KANSAS ULTRARUNNERS'
SOCIETY (KUS)
Second Annual Heartland
100 & 50 Mile Races
October 13, 2001
Cassoday, KS
Running in the prairie
is a new experience for many of the first time participants in the Heartland
100. William Least Heat-Moon in his book Prairie Erth describes the
prairie as, “Whatever else prairie is - grass, sky, wind - it is most of all a
paradigm of infinity, a clearing full of many things except boundaries, and its
power comes from the apparent limitlessness; there is no such thing as a small
prairie any more than there is a little ocean, and the consequence of both is
this challenge.”
Temperatures were in the
mid-40’s for the start of the second annual Heartland
100 as a cold front had just moved through the area. Winds were out of
the north and would become an obstacle that the runners would have to deal with
throughout the event. The projected rain never materialized and the sky
was crystal clear by late morning providing the runners with unsurpassed views
of the Flint Hills tallgrass prairie. High temperatures for the day were
in the upper 50’s and by early evening the winds lessened. As the runners were
enjoying an evening of running under the clear star filled skies Mother Nature
decided it was time for some more Kansas wind. The increasing wind along with
temperatures that were falling to the low 40’s caught many runners off guard
between their drop bags.
Returning champions
Charles Stodter and Monica Scholz were in the field
along with 48% of last year’s participants. Phil Sheridan set the early
pace covering the first 50K in 4:03. Mark Henderson and David Wakefield
who was running only his second ultra followed him. By the turnaround it
looked to be a two-man race with Phil reaching the 50-mile mark in 7:05
followed by Mark in 7:33. Phil was forced to retire from the race at 83
miles and Mark continued on his mission of redemption after his second place
finish last year and finished in 17:17:50 with an impressive course record.
Charles Stodter demonstrated the same consistent pacing as last year and
finished in 20:40:06. At the awards ceremony he proudly displayed a perfect
Indian arrowhead he had found on the course during the race.
Early in the women’s
race, Monica Scholz and Molly Gibb were close,
however Monica’s consistent pace allowed her to gradually pull away from Molly.
Monica went on to defend her women’s title, set a course record of 20:32:34 and
finish second overall. What makes her performance even more impressive
was that she had an equally fine performance the previous week at the Arkansas
Traveler. Molly continued on to finish third in 25:56:31.
James Maher won the
50-mile race in 8:02:28. Dave McGuire and Raul Flores finished next and
then helped crew and pace Monica to her victory.
For runners looking for
a different adventure, or looking for a good race for their first attempt at
100-miles, the openness of the prairie will present challenges and views that
are uniquely different from other races. We look forward to seeing everyone
next October for the third annual Heartland 100.
Randy Albrecht RD
Jack Menard adds:
The October issue of
Ultrarunning contains over 39 reviews of ultras across the nation. This
attests to the number of races being offered. My wife and I wanted to run
something different for my first 100 miler and her first 50 miler. The
Heartland 100/50 looked good and was also within driving distance from our home
base of Denver.
It is easy to be humbled
when running a mountain race. We were to find that same feeling while
running beneath a blanket of stars where only the unending horizon fills ones
vision. This race is unique, to say the least. It is no cakewalk.
The 6042 feet of climb through the Flint Hills tallgrass prairie provides a
serious challenge. Nowhere else can you run with a 360 degree field of
view with nothing but open space. Occasional
oilrigs churn with the same sounds they have made since the turn of the
century. Cattle crossings become welcome distractions from the pace.
Forget pasta at the
pre-race dinner. This is Kansas and meat is king. The Cassoday Café
(founded in 1879!) catered a great menu of home cooking'. In addition, the aid
station at mile 31/62 offered Dave’s famous " Prairie
Power Pellets"-a unique blend of some prairie bean mixed of course with
wieners.
Our thanks go out to all
the great volunteers. We made a lot of new friends who we hope to see
again.