Houston Ultra
Event Weekend
Bear Creek Park,
Houston, Texas
Mar. 1-3,
2002
2.008-mile
flat, asphalt loop
KUS Brings a
Bit of Fresh Air to Houston
By Scott Demaree
RD
The first of many
annual Houston Ultra Event Weekends went off without a hitch at precisely 6:30
PM Friday, March 1st at Bear Creek Park. Six intrepid souls set out
on a quest for . . . well, what does one hope for when one tries to fill 48
hours with as much running and walking as possible on a 2-mile loop?
For Illinoisan
Dennis Kranz, the quest was for a personal best of something over 170 miles, or
at the very least he wanted to win the race by accumulating more miles than
anyone else. For walker Ulrich Kamm from Colorado, the goal was to get through
two more sleepless nights in ultra-land, to add to his 122 previous excursions
there. For Texans Michael Quinn and Evan Groutage, it was to sample life beyond
100 miles for the first time. The other two: Lee Topham from Porter, and Chip
Marz from Mississippi, were veterans of many ultras with personal bests in
mind.
By 14 hours into
the race, Dennis was well on his way to his goals, taking a break with 64 miles
behind him, and holding a substantial 3 lap lead over Lee who had another 3
laps on Ulrich. Daylight had come again. The rhythm of the ultra seemed secure.
The shocking
arrival of a record-breaking cold front changed everything. Two out of three shelter tents set up for
race volunteers were flattened instantly by blasts of icy wind. The next two
hours were filled with wild activity, as race personnel tried to recover
equipment and supplies, and fashion some kind of a shelter and windbreak for
the lap counters. The only bright side to the weather change was that no rain
came with it. Temperatures held in the
mid-30’s all day on Saturday, before slipping another 10 degrees overnight.
Winds plagued the runners for almost a mile of each loop for the remainder of
the weekend.
The 24-hour
contest had gotten underway just a half-hour before the rough weather struck.
The eight runners that started in pleasant conditions were quickly thrown into
survival mode. The most sought-after goal in 24-hour competitions is 100 miles,
which is daunting enough in perfect weather. Now, you could almost see many of
the runners revising their strategies—with three notable exceptions:
Texas-based competitors Blair Zimmerman, Vicente Ledesma, and Jacqueline
O’Brien-Nolen. The first two took the lead early and ran together for the first
20 miles. Jacqueline gave everyone a five minute head start but passed them all
before 10 miles. By 26 miles, Blair had established a lead that grew for the
next several hours.
The war against
the elements continued, and as night fell, both 24-hour and 48-hour races
reached their halfway marks. The 12-hour race started, throwing six new runners
into the fray. The dropping temperatures induced casualties quickly, knocking
three out within 4½ hours, short of the marathon distance. A fourth, Curtis
Cormier retired at 32+ miles. Only Bob Botto and Ryan Loehding continued to vie
for the win. After some early lead trading, Ryan pulled away to complete 64.26
miles and achieve the Lake Jackson Award (for those finishing at least 31 laps
in 12 hours).
The
100-kilometer competition was supposed to start at the same time as the
12-hour, but two of the three entrants had elected to start on Friday night
with the 48-hour. One was the French superman, Henri Girault. The term
“superman” is not thrown in lightly here. This man completed his 459th
100-K race. He has run these races around the world, including 21 other times
in the US. The other Friday 100 K contestant was local runner Jim Morris, who
was attempting his first race beyond 50-K. On minimal training, he finished 31 laps
in just over 12 hours, the fastest time in the 100 K.
The only runner
to tackle the distance in the horrendous cold of Saturday night was Ron
Kallinen. Relatively new in Texas from Minnesota, he found the conditions to
his liking, finishing strongly and in good humor.
Meanwhile,
heading into the night with 60 miles completed, Blair held a two lap lead on
Vicente and three on Jacqueline. Four hours later, Blair had added another lap
to his lead over both rivals. Then, it was over. The cold and wind had taken
the fight out of him, and Blair withdrew. It was over an hour before Vicente
took the lead, now two laps ahead of Jacqueline. One lap further back in third
was steady Californian Vito Bialla.
By this point,
some 31 hours into the 48-hour, Dennis returned from a sleep break to find
himself three laps ahead of Ulrich, 104 miles to 98. Foot problems had forced
Lee out of the race much earlier. Michael was struggling in third at 88 miles,
a full five laps behind Ulrich. Dennis’ mileage goal was out of reach by now,
but he was determined to hang on for the win. But three hours later, another
sleep break allowed Ulrich to pull within two laps. Instead of sleeping for
extended times, Ulrich was napping for 10-15 minutes occasionally. His steady
walking pace made him an ever-present danger to Dennis’ lead.
The remaining
hours of the 24-hour sped by with Vicente slowly building his lead to nearly
two laps. Vicente ensured his victory with 108.43 miles in 23:37, while
Jacqueline squeezed one more lap into the race to finish two miles back. Vito
had stayed close until he reached his goal of 100 miles, where he stopped with
nearly 40 minutes left on the clock. Yen Nguyen and Peter Bennett had stopped
just past 20 hours with 72.29 miles, ranking them behind Blair. Remarkably,
three of eight starters achieved the Holy Grail of 24-hour competitions, each
taking home the Bryan Award for their efforts.
The 48-hour
ground on, but the last race start of the weekend was set for the stinging cold
of Sunday morning. Three entrants from different states began their 6-hour trek
at 8:00. KUS founder Eric Steele took the lead over Klaus Thiedmann from
Illinois, but that lead was never more than a few minutes. When Eric developed
ankle problems, Klaus went ahead and hung on to win with over 34 miles.
After the 6-hour
race finished, there were 4½ hours left in the 48-hour. Three things—time, distance and the bitter
winds—had by now erased major speed contrasts among the runners. The closing
hours would see no shuffling of the finish order. Dennis still led Ulrich by
two laps 130 miles to 126 miles. Michael, in third place was finding life at
114 miles . . . not too bad. Evan was
also in new territory at 110 miles, and Chip was working past 106 miles.
It seems you either
come alive in the last few hours of a 48-hour race or you just get through it
any way you can. Both Chip and Michael found new life, invigorating their pace
as the end approached. Evan also definitely perked up in the last hour. But
Dennis and Ulrich were just looking for a good mile point and time to stop.
When the 48-hours mark came, only nine laps separated first from fifth place.
Major thanks go
out to the volunteers without whom these events could not survive. In
particular the Tornadoes Running Club of Houston provided most of the helpers
as well as the portable heater that held frostbite at bay. KUS support was essential for this inaugural
event, with Eric Steele donating substantial time by bringing the race clock,
pop-up tents and water coolers from Kansas and helping with set up and take
down.
The Houston
Ultra Event Weekend is set for Feb. 28 - Mar. 2 next year with a similar format
to this year’s event. One difference is starting times for four out of the five
races, giving more morning starts. The performance awards for each race will be
based on American Best performances for men and women. There will also be
awards for first place male and female in each race. Oh yes, and the weather
WILL be better!