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Title:Kettle 100 Endurance Runs - 2008
Date:Saturday June 7th, 2008
Author:Kettle Webcast
Report:
Kettle 100 Endurance Runs - 2008

Race start: Saturday June 7th at 6:00am CDT in LaGrange, WI.

Run on the trails of Southern Kettle Moraine Forest and the Ice Age Trail this race features...

* 100 Mile Solo

* 100 Kilometer Solo

* 100 Mile Relay, 4-Person Teams

We'll be posting photos of the action in near real time. Click the View Photos tab (above) for our photo gallery.

Our Kettle 100 Endurance Runs webcast has live updates including Blog Entries, Participant Positioning, and Checkpoint Updates.
Kettle 100 Endurance Runs webcast: Webcast

Kettle 100 Endurance Runs website: www.kettle100.com



"Post-KM babble"
Recap by Mary Gorski - June 9th, 2008

[Tamarack Aid Station: Mary Gorski]

I posted the link to photos we took at our Tamarack Aid Station at the Kettle Moraine 100 this weekend, but with a brain still a bit too groggy to concentrate at work, I thought I'd "productively waste time" by jotting down a few words about the race.

We like to offer a bit of everything to our runners and this year was no different. For those who thrive in heat, we had temps in the 80s and high humidity on Saturday. The sun often shone its face, especially when racers were in the open fields.

Boiled, not baked, is how we like our runners in the Midwest.

By the end of the afternoon, the heat started to get to even the hardiest of souls and so we switched gears and asked the rain gods to give them a bit of relief. A nice summer shower would cool those over-heated racers and bring wayward tummies back under control.

Well you know what they say, be careful of what you wish for, your wish might come true.

Oh my!
By Saturday evening the skies opened and rain came down in buckets -- literally. To keep our tarps from collapsing, we placed sticks under them to direct water off the tops and into a bucket. During the height of the first storm a five-gallon bucket would fill in less than a minute. We switched it out with a large garbage bin that took only slightly longer to fill.

And then we simply gave up and allowed the water to cascade off the tarps and through the aid station. We watched as our coolers and tables sank lower and lower into the mud.

Uncle Al Sauld tapped into his inner Dutchman and built us a few dikes to reroute the water and mud rushing down the hill. But again, it was another effort in futility.

As we waited for runners to come back to us (we tend to them at miles 5, 57, 67 and 95) we huddled around our weather radio, listening to the latest updates. The phone rang several times but I never heard it over the rain and wind. The messages? "Bad weather is coming your way, take cover."

Don't worry, we got the message even without the phone call. Some messages always seem to get through.

Christine Crawford's husband stopped to see us shortly before meeting his wife at the finish line (Christine was the overall winner of the 100K). The Crawford's house is about a mile from our aid station and they generously open it to runners during race weekend. He let us know that if it sounded like tornados were headed our way we could take shelter in their basement. A bit later, as we heard yet another tree come down in the woods (yes, we were there to hear it so it did indeed make a sound), I thought perhaps we should take him up on his offer. But the runners were starting to float down the hill to our station almost as quickly as the mud. Might as well stay and make some more food.

Water water everywhere. Even protective plastic tubs under tarps were somehow penetrated. The boxes of pancake mix became pre-mixed when water seeped in. Matches and lighters in ziplock bags still got damp as did the stoves that they were to light. Anything electronic soon became temperamental, including the generator. Sometimes we had lights and music during the night, sometimes we didn't. But variety is the spice of life, and so we had lots of spice.

Mother Nature was throwing a fit and we were stuck in her angry path. Yet surprisingly, the runners we served were generally in good spirits, or at least as good as runners normally are after hours and hours of running through the woods. There were tales of wicked footing and unexpected bum-slides through the woods. But overall, it was simply a mutual grumbling between the runners and volunteers as players in the same game bizarre game. "What are you going to do?" was the spirit of the day (and night and day again).

There was a high drop-out rate this year -- especially in the 100-mile race. A special congrats to one of the finishers: Stephanie Astell from Washington State who was one of only 37 who completed the 100-mile race. Stephanie is on my Badwater crew this summer. After freezing in the rain all night I think she is actually looking forward to desert heat -- remember Stephanie, it's a DRY heat.

Dry, does anyone in the Midwest remember what "dry heat" is?

A special thanks to our dedicated crew of volunteers: Bob Scherer, Paul Gionfriddo and Tom Chopp in the morning, and Cathy Drexler, Ian Stevens, Uncle Al Sauld and Debbie McKinzie who were with us during the worst of Mother Nature's temper tantrum.

Many congrats to the runners who muddled through a difficult day and night (and for some, a part of another day) in the Kettle Moraine. They put up with wicked conditions and more than earned their finishers' kettle.

And finally, a few aid station notes before I bring this ramble to an end. What was big this year? Grilled cheese sandwiches. Cathy Drexler provided them after having been served the sandwiches at another race. It really hit the spot with runners -- and volunteers. The burritos went over well again, as did ginger ale. Some enjoyed the Jello jigglers when it was hot, or when tummies were crabby, but they weren't as popular as other years. After 3 a.m. we started up with the pancake and sausage roll-ups (or simply pancake roll-ups for those who didn't care for sausage). As in the past, they were gobbled up quickly.

See Mary's photos: maryg.smugmug.com
Website:
www.kettle100.com  Go there or Go there in new browser
Additional website reference address.
Click a thumbnail for its larger image.
Timo & Ann
Timo & Jason
Starting line
15 seconds to race start
Start of the Kettle 100
Kim & Betty track runner progress
Team Psychic Mary
100 Mile Solo Champion - Joel Eckberg of Downers Grove, IL
Dawn of day two

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Posted:June 7th, 2008 6:58 am
Last Update:June 9th, 2008 2:40 pm
Viewed:228727
Last View:March 18th, 2024 7:45 pm
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