World-Class Woman Smokes the Men in FL Trail Fifties
It wasn't the rocks or roots, sizzling heat and humidity -- or even snakes in the porta-johns -- that tripped up some gritty guys in their quest to win the 13th annual Finger Lakes Trail Fifties on June 30 in the Finger Lakes National Forest in Hector, N.Y.
No man claimed the coveted overall victory in the 50-miler because of a world-class, woman ultra and mountain runner named Nikki Kimball.
The 30-year-old Kimball, of Elizabethtown, N.Y., won the 50-miler outright in 8 hours, 8 minutes, 5 seconds -- a women's course record. Shawn Ramsdell, 29, of Syracuse placed second overall -- and first among the men -- in 9:17:17; and ultra rookie Laurie Brophy, 29, of Manlius was third in 9:19:11.
"(Winning an ultra overall) is something I've wanted to do, and something I thought I could do," said Kimball, named New England Trail Runner of the Year for 2000 by New England Runner magazine. "I've won a mountain race overall, and that was pretty neat. It's a good feeling to win this today."
Beginning and ending at the Potomac campsite, with temperatures peaking in the low 90s, the 50-mile runners completed an initial 15.6-mile loop, plus two 15.5-mile loops and a final 3.4-mile "baby" loop. The 50K entrants circled the rugged course -- which passed through pastures, around ponds, through pine forests, up and down dirt roads and along winding trails -- twice; 25Kers went just once around.
All of it was a piece of cake for Kimball, who also set two unofficial women's records during the first two loops: 25K 92:15:42) and 50K (4:40:10).
"I took the race out hard, because I wanted to get as much land covered in the first two laps before it got really hot," said Kimball, who also holds the Vermont 50-mil women's course record. "I knew no matter what I did before, I would be suffering. That was my game plan, although I also knew I can come back from hitting the wall pretty well, so I'm not scared of that."
Ramsdell, last year's 50-mile runner-up, was worried that defending champion Alan Evans of Beaver Dams might show up again. Little did Ramsdell know he'd be battling two women for one of the top three positions.
"The first loop started out a little fast, but I was on pace and thought I might beat my time from last year," said Ramsdell. "On the second loop, I walked more and that cost me, but it all worked out pretty good. Alan wasn't here and that helped; Nikki is Olympic level, so I was happy to be where I am."
So far this year, Kimball has placed second in the U.S. National Ultramarathon 100K Road Race in Pittsburgh, won the U.S. Snowshoe Nationals, and fininshed fourth among elite women in the Mt. Washington Road Race in New Hampshire. So why come to Hector, N.Y.?
Kimball will represent the United States this summer in France at the World 100K Ultramarathon Road Championships, and in September as a member of the United States team headed to Italy for the World Mountain Running Championships. The Finger Lakes Fifties is going to enhance those upcoming performances.
"I picked the Fifties because I wanted something flat, hot and fast, because that's the way the worlds are going to be," said Kimball, a physical therapist. "This race was perfect timing, because the worlds are in August, and that gives me plenty of time to recover. I knew it was flat here because I looked at a topo map; and this was timed to deal with heat and humidity. I've never raced this distance in the heat before, and I didn't ralize how much it would take out of me. But I was never in trouble given my pace.
"I also heard from everyone that this was a great race, with really good people organizing it," she added. "All those reasons combined brought me here."
In the 50K (31 miles) race, 29-year-old Mark Stuart of Edinboro, Pa., won the overall title in 4:12:16, breaking Evans' course record, set in 1999, by 40 seconds. Greig Watson, 24, of South Hampton, England, placed secnd in 4:17:59, and David Jones, 43, of Interlaken was third -- and first masters -- in 4:56:32.
It was Stuart's first trail 50K; Watson had never ventured beyond 20 miles.
"I wanted to run under 4 hours for 50K, but it just didn't happen," said Stuart, who also set an unofficial 25K record of 1:58:08 on the first loop. "The course is deceptively rough with all the turns and twists on the trail, and it slowed me down."
Watson, a graduate student in exercise physiology at Ithaca College, chose the clinical approach.
"I've been consulting (physiologist) Tim Noakes' book on ultras, and he said start slow and taper; that's what I did, or perhaps I ran a little bit fast," said Watson, also a sports nutritionist. "I though I'd have to pull out at 2:15, but I got a second wind at 2:40. For about three hours on, I couldn't wait to finish. But this was a great experience for me, because I experienced the practical aspect of sports nutrition (and ultra running), and if athletes ask me, I can actually tell them what to expect during a 50K."
Lorrie Marnell, 40, of Locke, N.Y., won her sixth-straight 50K women's title in 5:27:02 -- good for fifth place overall. Tanya Cady, 48, of Sagmore Hills, Ohio, placed second in 5:40:20, and 39-year-old Joy Valvano was third in 5:50:55.
Marnell's winning streak was in jeopardy until the initial female 50K frontrunner dropped out at the 24th mile.
"I knew I'd be the first masters if nothing else. That probably helped me run more in control," said Marnell, president of the Finger Lakes Runners Club, the event's sponsor. "I keep hoping someone else will win so I can remove some of that pressure I keep instilling in myself.
"The race was hard, and really hot and humid the first five miles until we got some nice wind," she said. "But the course was in great shape, with no big hills to climb, no cows in the pastures or no big logs to jump over."
Hajime Nishi, 52, of Japan finished his 230th marathon-plus effort in the 50K event, with a time of 8:07:38. Nishi is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the first person to run a marathon on all seven continents in seven months.
Sam Hsiao, 27, of Ithaca won the 25K race in a course record 1:58:39. Alan Lockett, 44, of Moravia was second in 2:00:26 -- a masters course record., and Jim Miner, 52, of Dryden was third in 2:04:41.
"I did the race last year in 2:21, and twisted my ankle. This year, if that didn't happen, I thought I could do better," said Hsiao, a Cornell University graduate student in mathematics. "I went out slow in the beginning, but I kept the people in front of me in sight. I did turn my ankle, but it didn't bother me. I passed one person after another until I got to Alan, then there was one more person in front of me. But he (Stuart) went on to do the 50K, and that blew me away."
Donna Lockett, 43, of Moravia won the 25K women's race in 2:25:51, slower than the course record 2:18:33 she shares with Audrey Balander of Cortland. Christine Beach, 31, of Interlaken was second in 2:45:40, and 50-year-old Jean Gersten of Ohio was third in 3:02:46
-- Diane Sherrer
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