Who is Eddie Mulkey?
by
Eric Sharpe
The past four years have brought nothing but warm, dry weather for the trail run that is quickly earning a reputation as one of the toughest 5OKs in the Midwest and considering that the Elk City Hiking Trail takes an entire day to hike one way, running on it any other way but dry would seem impossible.
Friday morning was warm and it stayed that way all afternoon. By 9:30 PM, most of the runners had been checked in and those who wished food were fed. Our infamous pre-race pasta feed was, once again, a rousing success and no stomachs were sent away grumbling. We were pleased to see many returning faces including Dennis Haig, Dave Dinkel, Bob & Rose Marston and Wes Monteith, plus many more. However, there were some new names on the entrant’s sheet this year. Including one, Eddie Mulkey.
"Who the Hell is Eddie Mulkey?" RD Eric Steele was overheard chuckling to Scott Demaree.
"Eddie Mulkey?!" Scott’s head snapped around as he perked up. "I haven’t heard that name in years. Now back in the day... Eddie Mulkey was quite a contender, I wonder what kind of shape he’s in? He might give Skippy a run for his money!"
Little did they know that the illustrious Eddie Mulkey was standing right behind them. Furthermore, little did they know that Eddie Mulkey’s name was going to be heard again very soon.
We set the start time of both events ahead one hour earlier this year, which meant an early bedtime for the volunteers, as well as the runners. For the first time since the inception of the Flat Rock 50K there was no Friday night campfire and no arguments from Flurp (who was unavoidably absent from his chef duties this year) and Wicki over who was going to turn the logs. As I closed my tent flap, I looked toward the night sky for clouds. Through the darkness I could see very few and began to get the feeling that our luck was going to hold out for another year.
5 AM and I couldn’t see a single star, it was definitely overcast and a little breezy. Silently, (as quietly as we could) we moved the vehicles down to the shelter, then Trailmaster Bud Baker and I set out to construct the aid stations. We had scored portable awnings to shield the volunteers from the sun this year, but it looked as though they were going to be keeping the rain off of their heads instead. We left the turn around point shortly after the 50K race had started (about 7:15 AM) and headed back to Race Headquarters (the Outlet Channel Shelterhouse). As we picked up speed, the first few raindrops began splattering upon the windshield.
It was a full-on shower when we arrived at the trailhead and that’s when we saw the EMS crew searching for the entrance to the trail. All they would tell us was that someone had gone down. It wasn’t until we got back to the shelter that I learned it was Bill Shirk who had fallen and unfortunately broken his ankle. It took two other runners, a gracious volunteer and the EMS crew to get him out. This, I understand, wasn’t accomplished without the rescuers falling several times in the process. Slick, very slick indeed.
The 25K entrants were led to the starting line in a light downpour and most of them looked as though they expected it to slow down pretty soon. A good percentage of the 25K entrants were new to Flat Rock and soon they were going to find out exactly what is meant by, "If you look up--you’re goin  down." A steady rain continued throughout the morning and into the early afternoon. Although the rain eventually stopped, the wind remained and kept the temperature rather cool, despite the efforts of the September sun.
The first runner through the gate was 25K winner Bryce Darby with a new course record of 2:20:04. Last year’s winner Warren Wisner was next at 2:23:06, followed by Michael McQuarrie who finished in 2:39:04. Michelle Halsne, the women’s 25K winner, clocked in at 2:43:35 and set a new women’s course record in the process.
Amazingly, Eddie Mulkey broke the five hour mark and was the 50K winner this year, smashing the old course record by more than 10 minutes. He finished in 4:54:3 3, almost a half hour ahead of Michael Nowacki who pulled in at 5:28:25. KUS members Phil "Skippy" Sheridan and Earl "Sandman" Blewett shared third place with a time of 5:37:40. Mindy Wilson was the first woman through in a time of 6: 16:03.
As the rest of the pack began descending upon the finishers tent, it is obvious that no one had escaped the trail without at least slipping and sliding part of the way. RD Eric Steele's mother Virginia commented that as she approached the shelter for the first time, it looked to her as though some of the women were wearing brown, knee-high boots. She added that she thought that was awful strange apparel for a trail run. Nearly all runners were caked with mud, from at least waist-down.
Before all of the finishers were in, we learned that Bill Shirk had to undergo surgery at the hospital in Independence. RD Eric Steele sent one of the early 50K finishers into the hospital to check on Bill, he reported back Bill was doing fine, but probably would not be running any time real soon However, his wife Jan, reluctantly, yet valiantly, finished the race after being urged by her fallen husband to do so Not bad for someone with a lot of other things on their mind.
As the runners gathered in the main shelter to await the awards ceremony and fill their bellies with some of the best chili this side of the Mississippi, stories of mud and slop were traded and it was unofficially decided that next year we could do without the rain. With that in mind, we will try to plan a dry weekend for next year.
We are still however working on getting all of the rocks out of the middle of the trail as was suggested by some brainiac a couple of years ago. As soon as the board votes on it, we will enter the lengthy process of drawing up a work order and then organizing the fund raiser that will finance the paving of the entire trail. Look for this project to be done sometime around the year 2112. In other words -- NEVER!!
As always, many valuable les-sons were learned this year and our meddle as a running club and event organizers was put to the test. We were short a chef, soaking wet part of the day, dealt with our first major injury, the trail was very sloppy and yet, I didn’t hear one negative comment from any of the runners, members or volun-teers, except about the RD and his damn blue horn. See ya  next year!
RD Eric Steele Adds:
Well, well, some courageous (crazy) soul finally stepped up and broke the 5 hour mark this year. And to think it was done in the first year we increased our overall cutoff time by 90 minutes because of the rain and extremely slick rocks. Amazing, truly amazing! What will be next? I imagine several more ultrarunners will come from far and wide to break the 5 hour mark now that it has been done. Like Bannister breaking the four minute mile, undoubtedly, many more speedsters shall now come break 5 hours on our little gem.
The question is; who thinks they can break 4 and a half hours? Now, surely if a Masters level runner can break 5 hours, there is a youngster out there who can break 4.5 hours. We are even considering putting prize money up next year for any runner who can do this. Now paging Eric Clifton, Courtney Campbell, Mike Morton and a host of other mountain masochists back east. How much do you think it’s worth? How much? We’ll keep you posted on the potential purse offering for a sub 4.5 hour finish time at Flat Rock 2000. For now, hats off to Eddie Mulkey for the first sub 5-hour finish at the Rock.
Finishing their fifth consecutive Flat Rock 50K in a row this year were David Dinkel, David Noltensmeyer and Dennis Haig. Just think, only five more Flat Rocks in a row and these gentlemen shall be inducted into the Flat Rock Hall of Fame and given lifetime free entry into the event and their own cloth numbers. As a gag, we presented half numbers to the three potential Hall of Famers at the awards ceremony, everyone present got a hearty laugh.
Thanks to the graphic artist Chris Moore, who is employed by the Copy Shop (KUS member Lindon Bontz’s company) for creating our Tshirt design this year. We had a total of eight entries, six of which Chris designed himself. We will continue accumulating shirt design ideas and all previous years designs will be eligible the following year if it hasn’t already been used. We voted on the shirt design at our annual trail cleanup that was held over Labor day weekend. We plan to do the same next year. So, if you would like to be eligible to win free entry into Flat Rock, submit your design ideas as soon as possible and if you would like to help vote on the shirt design, be sure and show up to our trail cleanup next year.
Unfortunately, we experienced our first major injury on the trail this year. Bill Shirk suffered a broken ankle early into the 50K race. Graciously, Bob Marston and Jim Davis (both competing in the event) stopped to help him. Along with a 25K race competitor’s spouse (James Fonzo) and about four EMS volunteers and probably half the Independence fire department, Bill was hauled off the trail and underwent surgery a few hours later to reset his ankle. Bill has already written and informed me he has set a target date in April of 1999 for his ultra comeback. Proving her ultra-gutsiness was Bill’s wife, Jan, who continued on for her first Flat Rock finish, after finding her husband laid out on the trail.
I cannot begin to put into words the kindness and attention to detail that was shown by all the individuals involved with this, our first major injury. From the runners caring enough to stop from their own event (who both went on to finish) and James Fonzo, who I grabbed in a panic for help, to the EMS and fire department, who were diligent in their rescue and their continual updates of Bill’s condition throughout the day, I was awed, but not surprised, at the incredible show of the human spirit. Once again, I received empirical evidence that day as to why I love this sport and why I, amongst numerous others, have spent so much time developing it here in the Midwest. The people, it’s all about the people. All it will ever be about, is the people. I am extremely honored to be serving in an organization that demonstrates such outstanding character from all the individuals involved.
Finally, loads of thanks to all runners, club members, volunteers and family members for making Flat Rock ‘99 another successful event. Special thanks to the Army Corp of Engineers who have been the backbone of our support down at Elk City Lake, Delores and Bud Baker for their guidance regarding the maintenance and upkeep of our beloved trail, the EMS for all their medical support (much needed this year) and the Independence Visitor’s Bureau for all the maps and points of contact, not to mention the runner’s bags and cool pencils. Extra special thanks to Independence native, Steve Kern, for spending many hours of his time, weed whacking extremely overgrown areas of the trail in the last couple of weeks before our event. None of it could have been pulled off without all of you, thanks again. Have a prosperous year, we’ll see you at the Flat Rock 2000.