Records fall at '09 SS 50/50
By John Trent (5/20/2009)

By John Trent

(Note: This story is an updated version of the original story that ran on May 20, 2009)

Course records in Reno have never fallen easily, whether it is because of the challenging terrain, the possibility of heat in mid-May, or the fact that Reno is situated at 4,500-foot elevation.

But for whatever reason, the 23^rd annual Silver State 50/50 Endurance Runs in Reno on Saturday, May 16, 2009 featured a pummeling of course records on Silver State’s “new” courses.

First, a brief explanation of what constituted a “course record.”

As many ultra veterans can attest, Silver State, from 1986-2007, was run on an extremely challenging course that took runners up and over Peavine Peak and then, if that wasn’t already enough, a torturous eight-mile climb into the Carson Range to the Microwave aid station and then to Hunter Lake before making a bone-jarring, rocky descent back to the finish at Caughlin Ranch. The course was so tough the 50-kilometer wasn’t even a true 50K; the course was actually 34.5 miles.

Not surprisingly, the course records set for the 50-mile and 50K are the stuff of legend and belong to some of the most legendary names in the sport.

The husband-wife team of Carl Anderson and Ann Trason – Anderson was one of the world’s finest runners from 50K through 50 miles, while Trason was the world’s greatest female ultrarunner, having won the Western States 100-mile Endurance Run more than any other person – held the 50M course records at 6:52, and 7:29, respectively.

The 50K course records were also impressive. Reno’s own Sean Crom, one of the world’s finest ultrarunners ever who was a two-time Corbitt Award recipient as the nation’s best ultrarunner, set the 34.5-mile standard at an eye-popping 4:39 in 1992. The women’s course record was also formidable, with Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier and Reno running legend Terry Schmidt becoming the first woman to ever break six hours with her 5:45 in 1994, followed by an epic battle in 2007 which saw Rory Bosio (5:41) and Jenny Capel (5:42) both sneak under Terry’s 34.5-mile course record.

As Crom later noted, “The old course where my record still holds is 34.5 miles long, or 3.5 miles longer than the new course (31.0 miles) and a much tougher course which also went up Peavine and down to Boomtown and climbed another 4,000 feet up and then back down to Caughlin Ranch.”

Ah yes. “The old course,” as Crom correctly called it, was retired following the 2007 race, for a variety of factors, including the fact that the rocky, tricky descent from Hunter Lake was considered by some to be too dangerous, as well as the devastating Hawken Fire of 2008, which closed much of the high country portion.

In 2008, race organizers re-configured the course to eliminate the Carson Range portion completely. Instead, runners were given a challenging loop up and down Peavine (twice) as well as the long, quad-thrashing run down the “Deer Trail” to a new aid station at River Bend near Verdi.

Thus, all four races in 2009 – the men’s and women’s 50-mile, the men’s and women’s 50K, saw course records fall for the two-year-old reconfigured Silver State course. The previous course records will remain for the “old course,” while the marks from 2008-2009 and into the future represent course records for the “new course.”

The records for the “new course” were substantially lowered by four runners with notable ultrarunning portfolios who ran strongly and courageously on a day that saw temperatures reach into the mid-80s. The high of 86, though warm, was in contrast to 2008, when the mercury hit 97 degrees.

In the men’s 50M, Jasper Halekas of Oakland, Calif., shaved 35 minutes off Erik Skaden’s 2008 “new course” record of 7:46. Halekas ran 7:11 and looked no worse for the wear afterward, showing that the 2007 Tahoe Rim Trail 100-mile champion was poised to be a prime contender for June’s Western States 100-mile Endurance Run.

August Brautigam, 23, of Reno, normally a standout on the regional Nordic skiing circuit, finished second in 7:35, followed by the “Dynamic Duo” of Mark Lantz, 43, of Gold River, Calif., and Skaden, 37, of Folsom, Calif., who tied for third in 7:40.

In the women’s 50M, local standout Jenny Capel demonstrated why she is difficult to beat on courses such as Silver State’s, which features more than 9,000 feet of climbing and 9,000 feet of descent – making it one of the more challenging 50-milers on the West Coast.

Capel, 36, of Reno, took more than an hour off the “new” course record. She finished in 8:24, well ahead of her 2008 CR of 9:28.

Former Wasatch 100 champion Betsy Nye, 44, of Truckee, Calif., was second in 9:22 – “The first time I really felt like I had a great Silver State,” the always personable Nye beamed at the finish, followed by Molly Zurn, 38, of Reno, in 9:28.

“It was a really great day,” Capel said. “I felt strong almost from the beginning and felt like I was running well.”

Capel started somewhat conservatively, pacing herself to a shade slightly under two hours at the 12.5-mile aid station at Peavine Peak. The 5.5-mile climb from The Pond aid station at mile 7 left Capel energized, and over the next 21-plus miles she ran exceptionally strong and well ahead of her goal pace of a sub-9-hour finish.

Her husband and crew, Steve, expected to meet Capel at the 33-mile River Bend aid station at around noon, or after about six hours of running. He showed up at River Bend at about 11:40 a.m., figuring he would have to kill 20 minutes of down time. He was told by the volunteers at the aid station that Capel had already been through the aid station … a half hour earlier.

“That’s when I knew Jen was having a really good day,” Steve said with a smile and shrug. “There was nothing for me to do at River Bend.”

Capel made extraordinarily good time from River Bend to the finish, climbing back up Peavine and then down to the finish – 17 miles in all – in 3:15. Considering the stout 3-mile climb out of River Bend up the Deer Trail to the Sandy Hill Road aid station, followed by another climb to the Peavine Peak aid station at about 8,200 feet elevation, Capel’s time was one of the fastest ever recorded for that stretch of the course.

In the men’s 50K, Peter Fain, who had run 5:05 in 2008’s scorching conditions to establish the “new” course record, had one of the day’s most remarkable performances.

The talented 37-year-old from Truckee, Calif., ripped the course in 4:25, holding off a challenge from Chikara Omine, 26, of San Francisco.

In the women’s 50K, the versatile and seemingly indefatigable Beverley Anderson-Abbs, 45, of Red Bluff, Calif., ran to a “new” course record, breaking Kami Semick’s 2008 mark of 5:16. Anderson-Abbs’ time was 4:58.

Julie Young, 43, of Auburn, Calif., was second in 5:02, while Amber Monforte, 31, of Reno, was third in 5:15.

Anderson-Abbs, who is known for her warm and gentle personality, surprised one of the race directors, Scott Glogovac, by handing him her Moeben sleeves moments before the 7 a.m. start of the 50K when it became apparent that the day was going to be warm.

“Maybe we could put them on EBay,” Glogovac quipped afterward, perhaps thinking of a new revenue stream for the race.

In the trail half-marathon, Rene Olea, 39, of Reno, took first place in 1:43. The women’s race was decided by less than a second, with Amy Bottenberg, 36, of Reno, winning in 1:50:48 to Lynice Anderson’s 1:50:49.

A total of 173 runners completed the 50M, 50K and trail half-marathon.

Judging by the response of the runners, who enjoyed the cold drinks, an ice pool, and food and fixings offered at the start/finish in Rancho San Rafael in Reno, this year’s Silver State 50/50 was a success on many levels.

The 24^th annual Silver State 50/50 is scheduled to be held on Saturday, May 15, 2010.