 |
at Olander Park Sylvania, OH September 15-16, 2001 Hosted by the Toledo Road Runners |
 |
|
|
at Olander Park Sylvania, OH September 15-16, 2001 Hosted by the Toledo Road Runners |
|
| Welcome to the 2001
USA National 24 Hour Championships, hosted by the Olander Park 24 Hour
Run and the Toledo Road Runners! Updates will be made throughout the race
at this location and the current standings will be loaded in the frame
below. Use your "reload" button on your browser to determine
if there is a recent update.
Photos of start, by Todd Herzog Final results: USA 24-Hour National Championship
OVERALL RESULTS MEN 1 Rudy Afanador, 43
151.05 miles
WOMEN 1 Sue Ellen Trapp, 55
126.17 miles
USA MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS MEN 40-44
WOMEN 40-44
MEN 45-49
WOMEN 45-49
MEN 50-54
WOMEN 50-54
MEN 55-59
WOMEN 55-59
MEN 60-64
WOMEN 60-64
MEN 65-69
MEN 70-74
MEN 75-79
MEN 80-84
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - USATF CLUB TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS MEN 1 Team Happy Feet-NJ
383.45 miles
2 Badgerland Striders
373.54 miles
3 Broadway Ultra Society
359.65 miles
WOMEN 1 Badgerland Striders
263.00 miles
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - AMERICAN REGIONAL CHALLENGE TEAM RESULTS 1 CENTRAL REGION
64 points
2 SOUTH REGION
93 points
3 EAST REGION
103 points
24:00:00 The race is over The 2001 USA National 24-Hour Championship at Olander Park is complete! The Toledo Roadrunners Club has volunteers scouring the lakshore for tags that were dropped at the gun by runners who want credit for partial laps. Since the top finishers were all on different laps, we can list some leaders whose positions are final altho their distance may still increase by up to 1.09 mile. Rudy Afanador 150.55
Sue Ellen Trapp 125.46
Congratulations! More to follow once the partial lap additions are computed, and we will soon categorize the age groups, regional teams, and club teams. -- Gordon Chace 23 Hours: a few position changes but the leaders are locked in Sandy Powell has moved up to fourth woman and Danny Ripka to fifth man. 21 Hours: Rudy is the Man! It's not going out on much of a limb now to forecast Rudy Afanador as our new national champion, even with 3 hours to go. He is the only man on the course whose determination, resolve, and spirit were never dented. You have to hand it to John Geesler: he's a no-nonsense guy who puts it right on the line. Afanador gradually, inexorably ran him down for the last two hours. Geesler's response was the same as it was last year when Dave Luljak tried the same come-from-behind charge: increase the pace to hold off the challenge until one man breaks. No cat-and-mouse game for him. Last year it worked, and Luljak was forced to settle for silver. This time, for two hours, when everyone else's energy was winding down, John and Rudy fed off of one another's adrenaline, notching up the effort lap by lap. Only this time the game broke the other way. When Afanador finally caught and passed Geesler, it was quick and painless, because John had already pressed the accelerator to the floor. He had no fight left. Geesler knew he had been beaten by a better runner, and he conceded. His spirit broken, he stumbled to a slow walk. Now he must gather up enough energy to hold off Luljak once again. Setnes is still on the course walking, but Pirrung has now passed him and Ripka will probably do the same shortly. Sue Ellen Trapp looks just fine, and now has her record seventh national 24-hour title in the bag. Reicher, reduced to a painful hobble, is just going for as much mileage as she can squeze in by walking. Beth Simpson probably cannot catch Reicher so long as Reicher stays in it, but SImpson is pushing hard, faster than all other women right now, just to get her best possible final distance. After an up-and-down night, Sandy Powell is closing back in on Debbie Jones for the last women's prize money spot. -Dan Brannen, AUA 20 Hours: It has now been one hour since sunrise and the temperature is quickly getting comfortable after the night chills. The course is getting crowded again after the wakeup of many runners who taken multi-hour breaks at night. John Geesler and Rudy Adanafor have been locked together in the top two places for two hours now, more or less one lap apart. They actually got locked into this relative spacing back between hours 14 and 15 when both were a few places away from the top. Sue Ellen Trapp has lapped Jody-Lynn Reicher again, now a total lead of 4 laps. Reicher has a big 10 lap margin over the third woman (Beth SImpson) and Reicher can lock in at least second place by simply keeping going over the final four hours. 19 Hours: Here is an update on regional and club team rankings at 19:00 Regional:
Men's Clubs:
Women's Clubs:
It's a Whole New Race Kevin Setnes and Jody-Lynn Reicher have both been done in by the combination of fast early pace and cold weather. During the night the temperature dropped to 47F degrees with the humidity at 86%. The thin-legged pair gradually stiffened from head to toe, unable to free their muscles from the grip of the damp, cold air. They are both reduced to a walk. The same fate has befallen Serge England-Arbona. John Geesler, who typically thrives on this type of weather, took advantage to assume the lead and pull clear of the field--until, that is, Rudy Afanador came back to life. The pair has been escalating the pace as daybreak brings color back to the sky. Sue Ellen Trapp has pulled clear of the women's field and is moving up through the men's. Her 100 mile time of 18:35:03 smashes the American women's 55-59 age-group record by about 3 hours, and may be a world age-group best as well. Brenda Gutmann appeared to be giving Beth Simpson a late challenge for the bronze, but Simpson has responded to the challenge and now seems to be holding her ground. -Dan and Gordon, happy to be out of the dark Trapp takes women's lead, Setnes slows and Geesler gets close At 17 hours, we have a new women's leader, Sue Ellen Trapp. Reicher's current lap has been going on for at least 20 minutes so she might be taking a rest. Kevin Setnes has slowed dramatically to about 17 minutes per lap during this hour, allowing John Geesler at 12 minutes per lap to unlap multiple times and get within a few minutes of Setnes. Serge England-Arbona is another runner who has slowed significantly and is now several laps away from the lead he once held. Seven men are now beyond 100 miles, but it will be a while before the next men's 100. Trapp is projecting to reach 100 around 18:15 to 18:30. -- Gordon Chace Two-thirds done: Trapp and Geesler on the move After 16 hours, two veteran 24-hour runners are moving up by holding a good finishing pace when faster starters slow for exhaustion. Sue Ellen Trapp has completely unlapped and is only 3 minutes behind Jody-Lynn Reicher. John Geesler has moved into second, now 3.3 miles behind Kevin Setnes. Afandor and Arbona and third and fourth, with smooth-moving Dave Luljak steadily picking off positions and now in fifth place. Beth Simpson is running hard in third place, with Brenda Gutmann and Debbie Jones moving up after Smith-Batchen went off course for rest. Two more hours until twilight. There is absolutely no wind and thin mists are settled over the water of the lake. -- Gordon Chace, unable to fulfill his "short&T" vow in this cold air 15 Hours: Same leaders but other positions change Kevin Setnes and Jody-Lynn Reicher still lead. Setnes' lead is growing at about 2.5 miles with Serge England-Arbona losing a few minutes every lap. Arbona is now visibly suffering and appears dispirited. For a while he appeared to be limping while on an extended walk, but he has managed to break back into a slow run. Reicher's lead over Trapp is a nominal 3 laps on the chart but Trapp has regained most of the third lap and is trailing by only a little more than 2 miles. Following Setnes, who appears to be in command of the race, John Geesler and Dave Luljak are the best movers on the course. Geesler will soon take over second place and if Setnes falters, his lead could be tenuous. Lisa Smith-Batchen has succumbed to sleep, and an inspired Beth Simpson, as surprising as Reicher, appears on her way to be making the bronze medal all her own. First to 100Miles: Kevin Setnes 14:35:10 14 Hour update: Kevin Setnes will be first to 100 miles, and he is almost certain to break the ratified record of 15:01 for men 45-49. However, it will be a very tough effort to break 14:31 which represents a better record which is pending and might soon ratify. Both versions of the record are held by Setnes's good friend, Roy Pirrung. Regional and Club Teams at the half-way point: There are two team competitions, regional and club. The regional teams are automatically formed by state of reside for all US citizens, scoring by position numbers for three men and two women. The participating teams are East, Central, and South. The West had enough registrants, but too many no-shows due to travel problems after the terrorist attacks of last Tuesday. 1. East, 35 points (England-Arbona, Geesler,
Gibson, Reicher, Smith-Batchen)
The club teams have 3 to 5 members with the best 3 distances added. Some clubs brought more than 5 people thus they decided how to assign their people into dual teams. Men:
Women:
A new leader and two 12-hour records Kevin Setnes is now leading by about 2/3 of a mile after Serge England-Arbona slowed gradually through the 12th hour. Afanador and Geesler still lurk a few miles behind the lead pair, neither showing any signs of falling further behind. Danny Ripka has been moving well, and fills out the top 5. Chris Gibson, Darren Worts, and Roy Pirrung then follow in close succession, with Dave Luljak now solidly in the top 10. Although Mark Godale, running erratically, holds 10th place at halfway, he has just retired from the race after fighting a losing battle with hip and hamstring cramps all day. Based on pace developments over the last 4 hours, we expect each of the top 4 to believe they have a shot at victory, and we're projecting Luljak to continue to mow his way through the field into the top 5. Setnes set a new USA record for 12 hours in the men's 45-49 division, finishing the 85.098 mile lap about two minutes before the mid-point of the race. Sue Ellen Trapp set a new 12-hour USA and World record for the women's 55-59 age group, 69.82 miles. After Reicher's disastrous 11th hour, she came back well in the next one, holding steady about 2.5 miles ahead of Trapp. Smith-Batchen and Simpson look to have their 3rd and 4th positions secure, but there is still a battle for the 4th distaff spot. -Dan Brannen & Gordon Chace, reporting for AUA at halfway 11 Hours: Reicher give 3 laps to Trapp! Jody-Lynn Reicher completed only 2 laps this hour, versus 5 for Sue Ellen Trapp. This means that less than half remains of the 5-lap margin which had been in effect for many hours. Dan Brannen and I were looking for Reicher, and when she came thru at 10:54 she had a good rhythm going, so perhaps she had taken a rest break sometime in the middle of the hour. Kevin Setnes pulled back to within a half-lap of England-Arbona. Setnes told us he is trying to decide whether to push hard thru 100 miles and attempt upper-40's record for 12 hours and 100 miles, versus a more conservative pace for the best possible result at 24 hours. -- Gordon Chace 10 Hours: Bigger lead for England-Arbona Kevin Setnes had gotten to within a half-lap at the previous hour, but was slowed in hour 10, and is now slightly more than one lap behind. Reicher has gained a few minutes on Trapp. 9 Hours: Setnes gains Kevin Setnes is shown with one lap less than England-Arbona, but their most recent clock values show that Setnes has gained several minutes within the hour and they are really just a half-lap apart. Afanador is now a lap and a half further back behind Setnes, with Geesler close by in fourth. Reicher's lead over Trapp is holding at a few minutes less than 5 laps, with Smith-Batchen positioned one lap behind Trapp. Dave Luljak, the 1997 champion, started cautiously and is currently the tenth man, but looks notably smooth and could move up quite a bit during the final hours, as he did last year. Trapp is looking more relaxed at night than she did during the afternoon. It's chilly enough now that many runners are pulling over their tights and longsleeves, however your webmaster is visiting from Minnesota and vows to stay with short&T for the duration. -- Gordo Chace 8 Hours: Now It Gets Interesting.... Olander Park is now in full darkness, and the temperature is dropping noticeably. For those able to keep a steady run through the night, the conditions will continue to be ideal. For anyone taking a break longer than one or two minutes, it will be tough to get restarted without getting chilled and needing extra clothing. Our leader, who prefers to be called by his full name, Serge England-Arbona, is a relative novice ultrarunner, but is looking like a seasoned veteran. Hailing from Baltimore, Maryland, he ran his first ultra last year at the Catoctin 50km in western Maryland. His second was this year's Old Dominion 100 miler in June, which he won in under 17 hours. A 2:30 marathoner, this Olander race is actually his first road ultra! For the last few hours, England-Arbona has been running steady sub-9 minute miles (even while eating a meal). In fact, in the first 8 hours, he has not walked a single step. Our women's leader, even more of a novice (her first ultra was six months ago), is starting to turn heads and cause a lot of chatter around the course. That's because after a blazing start, what is amazing is that she has only gradually slowed, and has now settled into a very steady pace. In other words, she seems to have gotten away with running way too fast in the first 3 hours without having to pay a price for it. Like England-Arbona, after 8 hours she looks strong and confident, and she is not suffering. Though Sue Ellen Trapp is equally impressive, but in a different, steady-as-she-goes way, right now the impetuous Reicher is overshadowing the vet. The stage could be set for a classic duel, featuring a patented chase all through the night by Trapp. The 55-year old vet will have her work cut out for her, as Reicher has built a lead of over 5 and a half miles. -Dan Brannen, AUA 7 Hours: New leader! Serge Arbona is in the lead by one lap plus two minutes over Kevin Setnes, with Rudy Afanador having lost ground. Afanador is now third, two minutes behind Setnes. Jody-Lynn Reicher has increased her lead to 5 full laps plus a few extra minutes over Sue Ellen Trapp, who in turn has a few minutes margin on the same lap with Lisa Smith-Batchen. Reicher has been running often with Chris Gibson, who is known for using the Olander event as a though it was a 100-mile distancebased run. We learned some more background on the fourth woman, Beth Simpson of Wisconsin. She works with Kevin Setnes's coaching and has recently started doing ultras, including the Ice Age Trail 50 and 100 kilometer version of the Kettle Moraine Trail 100M/100K. Sandy Powell is moving better now and is back up to fifth place. -- Gordon Chace, in Toledo where the sun has set and the sky is starting to darken 6 Hours: Serge Arbona has moved to within a few seconds of Rudy Afanador for the overall lead, and might have taken over by the time this report is posted. Jody-Lynn Reicher continues to lead by 4 laps of the 1.09 mile loop, plus 2 or 3 extra minutes. However, Sue Ellen Trapp has moved into second place and is now 2 minutes ahead of Lisa Smith-Batchen, an reversal of their relative position one hour ago. Sandy Powell, who finished second in 2000, completed only 4 laps during this hour and has moved back to seventh place. Moving up is Ray Krolewicz, who is famous for driving long distances by car to get to numerous ultramarathons, started late by two hours but has already passed 11 competitors. Viewers with questions can email runallnight@yahoo.com and we will attempt to reply either by email or on this web page, but please take note that we only check this mail queue every few hours and cannot pass along personal messages to runners. -- Gordon Chace, webguy du jour 5 Hour Report: Although premature to call any move a "shakeup" after only 5 hours of running, there is a change at the top, as Serge England-Arbona has moved past Kevin Setnes into second place. England-Arbona, the surprise winner of this year's Old Dominion 100 Mile, exhibits a remarkably smooth and efficient running style, topped off by a peaceful and relaxed countenance. Terry Martin and Mark Godale have also backed off on the pace, while John Geesler and Chris Gibson have moved closer to the top. Two observations worthy of note in the women's race: one is the slower than expected early hours of Sandy Powell, who lies lower in the standings than expected; the other is Beth Simpson in 4th place, a completely unknown quantity. We'll try to track down more information about her for our next report. Although the sun has again broken through the clouds and in shining brightly on Olander Lake, it is late enough in the day and low enough on the horizon so as not to have a negative effect on the temperature. So far today, the field has been blessed by mother nature. -Dan Brannen, AUA 4 Hour Report: The weather has been ideal. Aside from a sudden parting of the clouds which left the park awash in baking sunlight at the start of the race, the sky has otherwise been mostly cloudy, the wind perfectly still, and the air pleasantly dry and mild. Nearly everyone in the race seems to be taking full advantage. None of the ranked contenders shows the slightest signs of fatigue or discomfort. -Dan Brannen, AUA 3 Hour Report: As he did in the early stages of the USA 100km National Championship in Pittsburgh in March, 43 year old Rudy Afanador of Medford, NY is running hard, attempting to pull away from the field early. This has been Afanador's style since he began running ultras in the New York Metropolitan area about 6 years ago. In recent years Afanador has been able to manage his slowdown curve through the second half of the race and is now often becoming as much a factor at the end as he is at the beginning. His breakthrough was as the Badwater ultra in Death Valley this summer, where he finished second in one of the fastest times ever recorded on the course. Jody-Lynn Reicher is running a similar race at the front of the women's field, and is in fact running among the top 10 men. The background of her racing style is similar to Afanador's, but goes back much further. Reicher has been a denizen of the New Jersey short-range road racing scene for almost two full decades. Through the early 90's she would often win local road races in the 5km to half marathon range. She has broken 36:00 for 10km and has run 2:51 for the marathon. In the mid-90's Reicher was brutally assaulted while out on a training run and left in critical condition. Multiple surgeries followed over the next few years, and her running career was all but ended. Yet her comeback over the last 3 years has been impressive, as has her foray into ultras, which began with the USA 100km Championship in March. -Dan Brannen, AUA We have posted 2.5 hours First Hour is posted We now have the first hour's standings in the lower window. 145 runners actually started at the gun, with a few more who phoned in that they are still trying to get to Toledo for possible late starts. Lap counting is based on tearaway tags made of a synthetic cardboard with barcode identification. Runners toss a tag for each lap of the 1.091 mile course. Scorekeepers scan the tags with a laser and then store them in order as a backup measure. By the time the day ends, there will be about 10,000 scoring events. This system was developed by Todd Herzog of Paradigm Technologies and has been used for many years at Olander Park, which consistently has the largest field of all races of this type. In 2001, Herzog supplied tags for the FANS 24-Hour, which is the nation's second biggest event, which were processed by local officials in a somewhat simpler method. 12:20 PM: The race is underway! Due to a lengthy pre-race briefing and extended pre-race ceremonies, the 14th annual USA 24-Hour National Championship commenced approximately 20 minutes late. Hardly a dry eye remained among the extended throng of participants, officials, spectators, dignitaries, and press, as Race Director Tom Falvey, Olander Park Director Gary Madrzykowki, and various officials issued brief yet eloquent emotional statements and prayers. Adam Bookspan, a racewalker from Florida who plays trumpet with the Miami Symphony, played the national anthem on his cornet, and Fenny Roberts, an entrant from Oregon, sang "God Bless America," as the assembled crowd joined in. Bookspan had driven 24 hours to get to the event. Roberts had caught the last available plane from the west coast to make it on time for the race. Just before the race, an announcement was made by American Ultrarunning Association (AUA) Executive Director Dan Brannen that AUA and the Olander Park event were able to combine forces and resructure their joint operating budget so as to make a donation, in the name of the race, to the American Red Cross disaster relief fund on behalf of the victims in New York City and Washington, DC. Now all thoughts and energy are on the competition. In an unexpected move, two-time defending champion Kevin Setnes took the immediate lead, towing a small pack through the early miles at a sizzling pace of 6:30 per mile. In his immediate wake are Rudy Afanador, Mark Godale, Phil Pierece, and last-minute Canadian entrant Terry Martin. The second group, running between 7:15 and 7:30 per mile, includes Serge England-Arbona, Michael Wardian, defending champ John Geesler. Not too far behind are Roy Pirrung, Danny Ripka, Blade Norman, Darren Worts, and Ed Rousseau. Leading the women, and actually among the top 10 men (just ahead of Pirrung's group) is Jody-Lynn Reicher, zipping along at under 7:30 per mile pace. Much further back, at about 8:20 per mile pace, is another string of women including Sandy Powell, Bonnie Busch, Beth Simpson, Lisa Smith-Batchen. Further back still, running her patented 9-minute per mile pace, is Sue Ellen Trapp. After a cold, overcast morning, the temperature is now climging rapidly through the sixties(F), and a bright sun is shining. -AUA USA 24-Hour: The Night Before the Race Friday, Sept. 14, 10:00PM: The weather
is clear and calm, a bit on the
The most amazing statistic to emerge from
this race might actually turn
If race director Tom Falvey's projections
hold true, it is possible that
Unless a miracle occurs, Yiannis Kouros
will not be among them. Last
Recapping the form charts: On the women's side, top 2000 finishers
Jamie Huneycutt and Elizabeth
Among the men, former champions John Geesler,
Kevin Setnes, Mark Godale,
The big surprise of the night was the number
of USATF clubs from around
*Broadway Ultra Society (New York) (defending
national champions)
9/12/2001: Contingency plans for AUA webcast of Olander 24-Hour
The AUA had planned to have three volunteers at Olander Park in Ohio
If at all possible, we will still report the event on this website.
Our goal
In the unlikely event that have have technical problems with this site
and
The alternate site now has a minimal page asking viewers to attempt to
9/11/2001, late evening: Toledo Roadrunners make plans to proceed with USA 24-Hour Championship Over one hundred and fifty ultrarunners,
representing thirty one U.S.
Eight former USA national champions headline
the run for the national
The American headliner is Fort Myers, Florida
dentist Sue Ellen Trapp,
Last year's champion and Trapp's arch-rival
for most of the last decade,
The men's race is a wide open shooting
match. Former champions Kevin
Yet all may be running in the shadow of
an anticipated return appearance
Kouros likes the Olander Park 1.09 mile
loop course, so this year he has
The legendary Greek has already encountered
an unexpected challenge to
It also remains to be seen what effect
the terrorist-impaired U.S. air
The event will be covered live on the website
of the American
http://www.americanultra.org
AUA Home (opens new window) AUA © 2001 All Rights Reserved. |