• Pete Mehok
• Olga Varlamova
• Larry King

All excellent runners and wonderful people. We will miss you but will see you on the trails!

• Brad Quinn (100k)
• Liza Howard (100k) 1st Place – Course Record! – USATF 100k National Champion!
• Amanda McIntosh (50k)
• Melanie Fryar (50k) – 1st Place – Course Record!
• Dalton Wilson (50k)
• John Reynolds (50k)
• Josue Stephens (50k)
• Joe Prusaitis (Race Director)

See Official Results Here!

Here is a fun little video I made with the small amount of footage I captured on my new Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera and Apple iLife ’11

Here is a great course overview for the 100k loop

On to Rocky Raccoon!

“She’s ten minutes behind you!”  That’s what my father in-law yelled at me around mile 42.  Five miles later “She’s eight minutes behind you!”  It was down to “Six minutes!” nine miles before the finish.  Sheesh.  There are worse things than running a 100k race with Meghan Arbogast and Pam Smith gaining on you each mile, but they certainly didn’t come to mind yesterday afternoon 50 miles into the race.  (Giardia?  Giant silverfish?) I really want … Read More

via Lizahoward’s Blog

By Race Director Joe Prusaitis

Bandera 100km
2011 USA Track & Field 100km Trail National Championships
Bandera, TX
8 Jan 2011

It all happened so fast… all of it. Landing the USA Track & Field 100km Trail National Championship just 4 weeks before the race date. The rain that suddenly slammed the race.and the runners who hammered the course records in all three races. 256 started with 249 finishing the 25km, 199 with 192 finishes in the 50km, and 171 with 129 finishes in the 100km. 41 of those who did not finish the 100km dropped into the 50km to increase their finish total to 233. 626 total runners were on the course at the same time, and it was not crowded. All three races started on different parts of the course at the same time so as to keep each race separate from the other.

At 7:30am they all started simultaneously. In the 100km, Geoff Roes, Dave Mackey, and Dave James pushed the pace early, dragging along a fast field at a surprising pace. This course starts really nasty so I was not expecting the times that the lead pack as well as those chasing posted at each aid station. A big storm was threatening with thunderheads and lots of rain, but early on, it held off and the cloud cover kept it cool. The lead trio finished the first 50km loop 10 minutes under 4 hours and the others were not far behind. Geoff Roes provided an unexpected twist at 50km by stopping, but the pace slowed only a bit on the second loop. Dave Mackey was the first one through at 50km and never lost that lead, finishing strong to knock down the course record by nearly an hour. The next 3 runners also came in under the course record.

Dave Mackey CO 8:16:48
Dave James OH 8:33:36
Jason Bryant NC 8:57:19
Dan Olmstead OR 8:57:42
Steven Moore TX 9:32:32
Liza Howard has been on a roll this past year and this is where she trains, so I expected her to do well. She went out with the lead pack of men and stayed out front the entire race to take her forth big win in a year. Add this race to the Cactus Rose 100mi, Rocky Raccoon 100mi, and Leadville 100mi wins. The top 3 women all came in under the previous course record.

Liza Howard TX 9:35:23
Pam Smith OR 9:46:42
Meghan Arbogast OR 10:19:53
Amber Monforte NV 10:59:18
Bridget DeLaRosa Lopez TX 11:12:36

The 50km race is one big 31 mile loop. It uses the same course as the 100km, but with a different start point. The course also start very rough with all the big hills front loaded and all the easy terrain laid out near the end. Almost 200 runners poured through the finish chute for hours, being led by Matt Turnbull, who ran a very strong race.

Matt Turnbull CO 4:02:41
Sean Lewis TX 4:07:18
Chris McWatters TX 4:08:38
The women’s field was led Melanie Fryar, who came in to help work the race but then entered last minute due to all the prodding from her friends. She bettered the course record in doing so, as did Calra Uribe.
Melanie Fryar CO 4:51:17
Carla Uribe TX 4:57:35
Amanda McIntosh TX 5:09:21

The 25km is an interesting race… billed as the toughest of the three races. Its the same course as the 50km, minus the flat sections, so it starts pretty tough and remains that way. The course record was set many years ago when the course was a fair bit easier, so it looked pretty solid. And yet, Erik Stanley ripped it a new one. Dan Lanzillotti also finished under the old record to start the fastest day we’ve seen here in Bandera since this race began 9 years ago.

Erik Stanley 1:39:01
Dan Lanzillotti 1:42:00
Paul Terranova 1:54:24
The women’s 25km was a solid affair as well, with three excellent performances to add to the list.
Jennifer McRae 2:25:44
Marla Briley 2:29:53
Julie Kostka 2:33:44

Bandera’s 9th birthday was a star studded affair, partly due to the Montrail Ultra Cup and those vying for Western States slots, and partly due to the USA Track & Field Championship. Tarahumara pottery went to the winners with cash prizes and Montrail shoe coupons. It was a banner day… and then the storm hit. It was around 9pm and most of the big winners were in and gone. But, we were a long way from being done with a 7am final cutoff. As the storm raged on, coming down in buckets, and flooding the aid stations, the runners continued to roll in to the finish. The high finish rate is a testament to their strength of will to remain out in the cold and the mud and the rain. We saw a lot of tears in the wee hours as the came in one and two at a time. The storm finally passed before dawn, leaving everything damp but for the attitudes. It amazes me how such a little thing makes such a big difference