Houston Ultra Event Weekend

by

Scott Demaree

What a difference a year makes!

Last year, the first edition of the Houston Ultra Event Weekend was plagued by a decidedly un-Houston-like arctic blast. We promised the runners better weather if they returned for the 2003 races, but only a handful chose to do so. However, many others took up the challenge as entries doubled this time around. These folks enjoyed near perfect running weather.

Fifteen 48-hour stalwarts left the starting line at 11:00 AM on Friday in a 21 hour head start on the other races. Among the competitors was one with high expectations. John Geesler had completed 231.4 miles at the end of November in the Dallas Ultracentric 48-hour, a mere 13 miles short of the modern American record. With that as his goal and confidence high, his only worry was the cold he caught the day before the race. The rest of the field was a mix of first-timers and veteran 48-hour talent, but contained no women. The race was clearly John‘s to win or lose.

Geesler quickly made it clear that losing was not an option, gaining a lap on the field after six laps of running. Vicente Ledesma was the only competitor within an hour of Geesler at the marathon point, reached in 3:38. The lead grew further by the 100 kilometer point (9:56:11) to over two hours. Shortly thereafter, John Yoder took over second place. However, Geesler’s cold worsened overnight, and he developed breathing difficulties. By 100.4 miles and 20 hours into the race, Yoder had actually fought back to within a lap of the lead.

The “mass” start on Saturday morning sent 39 runners into contention for three races. The class of the 24-hour was clearly Jeff Hagen. The 56-year-old was attempting a double 55-59 road age-group record at 100 miles and 24-hours. This was realistic as he has been one of the most consistent performers in 24- and 48-hour races for several years. Nearly half the field was made up of women, with Jacqueline O’Brien-Nolan returning to defend last year‘s win.

At the marathon point it was Jacqueline at 3:49, Blair Zimmerman at 4:08, and Jeff at 4:34. But 40 miles of machine-like pacing essentially put Jeff in total control of the race. Meanwhile, Jacqueline separated herself decisively from her female competitors.

The 12-hour race featured Ryan Loehding returning to defend his title. After jumping out to a lap lead on Bob Botto and John Opalko, Ryan hung on tenaciously to that gap as Opalko pressed him, and Botto slowly gave ground. In the end, Ryan improved last year’s total by over eleven miles to an excellent 75.1. Yen Nguyen ran her usual well-paced effort to win the women’s 12-hour.

The real speed on display in this year’s events belonged to the 100 kilometer race. Headliners included such luminaries as Steve Peterson, Sue Ellen Trapp, and Daniele Cherniak. A fast start brought six runners through the marathon in under four hours. Unfortunately, Sue Ellen was not among them after withdrawing early due to an unhealed hamstring strain. Daniele was four minutes up on Janet Runyan at that point, but developed hip problems and dropped out after 50 kilometers.

In the men’s race, Peterson’s 3:07 marathon put him 17 minutes ahead of Blade Norman. But most of the group from Colorado had only come to run a flat 50 mile, which they did in quality times (Peterson 6:08:00, Runyan 6:54:42). After this exodus, only two contenders remained, Joe Gaebler with a 14 minute lead on Norman at 50 miles. Gaebler widened the gap from there to win with a solid 8:33:29.

Saturday evening found Geesler enjoying a five lap lead over Jan Ryerse, with Yoder three laps further back. “Enjoying” might be a bit of a stretch. His breathing difficulties were worsening again with the second night’s cool air. Eventually he lost his voice. With 15 hours left in the 48-hour, his 150 miles was short of what he needed to have a chance at the record. At some point he decided to watch the leader board, and do just enough to preserve the win.

After midnight Jeff was closing in on 100 miles, and it was apparent he would beat the age record of 18:56. We don’t have a properly certified 100 mile on our course, so he was required to reach the certified 100.2 mile point faster than the record. He hit that mark in 18:42:33, barely pausing before plunging on in search of the 24-hour road record. Jacqueline followed by three hours, reaching 100 miles in 21:39. The last to reach the century mark was 67-year-old Kenneth Burns in 23:58.

Jeff’s quest ended in success as he eclipsed the record distance by over a mile. His 127.5 miles was another superb example of his precise planning and execution. Incidentally, the record he broke was his own. An unexpected record in this race came from Aaron Goldman, who shattered the 70-74 age road record reaching 98.4 miles. Behind Jacqueline’s 110.8 mile win, three other women surged past 90 miles finishing within two miles of each other.

As the 24-hour drew to a close on Sunday morning, eight runners set off on their 6-hour test of endurance. Steve Shepard assumed the lead after 10 miles over Nicholas Meza. This lead gradually lengthened to three miles by the end, giving Steve the win with a total of 40.56 miles. Ramona Zamudio won the women’s 6-hour by completing nearly 50 kilometers.

The last three hours of the 48-hour played out without surprises. Geesler parceled out his infection-depleted energy levels to finish with 176.7 miles and a ten mile victory. He even regained his voice by the end. Ryerse stayed ahead of Yoder by two laps.

Bear Creek Park once again proved to be a fabulous venue for a multi-day, multi-event race. This year’s entrants totaled over 4,400 miles, averaging 70+ miles per runner over all the races. The benign weather probably contributed to the fact that almost a third of the total entries received performance awards. While no one reached the upper tier of performance awards, some came close. Jeff’s outstanding 24-hour total was the best relative to the American record, giving him the overall Weekend win. With three age group records set this year and multiple records from the early 1990s, the two mile loop seems optimum for achieving great performances.

The Houston Ultra Event Weekend drew several top ranked athletes this year. We also saw expansion of our outstanding volunteer base. With these encouraging trends, we will continue conducting these races for the foreseeable future in the early-March time frame. Weather in Houston is wildly variable this time of year, but finding optimum running conditions is a gamble just about everywhere. We cordially invite any ultrarunner to join us next year when we will again try to squeeze a weekend of quality running in between storms.

Wes Monteith adds:

Wow, when Scott twisted my arm to be RD of this event, I had no idea the extent of work, amount of time and patience it would take to pull it off, nor the rewards. I was able to be out there with many of my ultra family, which I had previously only shared the trail or road with as a runner, but now as an overseer. It is different. I became not the child running with my friends, but rather the parent hoping they would all have the time of their lives, accomplish their goals, stay nourished, warm and safe.

I can safely and truly say, a race is only as good as the volunteers that work it and we had the highest caliber of volunteerism. Many spent many hours lap counting, cheering and feeding our runners. Praise was bestowed upon the potato soup and small spicy burgers which some say provided a miracle cure for John Geesler, who started with a nasty chest cold and progressed to a point that would have put me in a hospital, but ultimately was defeated by his amazing tenacity. That credit goes to the cooks Rachel and Gina for burgers and soup respectively. This year, as last, saw multiple unselfish hours by several folks. Thanks to Roger, Dave, Victor, Joe, Hope, a slew of others and of course Scott who is ever the heart, mind and voice of this event. Also to Russell, Penny and David for so many great pictures.