansen Lenexa
KS
32
12 1 54.18 Jim
Davis
Burns
KS
58
12 1 54.18 Nancy
Davis Burns
KS
48