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Title:Winter Challenge Cross Country
Date:Sunday January 14th, 2018
Author:Bill & Michelle Thom
Report:
Winter Challenge Cross Country
[logo:Winter Challenge Cross Country]
Cross Country and Gratuitous Six-Hour Runs!

Our inaugural Winter Challenge Cross Country was held Sunday January 14, 2018 in frigid conditions, within the tree-lined forest preserve groves of Caldwell Woods and Bunker Hill, Chicago/Niles, Illinois. Of the 69 preregistered participants, 53 braved the conditions to take on this challenge. 11 started our Gratuitous 6-Hour Run, 32 raced our 15-Km, 11 opted for our 5-Km, and three served as intrepid volunteers.

7:15 am sunrise weather statistics: air temperature of 5.0°F, wind south at 5 mph. At 1:51 pm air temperatures reached a high of 20°F, with a windchill of 6°F. Our 5 kilometer loop racecourse was dry and fast, with firm-frozen terrain. The course was marked with knee-level colored-wire-flagging. In the direction of running... keep blue flags on your right, and orange/pink flags on your left.

At 8:05 am CST Gratuitous 6-Hour runners began repeating laps of our 5 kilometer course. Their mission... cover as much distance as possible in the span of six hours. They could continue running along the 5k "Big Loop," then as the six hours ticked down, switch to our quarter-mile "Little Loop," and continue right up to the 2:05 pm air-horn signal.

Meanwhile traditional-distance runners arrived for check-in and their race start. At 9:37 am, the command "Go!" signaled the start of events, 15-Km, and 5-Km. Eventually the racecourse was populated with variable-speed runners of Winter Challenge Cross Country!

11:45 am... as Gratuitous 6-Hour runners pursued evermore mileage, our traditional distance runners were completing their races. An awards ceremony was held in the warming-shelter building atop the hill near our start/finish area. Gold medals for top Male and Female in both traditional events, plus gold medals for top 15-Km Masters Male and Female, along with engraved pint-glasses for top-three "Podium Achievers." Engraved pint-glasses were won by 3-ruuner "Team Podium Achievers."

Winter Challenge Cross Country 5-Km...
Female Podium Achievers:
1st) Nana Rodriguez
2nd) Abbe Burke
3rd) Kellie Walsh

Male Podium Achievers:
1st) Dan Palmer
2nd) Michael Cramarosso
3rd) Matthew Harlan

Winter Challenge Cross Country 15-Km...
Female Podium Achievers:
1st) Laura Lackner
2nd) Cathy Krawitz
3rd) Yvonne Oldaker

Male Podium Achievers:
1st) Elias Theodosis
2nd) Jeffrey Jacobs
3rd) Brian Sweney
3-Runner Team Podium Achievers (combined time):
1st) Little Lebowski Urban Achievers, 3:24:17.2: Elias Theodosis, Angelo Frigo, Matt Reilly
2nd) Jasper's Jesters, 4:27:56.9: Todd Brown, Siamak Mostoufi, Anton Weyers
3rd) Rainbow, 4:53:40.0: Cathy Krawitz, Kate Schnatterbeck, Linda Leyden

2:05 pm... our air-horn signaled the end of Gratuitous Six-Hour Run and those runners who were still on our "Little Loop" stopped, held their position while we wheeled-off their final distance. All eleven starters covered more than 26.2 miles, which earned each newly minted "Ultra Achiever" custom medals!

Winter Challenge Cross Country Gratuitous 6-Hour...
Female Podium Achievers:
1st) Mary Leonard, 32.569
2nd) Lisa Kohoutek, 32.230 miles
3rd) Marta Borkowska, 32.182 miles

Male Podium Achievers:
1st) Christopher Connelly, 34.175 miles
1st) Jeffrey Fleitz, 34.175 miles
3rd) Jim Arnold, 30.617
Additional Ultra Achievers:
6th Overall) Mandi Kennedy, 32.055 miles
8th Overall) James Faford, 29.085 miles
9th Overall) Ernesto Diaz, 28.212 miles
10th Overall) Brian Sheridan, 27.962 miles
11th Overall) Ken Hannah, 27.355 miles
2-Runner Team Podium Achievers (combined distance):
1st) Gluttons for Punishment, 63.185 miles: Mary Leonard, Jim Arnold
2nd) Run like a MUDDer, 59.410 miles: Mandi Kennedy, Ken Hannah


Race production, hosting, timing, webcasting and finish-line scoring was managed by our running-company, RunRace. Check out complete results through the links...
Results: Results on RunRace
Webcast: Webcast on RunRace (with Checkpoint Splits where available)

Let's give a rousing "shout out" to our thin-line of expert race volunteers for their generous support and dedication to cross country ruuning:
  • Aid Station Setup: Paul Hendrickson, Michael Vlasak, Chris Precht... our teammates of Riis Park Striders!
  • Runner Greeting / Check In: Jeni Goodwin, Tiffany Dummer.
  • Thermal Dynamics / Equipment Engineering: Paul Hendrickson.
  • Aid Station Captains: Jeni Goodwin, Tiffany Dummer.
  • Cowboy Coffee Consultant: Cindy Faford.
  • Racecourse Marshalling: Michelle Thom.
  • Racecourse Marking / Course Cleanup: Thomas Kohler, Bill Thom.
  • Photography: Michelle Thom.
  • [Did I miss anyone here?... if you notice a missing or misspelled name please let me know.]
The photos (below) have been optimized for web-display... if you'd like a "high-resolution" original (suitable for printing) contact me and I will email you with the original digital image... be sure to specify which photo(s) you'd like.

Congratulations to all who participated in this inaugural edition of Winter Challenge Cross Country!

"Cross Country"... the best of all human endeavors!
Bill: bill@runrace.net

Links & Recaps as Generously Provided by Participants of
Winter Challenge Cross Country!
Website:
RunRace.net/wc3/  Go there or Go there in new browser
Additional website reference address.
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Posted:January 17th, 2018 11:06 pm
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