Race Season is Here!!!!

Well, its the perfect time of year for ultra-running and we have been in full swing. Lets see, we had several people out and running in the Memphis Marathon. Michael ran the half with Clint, Drew paced the 4:00 group, and Ultra Mike and John Manley ran the full. The next race we were at was the Swampstomper 50K. This was the premiere race for our new long sleeve white jerseys. They are snazzy. Drew ran the 25K portion of the event. Ultra Mike, Michael & Clint spent the first half of the race running the trails together. It was Clint's first 25K. He finished!!!!! John Manley, Michael and Ultra Mike all finished the 50K event. The conditions were perfect. It was a comfortable temperature and the sun was out all day. Overall, it was a great day. The next weekend Drew and Michael went to Huntsville, Alabama for the Mountain Mist 50K. It was a cool day. It rained a little early that morning just enough to make it slick and muddy. The course was very rocky. However, it was no match for Drew and Michael who set their PR's at 6:06:ish. It was an awsome run. Last weekend, John Manley and ichael went down to Huntsville, Texas for the Rocky Raccoon 100. The day got up to 80 degrees at one point. That was a little warm for the runners. The Memphis running community was well represented at the race. Kevin Dorsey came in 7th (18:42:47), John Manley came in 11th (19:32:10), Michael came in 33rd (21:38:27), and Mike samuelson came in 44th (22:56:48). Everyone under 24 hours!!! Sweet!!!! There were 239 starters and 162 finishers. That makes the second completed 100 mile race for John Manley and Michael. The next slated race was for the Sylamore 50K. However, with the recent storms that came through, the forest is closed. Therefore, the course will be changed and will be run partially on the road. The other race in the close future is the Mississippi 50. Look for us on the trails. We will be out there some where.

Drew will be trying to qualify for Boston at the Nashville Marathon.

Holly the Runningtwig is more of a Walkingtrunk these days. She is going to be popping out a baby any day now. We will keep you posted.

Wades Big Adventure!!!!

Look for Memphis Ultra members at Wades Big Adventure. Its been a full year. This race last year was the first race where our jerseys were worn. We will be there in full effect. Holly will be spectating and expecting. Michael, Ultra Mike, Patrick, John Dodd, and Vinnie will be running. Clint Buchanan will be running his first race ever. He just recently started running and is going to do the 8-mile portion of the race. Drew will be in New York, running his first New York City Marathon!!!! We will see you there!!!!

Happy Trails,

Memphis Ultra

End of 2008 / 2009 Races

Look for members of the Memphis Ultra at the following races.

11/1 Wades Big Adventure 18 Mile
11/2 New York City Marathon
11/2 MSRT Half Marathon
12/6 Memphis Marathon
1/18 SwampStomper 50K
1/24 Mountain Mist 50K
2/7 Rocly Raccoon 100 Mile
2/21 Sylamore 50K
3/7 Mississippi 50 Mile

We might see you out there. In the meantime, keep on running!!!!!

6-hour Endurance Run Results!!

First of all, congrats to all of the runners today! Thank you for making our first attempt at putting on a race a success! We look forward to putting on another event in the future.

Male Results
1. Mike Hudson - 8 laps
2. Michael Poole - 8 laps
3. John Dodd - 5 laps
4. Drew Hen - 5 laps
5. Vinnie Spataro - 4 laps
6. Mike Wallace - 4 laps
7. Patrick Dodd - 3 laps
8. Darren Hope - 3 laps
9. Chuck Hurt - 3 laps
10. Sam Schill - 3 laps
11. Greg Geske - 1 lap

Female Results
1. Laura Jaggar - 4 laps
2. Holly Hen - 3 laps
3. Chickie Messlein - 3 laps
4. Janet Wallace - 3 laps
5. Gretchen Gintz - 1 lap

We will be posting race pics in the next couple of days!

Race day!!

The course is marked and everything is ready! See everyone out at St. Columba tomorrow!

Race information

Thanks again to everyone who has signed up for the race so far. If anyone else is interested, come to packet pick-up or to the race and sign-up!!

Packet pick-up will be at St. Columba from 12:00-3:00 Saturday afternoon, April 12 or you can pick up your packets Sunday morning before the race. You will receive your race number and goody bag at the pick-up. We have had lots of great items donated for door prizes and for the overall male and female winners.

We marked part of the course today and I want to warn you that with all of the rain, part of the course is wet. If you are planning to run the entire six hours, you might want to bring some extra socks and shoes. The loop is a 3.1 mile loop on dirt trails, grassy trails, and a gravel road. We will have plenty of aid at the start/finish - all kinds of food, water, and gatorade. There will also be hotdogs, hamburgers, and many beverages for all participants at the completion of the six hours.

There will be signs directing you to the start/finish once you arrive at St. Columba - make sure to see below for directions to St. Columba!

Thanks!!

6-hour Endurance Partipants (so far)

1. Michael Poole
2. Patrick Dodd
3. John Dodd
4. Holly Hen
5. Drew Hen
6. Mike Wallace
7. Janet Wallace
8. Laura Jaggar
9. Mike Hudson
10. Samm Schill
11. Chickie Messlein
12. John Rawlinson

**I have had many people tell me that they will be there running, so please either get your forms to me or drop us an email at memphisultra@gmail.com to let us know if you plan on coming - we want to make sure we have enough t-shirt, goody bags, and food for everyone!!