AUA September 25, 2002 US 100K National Road Championship, Hosted by The Edmund Fitzgerald The Edmund Fitzgerald 100K along the north shore of Lake Superior has been the site of some of the greatest ultradistance competitions North America has ever seen.   In 1990 the Ed Fitz hosted the 100Km World Challenge/Cup, with the likes of Don Ritchie, Yannis Kouros, Roland Vuillemenot, Erik Seedhouse, Stefan Fekner, Eleanor Adams, Marta Vass, Ann Trason, Russell Prince, Charlie Trayer, Tom Zimmerman (and yes, even Ray Krolewicz) participating. A host of other outstanding ultrarunners also ran. It was a cold, blustery day that saw the race unfold.  Russell Prince of New Zealand set the early pace with some early sub-six minute miles.  By 50 miles he had been overtaken by the great Roland Vuillmenot (age 44) of France (5:11 split). Prince would follow in 5:12, then Fekner in 5:16 and Kouros in 5:18.   On the women's side, Eleanor Adams would cruise through 50 miles in 6:11, with Ann Trason only six minutes behind.  By the finish, Adams of Great Britain would be in control, winning in 7:55:08, followed by Trason in 8:06 and Vass (Hungary) in 8:07.  The American names were a list of who's who. Not mentioned above were Rae Clark, Steve Warshawer, Chris Gibson, Bill Clements, Robert Perez, Ray Scannell, Joe Schieffer, Roy Pirrung, Dennis Herr, Sue Olsen, Linda Gentling, Sandra Kiddy, Theresa Daus-Weber.  (Believe it or not? Krolewicz would finish in 12th in 7:21!). One would be hard-pressed to imagine finding such a high performing crowd -- as was present in northern Minnesota on October 27th, 1990 -- occurring anywhere in North America today.   The tradition of the Edmund Fitzgerald continues. This year, the Championship and team selection for the 2003 US National Team goes to Duluth for the third time.  A competitive field (by today's standards) is expected on both the women's and men's side. Watch for more details about the race and competition as race day nears.   For more information on the Edmund Fitzgerald, please contact Sue Olsen at sueolsen@pro-ns.net.  (www.edmundfitz.com) For more information on the 2003 Team selection process, please contact Kevin Setnes at ksetnes@aol.com