2007 Southern California Ultra Runners Grand Prix Series
The 2007 Southern California Ultra Series was a great success with 82 members participating in series races. In his latest Leaderboard newsletter, Series Director Gary Hilliard congratulated to all series participants for making the 2007 series one of the best in recent memory.
A huge thank you must go out to Gary for organizing this very successful series and for promoting USATF membership among the participants. Thanks to Gary, who has recovered remarkably from a life threatening motorcycle accident in August, the series has grown from 46 members in 2006 to 82 in 2007. Still, many participants do not join USATF even though two of the series races host SCA Association Championships - The Mt. Disappointment 50 Mile Trail Run and the High Desert 50 km Trail Run. It is our hope to increase the incentive for USATF membership among area ultrarunners and build MUT numbers in SCA in 2008.
Thanks should also be sent to all the race directors who participated in the 2007 series as well as to Fred Pollard, Series Statistician, and Joe Magruder, Series Treasurer, who have assisted Gary throughout the year. Fred has compiled some statistics from the series participant’s efforts this year. This year seventy-two Series members ran 13,825.5 miles in 332 individual races in 2007. The average race distance was 41.64 miles. Twenty-seven runners ran 6 or more races and three runners ran 12 races.
On January 19 the Series Awards/Run/Pot-Luck Lunch was held at Carbon Canyon Regional Park in Brea. The run, food, and camaraderie were enjoyed by dozens of series participants. Gary and MUT Chair Lorraine Gersitz took a few moments to speak to those in attendance about the benefits of joining USTAF. Beautiful age-group awards and high mileage plaques were awarded to many. Dean Dobberteen was the 2007 Overall Male Winner and Keira Henninger was the 2007 Overall Female Winner. The 2007 Men’s Mileage Champion was Fred Pollard and the 2007 Women’s Mileage Champion was Michelle Barton. For complete results see the attached Leaderboard or go to the series website at http://www.socalultraseries.org/
2008 Southern California Ultra Runners Grand Prix Series
Nineteen races were on the schedule for the 2008 Series but due to the recent fires in the Southern California coastal range, two races have been postponed with no new dates set. The remaining seventeen races offer a variety of distance and terrain in locations through Southern California.
The first two series races have been completed and results are posted. Jorge Pacheco won the 27th Annual Avalon Benefit 50 Mile Run in 6:42:51. Michelle Barton was third overall and first female in 7:25:00. Michelle repeated her winning ways the following weekend at the 4th Annual Calico 50K Trail Run by finishing 5th overall and first female in 4:37:50. The overall winner was Kevin Bean in 4:09:09.
The next race in the series is the Orange Curtain 50 km / 100 km which will be held in Liberty Park, Cerritos on February 16. RD Jay Anderson already has over 50 runners registered for this fast, flat race along the San Gabriel River Trail. The race is an excellent opportunity for ultrarunners to attempt to run a qualifying time for the USA 100 km Team selection list. The 2008 IAU 100 km World Challenge will be held in Tuscania, Italy on November 8, 2008. For 100 km selection procedures see:
http://www.usatf.org/groups/MountainUltraTrail/news/2008_100KTeamSelection.asp
The following races are part of the 2008 Southern California Ultra Runners Grand Prix Series:
01/12/08 Avalon Benefit 50 Mile
01/20/08 50k Calico Trail Run
02/02/08 Twin Peaks Ultra 50/50 - POSTPONED
02/16/08 Orange Curtain 100k/50k
03/29/08 Lake Hodges 50k - POSTPONED
04/12/08 Old Goats 50k/50 Mile
04/19/08 Leona Divide 50 Mile
05/03/08 Wild Wild West 50k
05/10/08 PCT 50 Mile Trail Run
05/17/08 Bishop High Sierra 50m, 50k, 20m
05/31/08 Shadow of the Giants 50k
06/08/08 Holcomb Valley 33 Mile
08/09/08 Mt. Disappointment 50k/50 Mile – SCA 50 Mile Champs
08/23/08 Bulldog 50k Ultra Run/25k run
09/13/08 Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run
09/29/07 Noble Canyon 50k
10/20/07 San Diego 100
11/24/07 Santa Barbara 9 Trails 35 Mile Run
12/02/07 High Desert 50k & 30k – SCA 50 km Champs
For more information see the Series website at http://www.socalultraseries.org/
Respectfully submitted,
Lorraine Gersitz & Jay Anderson
SCA MUT Open & Masters Athletics Chairs
2007 MUT GP Standings
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