Last Licks: 2005 Trail Runner Trophy Series Heads Into Final Weeks (Trail Runner Magazine)

Latest update on the TRM Trophy Series, going into the final five weeks. Go, Dale!

- SD

LAST LICKS: 2005 TRAIL RUNNER TROPHY SERIES HEADS INTO FINAL WEEKS

CARBONDALE, COLO., AUGUST 22, 2005 – With only five weeks remaining in the 2^nd annual Trail Runner Trophy Series, runners are sizing up their final races of the season. The Trophy Series winners, who will be announced in the Dec/Jan 2005 issue of Trail Runner magazine, will likely be determined by each athlete’s September racing schedule.

Ultra Division: Abbs of Steel
Prior to 2004, Beverly Anderson-Abbs, a member of the Montrail/Patagonia Ultrarunning Team, had never run a trail ultramarathon. But you would never guess it from her racing success this year. The Californian took second in the Western States 100—her first-ever 100-miler—and has also claimed the second spot at the Miwok Trail 100K, American River 50, and Way Too Cool 50K (all in California). Says the 41-year-old from Red Bluff, California (only two hours from the Western States finishline), “I had no idea what to expect at Western States—it was quite a surprise.” Anderson-Abbs credits much of her success to training and eating smart during her races (Sunsweet, another one of her sponsors, provides her with fruit bars and dried plums).

Kami Semick of Bend, Oregon, has given chase to Anderson-Abbs, and may have overtaken her on August 20, when she won Oregon’s Where’s Waldo 100K. Anderson-Abbs finished third in the race, and the margin will likely be razor thin. Results and points were still pending as of press time.

(Kami Semick after winning the Where's Waldo 100k, August, 2005,
photo courtesy of Craig Thornley, Copyright All Rights Reserved)

For most of the Trophy Series, Seattle’s Scott Jurek has kept a low profile, lurking in the standings’ shadows while other runner piled on the points. That changed when Jurek won an unprecedented seventh consecutive Western States 100 title on June 25. The victory catapulted him into the men’s Trophy Series lead. Jurek, who is sponsored by Seattle-based Brooks Running, has also finished third at the MacDonald Forest 50K (Oregon) and second at the Miwok Trail 100K (California).

Close behind Jurek waits Midwesterner John Hemsky (Fort Thomas, KY) and Nortwesterner James Kerby (Carnation, Washington). If they’re going to catch Jurek, they’ll likely need to race well in one of the Series’ final ultras: the Headlands 50K National Trail Championship (August 27; Sausalito, CA), Dances with Dirt 50K and 50-Mile (September 10; Hell, MI), or the Great Eastern Endurance Run 50K and 100K (September 17; Charlottesville, VA).

Top 10: Trophy Series Ultra Division

1. Beverly Anderson-Abbs, Red Bluff, CA, 729 points (4 races)
   
2. Scott Jurek, Seattle, WA, 710 points (5 races)
   
3. John Hemsky, Fort Thomas, KY, 700 points (3 races)
   
4. Kami Semick, Bend, OR, 620 points (3 races)
   
5. Tracy Thomas, Champaign, IL, 600 points (3 races)
   
6. James Kerby, Carnation, WA, 572 points (5 races)
   
7. Tera Dube, Martinez, CA, 548 points (5 races)
   
8. Connie Gardner, Medina, OH, 524 points (3 races)
   
9. Paul Schoenlaub, St. Joseph, MO, 502.6 points (3 races)
   
10. Sue Johnston, Waterford, VT, 500 points (2 races)
    

Marathon & Shorter Division: Robbert, Dunlap chase Reicheneder
Since the first weekend of the 2005 Trail Runner Trophy Series, Dale Reicheneder of Malibu, California, has made no secret of his desire to bring home the Trophy Series title. Now, with only five weeks remaining in what has been a grueling schedule of more than 16 races, he is leaving nothing to chance.

“I will be doing six races in the remaining weeks,” says Reicheneder, “so I will be traveling a lot.”

2004 Trophy Series runner-up, Michael Robbert of Littleton, Colorado, is over 150 points behind Reicheneder. At this late stage—and with Reicheneder racing so much in the final month, including head-to-head with Robbert at the Golden Leaf Half Marathon (Colorado)—it will be difficult for him to come from behind.

Can he do it?

“He’s [Reicheneder] un-catch-able at this point,” says 2004 Trophy Series champion Scott Dunlap, who finds himself in third place. “Dale has really raised the bar on what is possible in the Trophy Series.”

Reicheneder also enjoys a huge lead in the race to collect the most Trophy Series race finishes. To date, he has completed 16 Trophy Series events—an accomplishment that means he’s likely to win the Trophy Series trip to Italy, provided by Series sponsor, LaSportiva. The next closest competitor is Rob Apple, an ultrarunner from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, who has run nine Trophy Series races.

“I haven’t been to Italy,” says Reicheneder, “but I still don’t want to get ahead of myself … [Michael] Robbert is too close behind.”

The Marathon & Shorter women’s division is tighter. Angela Brunson of Los Angeles, California, enjoys a slim margin over Tania Pacev of Littleton, Colorado. Pacev, who tends to race on the spur of the moment, was not even aware that she had a chance of winning the Trophy Series. “I did not know I could win,” she says, “I’ll need to look at the remaining races and see what I can do.”

With several Rocky-Mountain region Trophy Series races and few on the West Coast, Pacev certainly has a chance.

Top 10: Trophy Series Marathon & Shorter Division

1. Dale Reicheneder, Malibu, CA, 605.8 points (16 races)
   
2. Michael Robbert, Littleton, CO, 447 points (8 races)
   
3. Scott Dunlap, Woodside, CA, 301.9 points (5 races)
   
4. Angela Brunson, Los Angeles, CA, 265.2 points (4 races)
   
5. Tania Pacev, Littleton, CO, 204.8 points (2 races)
   
6. Jerry Graham, Spokane, WA, 189.8 points (4 races)
   
7. Bernie Boettcher, Silt, CO, 186.8 points (3 races)
   
8. Kathy White, Lakewood, CO, 162 points (2 races)
   
9. Julie Ann Bergman, Boulder, CO, 150 points (2 races)
   
10. Eric Black, Dillon, CO, 138.6 points (3 races)
    

About the Trophy Series
As the world’s largest trail-running series, the Trophy Series is a seven-month-long points-based competition with two categories: Marathon and Shorter Distances and Ultra Distances. Participants earn points throughout the series, and the winners receive huge prize packages—including a trip to Italy provided by title sponsor LaSportiva.

For complete rules, including a list of races and past news releases, visit www.trailrunnermag.com.

CONTACT: Garett Graubins, Trail Runner Magazine
Phone: 970/704-1442 x12
ggraubins@bigstonepub.com

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