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Title:Winter Challenge Cross Country VII
Date:Sunday January 12th, 2025
Author:Bill & Michelle Thom
Report:
Winter Challenge Cross Country VII
[logo:Winter Challenge Cross Country]
Cross Country and Gratuitous Six-Hour Runs!


Do amazing things on grass... run Cross Country!


Official race statistics for 2025 Winter Challenge Cross Country VII.


Time

Temp °F

Dew Point

Humidity

Wind MPH




Event

Registered

Started

Finished


7:51 am

30

26°F

85%

S 9, G 0



Gratuitous 6-Hour:

22

18

18


8:51 am

30

27°F

88%

SSW 10, G 0



15 Kilometer:

39

37

33


9:51 am

31

28°F

89%

SSW 10, G 21



5 Kilometer:

40

36

36


10:51 am

32

29°F

88%

SSW 12, G 0



WC3 Race Totals:

101

91

87


11:51 am

33

30°F

89%

SW 12, G 21



Volunteers:

4




12:51 pm

33

30°F

89%

SW 16, G 23








1:51 pm

34

31°F

89%

SW 18, G 29








2:51 pm

34

28°F

79%

W 17, G 29









In the leadup to WC3-VII our friends and good folks in charge of permitting at the Forest Preserves asked that we conduct this race along the primary paths of Caldwell Woods / Bunker Hill. In response we recalibrated and recharted a racecourse using those Red Trail paved paths. However, on a Friday afternoon pre-race measuring run I found the Red Trail glazed in black-ice and far too slippery for running. We devised "Plan C," which was an out-n-back racecourse in the grass, mostly paralleling the paved paths. On Saturday afternoon Tom Kohler and I marked the course using pink wire-flags, wide enough for two-way traffic.

Daybreak on Sunday morning, with volunteers Paula Donato, Regina & Tom Burke, Siamak Mostoufi; we set up the start/finish. Gratuitous 6-Hour runners were off at 8:07 am. 5-Km and 15-Km racers started at 9:37 am. A light snow was falling at the start of each event and throughout the morning; a 2-inch snow base covered the racecourse; the sledding hill near our start/finish area was all-a-bustle with activity.

The 5-Km was led by young xc veteran Winston Conwell (2024 runner-up) in first place, even younger newcomer Callie Ding in second, with young newcomer Chandler Ding in third place. Elsie Conwell (2024 female champion) finished fourth overall. Team-wise members of family Conwell and family Ding battled to top positions, separated by just 44 seconds with "Whoa Dings!" in first place, and "Outer Lanes Athletic Club" in second.

The 15-Km, a 3-lap tour of the racecourse had last year's champion Michael LaSusa, veteran Steven Bugarin, and Brain Chadwick running within seconds of each other through two laps. Steven held pace over the last lap and finished first overall, with Brian in second, and Michael in third. With a time separation of only 2½ minutes the top female runners were Erin Ding in first, Suzie Brashler second, and Agnieszka Burkevic in third place. Tony Weyers has finished all seven versions of Winter Challenge Cross Country 15-Km, now with 65.203 accumulated miles!

The 6-Hour was led from start-to-finish by rookie Brian Wickman, whose ultra-ambitious intentions were "to cover 40 miles." To hit that mark he would have to run 9-minutes-per-mile for the full six hours; incredibly he managed to hold pace through 32 miles. Despite falling short in the end, Brian finished with a new race record of 38.45 miles, eclipsing the 2019 record of 37.78 miles set by Karl Flener. Wow! Last year's overall champion Rachel Burke took first place female honors tallying 35.28 miles. That's second-most female mileage ever; behind only Becky Patch's 35.7417 miles run in 2023. Wojciech Jonczyk finished as second place male, with David Schaub third place male. Amy Pointon finished as second place female, with Edna Jackeline Vazquez third place female. Brian Sheridan was fourth place male, and with this seventh finish has run all versions of Winter Challenge Cross Country Gratuitous 6-Hour, now with 213.922 accumulated miles!

Noon 12:00 pm... while 6-Hour runners pursued evermore mileage, our traditional distance 5-Km and 15-Km runners headed up to the warming shelter for an awards ceremony. Along with RD-homemade cranberry-orange scones, hot cocoa and other refreshments were served. For each event distance the Top-3 Male & Female finishers earned newly minted Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals. For an extra-fun twist we awarded `Made the Podium` pint-glasses based upon top finishers in `Generational` age divisions.

Official Results: 2025 Winter Challenge Cross Country Results

Winter Challenge Cross Country 5-Km...
Female Podium Achievers : Top Three Overall
1st) Callie Ding
2nd) Elsie Conwell
3rd) Elaine Trilisky

Male Podium Achievers : Top Three Overall
1st) Winston Conwell
2nd) Chandler Ding
3rd) Charley Ding
Gen Alpha Male : 0 - 10
1st) Enrique Rivera
Gen Z Female : 13 - 28
1st) Jennifer Gates
2nd) Susannah Matzal
Gen Z Male : 13 - 28
1st) Sam Birkner
2nd) William King
Millennial Female : 29 - 44
1st) Jennie Berkovich
2nd) Michelle Petry
Millennial Male : 29 - 44
1st) Matt Murphy
2nd) Anthony Giangiulio
Gen X Female : 45 - 60
1st) Christine Gaines
Gen X Male : 45 - 60
1st) Irving Birkner
2nd) Fredric Kaehler
Baby Boomer Female : 61 - 79
1st) Abbe Burke
2nd) Sandra Zapatka
Baby Boomer Male : 61 - 79
1st) Brian Sweney
2nd) Paul Angarone
3-Runner Team Podium Achievers (combined time)
1st) Whoa Dings! - 1:10:08.3: Callie Ding, Chandler Ding, Charley Ding
2nd) Outer Lanes Athletic Club - 1:10:52.2: Winston Conwell, Elsie Conwell, Sam Birkner
3rd) Riis Park Striders - 2:01:31.9: Paul Angarone, Natalie Alonzo, Ken Dietz

Winter Challenge Cross Country 15-Km...
Female Podium Achievers : Top Three Overall
1st) Erin Ding
2nd) Suzie Brashler
3rd) Agnieszka Burkevic

Male Podium Achievers : Top Three Overall
1st) Steven Bugarin
2nd) Brain Chadwick
3rd) Michael LaSusa
Gen Z Male : 13 - 28
1st) Edward Schneider
2nd) Paul Garcia, Jr
Millennial Female : 29 - 44
1st) Sasha Villagrana-Frost
2nd) Ewa Kaminska
Millennial Male : 29 - 44
1st) Ethan Roeder
2nd) Scott Alister
Gen X Female : 45 - 60
1st) Joana Carlson
2nd) Chloe Jensen
Gen X Male : 45 - 60
1st) Kip Conwell
2nd) Grzegorz Skrzypczak
Baby Boomer Male : 61 - 79
1st) Michael Cramarosso
2nd) Wladyslaw Maciej
3-Runner Team Podium Achievers (combined time)
1st) South Chicago Track Club - 3:21:00.1: Steven Bugarin, Michael LaSusa, Ethan Roeder
2nd) BiegAm - 4:15:11.0: Agnieszka Burkevic, Ewa Kaminska, Grzegorz Skrzypczak
3rd) 4 Play - 4:21:46.4: Erin Ding, Joana Carlson, Timothy Gross
4th) Team Sloth - 5:11:43.4: Paul Garcia, Todd Brown, Tony Weyers

Winter Challenge Cross Country Gratuitous 6-Hour...
Female Podium Achievers : Top Three Overall
1st) Rachel Burke
2nd) Amy Pointon
3rd) Edna Jackeline Vazquez

Male Podium Achievers : Top Three Overall
1st) Brian Wickman
2nd) Wojciech Jonczyk
3rd) David Schaub

6-Hour How Far Did They Go - Mileage?
1st) Brian Wickman, 38.45
2nd) Rachel Burke, 35.28
3rd) Wojciech Jonczyk, 33.0
4th) David Schaub, 32.5
5th) Brian Sheridan, 32.25
6th) Hardik Prajapati, 31.0
7th) Jim Doyle, 30.28
8th) Michael Whitaker, 29.78
9th) Christopher Garcia, 29.4
10th) Steve Carlson, 27.9
10th) Zachary Walch Flores, 27.9
12th) Amy Pointon, 27.8
12th) Andrae Marak, 27.8
14th) Michael Glennon, 26.8
15th) Michael Czuba, 23.7
16th) Edna Jackeline Vazquez, 22.2
17th) Oscar Delgado, 19.23
18th) Elizabeth Braun, 19.21



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

Winter Challenge Cross Country simply could-not-happen without the service of dedicated runners, who volunteer their time & expertise. Let's give a rousing "shout out" to our thin-line of expert race volunteers for their generous support:
  • Aid Station Setup: Tom Burke, Siamak Mostoufi, Paula Donato.
  • Runner Greeting / Check In: Paula Donato, Regina Burke, Michalle Thom.
  • Aid Station Captains: Tom and Regina Burke, Siamak Mostoufi.
  • Bringer of Hot Cocoa, Donuts, and Tasty Treats: Michelle and Michael Glennon.
  • Race Packet Preparation: Michelle & Bill Thom.
  • Racecourse Marshalling: Michelle Thom.
  • Cranberry Orange Scones Baker: Bill Thom.
  • Racecourse Marking / Course Cleanup: Tom Kohler, Tom Burke, Bill Thom.
  • Photo Gallery: Michelle & Bill Thom.
  • Fire Whisperer: Paul Garcia.
  • Local Clubs / Supporters of Cross Country Running & WC3: Dick Pond Athletics of Park Ridge, Riis Park Striders.
  • [Did I miss anyone here?... if you notice a missing or misspelled name please let me know.]
Photos of our gallery have been optimized for web-display... if you'd like a high-resolution original contact me, and I will respond with an attachment of the original image... be sure to specify which photo(s) you'd like. Got a photo that you'd like to share? We'd love to include with our gallery, so please send to me, optionally with your copyright credit info and description!

Congratulations to the very bravest of runners and volunteers who participated in this seventh annual edition of Winter Challenge Cross Country!
"Cross Country... best of all human endeavors!"
-Bill Thom: bill@runrace.net

Got related info? Please send your links and we'll stitch it in here!
Website:
https://RunRace.net/wc3/ Go there or Go there in new browser
Additional website reference address.
Click a thumbnail for its larger image.
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