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May 13, 2000 Sponsored by Ice Age Trail 50 Mile Trail Run |
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Held Wins in Ultramarathon
Debut;
Park Leads Women's Field
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Dan Held, 34, of Waukesha, Wisconsin, is better known for his performances on America's roads than for his exploits on its backcountry trails. He has represented the USA on World Championship teams in the half marathon and marathon, boasting marks of 1:04 for the half and of under 2:14 for the full distance. Held is not a complete stranger to trail running, having participated as a member of the USA World Championship cross country team in the past. Little did anyone realize, however, his passion for single track courses was quickly becoming one of ultramarathon proportions. "[Ultrarunning great] Kevin Setnes had been trying to get me to try this since 1996," said Held, shortly after posting a spectacular time of 5:54:41 to win the 2000 US National 50 Mile Trailrunning Championship. The race was held at the 19th running of the Ice Age 50 Mile Trail Run in Wisconsin's Kettle Moraine State Forest. "I owe my race to Kevin," commented the winner. "He helped keep me patient and use my fuel wisely today." Held entered the event with complete respect for the distance and for the talented field of experienced, elite ultrarunners. Starting the race restrained, Held and the 46 year old Setnes, a 4-time US national champion who has just made his 9th consecutive USA Ultra team, ran in tandem for the first 34 miles behind defending champion Eric Clifton, 4-time winner Steve Szydlik, and 1999 male ultrarunner of the year Mark Godale. Held pulled away from Szydlik, Godale, and Setnes on a long uphill at mile 34 of the 50-mile race; he had never before run beyond 34 miles, even in training. The course, rated as one of the country's most scenic by Trailrunner magazine, meanders through pine forests and meadows, traversing the kettles and moraines carved by fast-moving glaciers near the end of the last ice age. Its unique topography is characterized by sharp inclines and steep valleys containing trails littered with rocks. "The trails offer challenges different from the roads," explains Held when asked why an elite road marathoner would decide to run a trail ultra. "The roads are physically more difficult, but the trails might be more demanding, mentally." Ideal temperatures with low humidity and cloudy skies - Mother Nature's thankful reprieve from the high humidity and 80?F temperatures of the days leading up to the race - made this Ice Age one of the fastest in history. Held's time of 5:54:41 was the second fastest in the 19-year history of the event and made him only the 4th runner to ever break 6 hours on this technical course. He missed Canadian Andy Jones's course record of 5:53:21 by a slim 1:20. On the women's side of this US National Championship, the field was also loaded with experience and talent. Luanne Park, 39, of Redding, California, took the lead from National 100 km silver-medalist Deb Bollig of Boulder, Colorado, at 10 miles and never looked back en-route to claim her first-ever US National 50 Mile Trailrunning title. Park's time of 7:11:43 was the third fastest in the history of the Ice Age race, behind the 7:04 course record held by Wisconsin's Donna Perkins and the 7:04 + second-best performance of ultramarathon great Ann Trason. Bollig, 36, captured the silver medal in 7:19:38. Amanda McIntosh, defending 50 Mile trailrunning champion, took the bronze in a performance of 7:31:43 after being challenged through the 50 km mark by Ann Heaslett, 36, of nearby Madison, WI. |
Dan Held enroute to winning the 2000 US National 50 Mile Trail Championship.
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| OPEN MEN | |
| 1 Dan Held, Waukesha, Wisconsin
2 Steve Szydlik, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 3 Kevin Setnes, Eagle, Wisconsin 4 Dusty Olson, Winter Park, Colorado 5 Mark Godale, Aurora, Ohio 6 DeWayne Satterfield, Huntsville, Alabama 7 Eric Clifton, Albuquerque, New Mexico 8 Clement Grum, Elm Grove, Wisconsin 9 Stuart Kolb, Green Bay, Wisconsin 10 Rick Stefanovic, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
5:54:41
6:07:50 6:12:35 6:24:03 6:29:54 6:39:25 6:39:38 6:54:41 6:55:36 6:56:26 |
| OPEN WOMEN | |
| 1 Luanne Park, Redding, California
2 Deb Bollig, Boulder, Colorado 3 Amanda McIntosh, San Antonio, Texas 4 Ann Heaslett, Madison, Wisconsin 5 Anong Pustow, Louisville, Kentucky 6 Holly Neault-Zinzow, Whitewater, Wisconsin |
7:11:43
7:19:38 7:31:43 7:39:01 8:01:19 8:14:04 |
| Masters Men
M40-44 1 Eric Clifton, Albuquerque, New Mexico 2 Clement Grum, Elm Grove, Wisconsin 3 Bill Wilkey, Madison, Wisconsin M45-49 1 Kevin Setnes, Eagle, Wisconsin 2 Dan Brannen, Morristown, New Jersey 3 Larry Hall, Lake Bluff, Illinois M50-54 1 Ron Erhardt, Brookfield, Wisconsin 2 Roy Pirrung, Sheboygan, Wisconsin 3 Don Simon, Milwaukee, Wisconsin M55-59 1 Tom Bunk, Eagle, Wisconsin 2 John Rodee, Shorewood, Wisconsin 3 Lowell Mutchelknaus, Brookfield, Wisconsin M60-64 1 Jim Peterson, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 2 Kent Holder, Huntington Beach, California 3 Tim Lang, Green Bay, Wisconsin M65-69 1 Bill Dodson, Albuquerque, New Mexico M70+ 1 John Moran, Cudahy, Wisconsin |
B
B 6:39:38 6:54:41 7:24:04 6:12:35
6:56:37
7:48:50
8:55:50
8:44:23 11:27:59 |
| Masters Women
F40-44 1 Jane Moser, Madison, Wisconsin F45-49 1 Tanya Cady, Concord, Ohio 2 Lin Gentling, Rochester, Minnesota F50-54 1 Ingrid Honzak, Dayton, Ohio 2 Joan Heimler, Oak Creek, Wisconsin F55-59 1 Lorraine Bunk, Eagle, Wisconsin |
B
B 8:23:57 9:06:50
9:17:11
9:57:00 |
| Mens Team
1 Badgerland "C" [Szydlik, Stefanovic, Erhardt] 2 Badgerland "B" [Setnes, Grum, Pirrung] 3 Badgerland "A" [Wilkey, Dorgan, Yanachek] |
B
20:00:53 20:15:00 23:28:40 |
| Womens Team
1 Badger Girls [Heaslett, Neault-Zinzow, Hunter] |
B
24:15:34 |
Kevin Setnes, the winner of the men's bronze medal, charges up the hill at mile 38. |
Steve Szydlik, the 4-time winner of the Ice Age 50, finished in second place to capture the men's silver medal. |
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