2011 Spring (January to March)

It has been a BIG start for the year.

(1/8/11) starting with Bandera which was the 2011 USA Track and Field 100km Trail National Championships and part of the Montrail Ultra Cup. Made for a bigger than usual field of 711 runners with 186 in the 100km, 210 in the 50km, and 315 in the 25km. Dave Mackey in 8:16:48 and Liza Howard in 9:35:23 both set new course records, followed by a few others who also beat the old record.

(2/5/11) Four weeks later, it was Rocky Raccoon with a star studded field (Anton Krupicka, Hal Koerner, Karl Meltzer, Michael Arnstein, Mike Wolfe, Paul Hopwood, Hiroki Ishikawa, Zach Gingerich, and Scott Jurek) with Ian Sharman setting a new fastest trail time for this country at 12:44:33. 512 totals runners, 316 in the 100mi and 196 in the 50mi. Registration was up, but because of a bad winter storm of snow and ice, many could not make it to the race. Houston's airport and highways were closed for a few hours on Friday.

(3/5/11) Four weeks later, it was Nueces which was the 2011 USA Track and Field 50mi Trail National Championships and the the La Sportiva Mountain Cup with the 25km. The top 6 runners were all under the old course record. Jason Schlarb in 6:28:26 and Liza Howard in 8:09:59. 200 runners with 44 in the 50mi, 37 in the 50km, 77 inthe 25km, and 42 in the 10km. A cold front blew through the morning of the race for a very windy day but wonderfully cool.

(3/19/11) Two weeks later, it was Race to the Altar This was supposed a LITTLE fun race wrapped around Jeff Linwood and Cheri Woldt's wedding. A marathon, half-marathon, and 5km... all on trails at Bluff Creek Ranch in Warda. Well, the little race roared... with 150 runners combined. Geoffrey Whitfield in 3:20:27 and Landie Visser in 3:34:25.This race marked the beginning on the Texas heat that is now coming fast.

(4/2/11) And Two weeks later, it will be Hells Hills which should be a full blown barn burner in all aspects. I expect it to be hot, I expect about 350 runners, and I expect it to be another fun trail weekend.