2/13/2003:  AUA 2002 AUA All-Americans Announced The American Ultrarunning Association annually designates an elite group of U.S. "All-American" ultrarunners.  The primary criterion for AUA All-American status is performance at the top level in the USA Ultramarathon Championships.  Beyond that, consideration is given for exceptional achievement, exhibited either in a single performance or with a range of performances, outside of the year's USA Ultra Championship program.  AUA is proud to present its Ultra All-Americans for 2002. Men GOLD Chad Ricklefs, 35, Boulder, CO The year 2002 was a breakthrough one for the Colorado resident, beginning with a 3:12:15 at the Chicago 50Km.  In August he set a new course record at the Leadville 100 Mile Trail run in 17:09:29.  In October, he capped the year with his first USA Championship title, winning the national 100Km title at the Edmund Fitzgerald 100Km in Duluth, Minnesota.   Nate McDowell, 30, Corvallis, OR McDowell set a course record (6:50:39) on the very difficult White River 50 Mile trail course in Washington state, and in so doing won his first national championship title.  In September, McDowell won the Wasatch Front 100 Mile trail race in Utah with an outstanding course record 19:52:25.  In addition, strong second place finishes at the McDonald Forest 50K, Squaw Peak 50 Mile, and San Juan Solstice 50 Mile trail runs established him as one of the premier trail ultrarunners in America.   Alex Tilson, 32, Burlingame, CA The unheralded Tilson bridged a 20-year gap in American ultra history. In doing so he erased one of the great anomalies in our sport.  The official USA 50km road record had stood for 20 years at 3:00:00, despite the fact that over 10 Americans had run between 2:50 and 3 hours.  Documentation and course-measurement inadequacies had prevented all of those faster marks from being ratified as official American records. Finding that situation intolerable, Tilson set up his own 50Km road event and then went out and won it, setting a sterling new American 50Km road record of 2:51:48 SILVER Dan Verrington, 40, Bradford, MA Dan Verrington made his ultrarunning debut in 2002 at the USA 50Km Road Championship in Pittsburgh, defeating a very strong field in cold and windy conditions.  His time of 3:09:15 earned him his first national title.  In June, Verrington finished as second scoring American at the World 100Km in Torhout, Belgium. John Geesler, 43, St. Johnsville, NY Geesler became the first American male to win three USA 24 Hour Titles, taking the 2002 national title at the Olander Park 24 Hour in Ohio.  Earlier in the year he posted strong second and third place finishes at the Vermont 100 Mile and Massanutten 100 Mile Trail runs.  In December, Geesler moved up to the 2-day event and ran 231+ miles to win the Ultracentric 48 Hour event in Texas, notching a year-leading 24-hour distance of 148+ miles en route. Jeremy Redding, 29, Stanley, ID Redding  stunned the ultra trail community by winning the USA 50Km Trail Championship at the Headlands race in California against one of the strongest fields ever assembled.  Early in the year, he gave everyone a glimpse of his ability, by finishing a close second to Carl Andersen at the Way Too Cool 50Km Trail Run.   Howard Nippert, 37, Blacksburg, VA Nippert doesn't race very often, but when he does, he delivers a top-notch performance.  His win at the Catoctin 50Km in Maryland was decisive.  In his fourth appearance in the World 100Km, he led the United States effort with a 14th place finish in a time of 7:01:02.   Scott Jurek, 28, Seattle, WA Jurek has dominated the Western States 100 Mile Trail Run over the last four years.  His winning time of 16:19:10 this year was his best performance yet against a very talented field.  Just seven weeks earlier, he had won the popular Miwok 100Km Trail Race in California.   Carl Andersen, 41, Kensington, CA Andersen races infrequently, but when he does, he usually ends up winning. His time of 3:31:58 over a very deep field at the Way Too Cool 50Km Trail Race is one of his best performances ever.   In November, Andersen went on to record a sub four hour effort in winning the Quad Dipsea trail event.  Each of these victories could be a candidate for top American trail ultra performance of the year. BRONZE Dave Dunham, 37, Bradford, MA Dunham struggled with a series of ailments during the year, but still managed a strong silver medal at the USA 50Km Championship in Pittsburgh in 3:13:19. He followed that up with another pair of strong 50km performances (3:20 and 3:21). Mark Godale, 31, Streetsboro, OH Godale races frequently, and in 2002 he racked up some consistently high performances. He took the bronze medal at the USA 50Km Road Championship against a strong field.  His second place finishes at the USA 24 Hour Championship and the Sunmart 50 Mile Trail Run were his other two best performances.   Charles Hubbard, 41, Bloomington, MN Hubbard had long been one of America's best 50K runners.  The year 2002 proved no different, as he won the Minnesota Trail Mix 50km in a stunning 3:11:18 and the Ice Age Trail 50K in 3:21:10.  In October, Hubbard hung on for a hard fought bronze medal at the USA100K in Duluth, making the USA national ultra team for the first time. David Mackey, 33, Boulder, CO Mackey finished an impressive second at the USA 50Km Trail Championship against a very strong field.  In December, he captured the Sunmart 50Km Trail race in 3:23:27. Hal Koerner, 26, Parker, CO Koerner emerged as one of the top trail ultrarunners in 2002, based on his impressive finishes at the Promise Land 50Km, Way Too Cool 50Km, Miwok 100Km, and his runnerup finish to McDowell in the USA 50 Mile Trail Championship at White River. William Emmerson, 38, Seattle, WA Emmerson had strong finishes at the very difficult Promise Land 50Km (4:42), and then at the USA 50 Mile (3rd in 7:07:27) and 50Km (4th in 4:01:14) Trail Championships. Dusty Olson, 29, Duluth, MN Olsen finished a strong second on his home course at the USA 100km Championship in Duluth.  His time of 7:17:02 was his debut at the tough 100Km distance.   Women GOLD Ann Heaslett, 38, Madison, WI Heaslett dominated American Women at a wide range of distances and events. Her two USA Championship wins were stunning efforts (White River 50 Mile Trail and Olander Park 24 Hour Road). In addition, she set a course record of 15:57:20 in early February at the Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile Trail Race.  A month later she took a close second to Anne Riddle at the USA 50Km Championship in 3:45:29 under difficult conditions.  Heaslett also captured the bronze medal at the USA 100Km Championship and was third American scorer at the World 100Km.   Connie Gardner, 39, Medina, OH Gardner finished the year with perhaps the finest fourth quarter ever for an American woman. In October she won her first USA Championship by winning the Edmund Fitzgerald 100Km in 8:30.  In November she won the prestigious JFK 50 Mile run and followed that up with another impressive win at the Sunmart 50 Mile Trail Run in December.  All three races were against strong competition.   SILVER Anne Riddle, 35, Asheville, NC Riddle won the USA 50K Road Championship in Pittsburgh with a time of 3:44:38, running almost dead even splits despite inclement conditions.She had strong finishes at the difficult Promise Land 50Km Trail Run in Virginia and USA 50Km Trail Championship at Headlands.  In June she ran 8:26:56 in the World 100Km, finishing as second American. Mary Fagan, 26, Mill Valley, CA Fagan had two strong performances at the 50Km trail distance.  Her win at the Way Too Cool 50K was followed up by an even more impressive victory at the USA 50Km Trail Championship, her first national title. Ann Trason, 42, Kensington, CA Trason, America's best female ultrarunner ever, shows little signs of slowing down after 16 years at the top.  Her win at the Western States 100 Mile Trail Run was her signature performance.  Trason delivered wins at the Arkansas Traveler 100 Mile Trail Run, Crown King Scramble 50Km and Quicksilver trail 50 Miler, where she won outright over all the men. Tania Pacev, 42, Littleton, CO Pacev's breakthrough performance came at the World Cup 100Km in Torhout, Belgium, where she led the USA Women to a team bronze medal.  Her time of 8:23:24 was her personal best at the distance. Pacev finished fourth at the National 100Km Championship in October and won the Avalon 50 Mile Trail run in January. BRONZE Laura Nelson, 37, Harrisonburg, VA Nelson had her strongest year ever with solid finishes at the USA Road 100Km (2nd) and 50Km (3rd) Championships. Nelson also ran strong at the difficult Promise Land 50Km Trail Run and at the USA 50 Mile Trail Championship at White River. Sandy Powell, 44, Greenville, VA  Powell turned in some solid performances in 2002.  Her silver medal 124.9 mile performance at the USA 24 Hour Championship was her personal best distance for the event. Earlier in the year, she posted a 121 mile total in winning (overall) the Kansas Ultra Society's 24 hour event. Another overall win, at the FANS 12 Hour  (66 miles), was accomplished under hot conditions.   Krissy Moehl, 24, Seattle, WA Moehl is a newly emerging star among the younger ultrarunners. Her best performances were at the Promise Land 50Km Trail Run and the USA 50 Mile Trail Championship at White River (3rd). Moehl ran to strong finishes at the USA 50Km Trail Championship at Headlands, and at the Mountain Masochist 50 Mile Trail Run in Virginia. Petra Pirc, 30, Salt Lake City, UT A silver medal run at the USA 50 Mile Trail Championship at White River was Pirc's most significant performance to date.  Pirc led until the 48 mile mark before being overtaken by Ann Heaslett, who went on to win the national title. Pam Reed, 41, Tucson, AZ Reed delivered what many consider the best individual performance of the year, winning outright the 135 mile Badwater Ultramarathon. Her time was a course record 27:56:47.  Sue Ellen Trapp, 56, Ft, Myers, FL The ageless Trapp continues to deliver top performances at the 24 hour event, now well into her third decade of world-class ultrarunning.  Despite "slipping" to a third place bronze finish at the USA 24 HourChampionship (having won 6 previous titles), she was able to come back later in the year to garner a year-leading 133+ miles at the Ultracentric 24 Hour Run in Dallas.