2012 LLTH Results & Race Recap

The 2012 results are in.

A big question mark each year for LLTH is: What kind of weather & trail conditions will be encountered this time? Well, after a fairly mild winter so far, a strong cold front arrived on race eve, bringing below normal temps, a dusting of snow & alot of wind. With temps starting in the low 20's, the wind chill made it feel like in the single digits. The cold & wind may have been a blessing in disguise though as the wet & muddy trails on Friday began to dry out and/or freeze overnight. So trail conditions were pretty good compared to the last couple years.




results:

The 50k winners' times this year were the fastest since the re-introduction of the Scott's Gap loop in 2010. Very impressive since the course has also become longer in each of the last few years. It could be that the battle for 1st place was very close this year too: Eric Grossman (founder of LLTH & now a 4 time winner) won out over Troy Shellhamer (last years' winner) and Traci Falbo edged out Sharon Hathaway -- both divisions were won by the smallest margins in the 9 years of LLTH.In the 15 miler, Ryan Althaus defended his win of last year in record fashion. Alicia Heyne picked up her 1st win at LLTH, also in record fashion.

In the inaugural 6 miler, Daniel Blandford & Jenny Trevathan set the standards.

Results, photos & race reports from previous years can be found on the side bar of this blog far down on the right side. Photos & possibly a video will be inserted into this post & added to the photo library as soon as they can be sorted out (had a problem with the camera freezing & the auto-focus not working).
If you ran in the race & you'd like a picture or video clip of yourself, I can email it if you will send me your race number (as long as it was visible during the race), or a description of what you were wearing. Note: these are not done professionally as the 2 other photographers on the course.
goodies:
in summary:

2012 LLTH went smoothly & I would consider this year to be a big success. Thanks go out to Todd & Cynthia Heady of Headfirst Performance once again for putting on a first class event. Thanks also go out to the Forest Service, EMS, to all the hearty volunteers & to all the great runners!
Race Directors Cynthia & Todd Heady:

In 2013, we're hoping the Forest Service will be thoughtful enough to allow us to use the same trails as this year, elsewise many miles of challenging trails (2nd leg) will not be included in the courses.
Thanks again everyone!


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last minute notes - 2012 edition

Online registration on Active.com closes tonight at 11:59 pm PST. Late registration is also available at packet pickup on Friday at Ken Combs Running Store from 12 noon to 6:00 pm EST and on race morning from 6:30 - 7:30 am EST at the Horine Center (Lodge) at the FINISH area.

Quest Outdoors (Frankfort Road location) just recently announced they are throwing a pre-race party & pasta dinner at their store from 5:00 - 9:00 pm Friday night (10th) -- no charge. You can also register here & receive a $5 discount on the entry fee.

Trails are wet today & muddy in places. The forecast for the race has been changing almost daily, so you may want to check the forecast before heading out. As it looks now, trails could be partially frozen on race day. All the streams are currently low or dry.

on the 2nd leg near the dam this morning:

Flagging this year will be glo-PINK with most of it stamped with MONTRAIL. Due to the ongoing trail construction on the 2nd leg of the race and due to property owners marking their boundaries, there will be several different colored flags around (red, orange & blue/white striped). Just think PINK & you'll be OK. If you go more than a couple hundred feet without seeing a pink ribbon, something's wrong.

on the 2nd leg at the dam:

When you're on the Yellow Trail on the 2nd leg of the race, you will see & run on short segments of the new, very flat, double wide trail intended to replace all of the narrow, hilly, single track currently in place. Sadly, this may be the last year for the most challenging section of LLTH -- so you may want to enjoy it while you can.

One last item: There may be horses & hiking groups using the same trail as the race Saturday. Please share the trails, especially the narrow single track sections that don't allow much room for passing. Thanks.

May everyone have a SAFE & FUN race!



added 2-9-12 :

The forecast has changed dramatically since yesterday. Currently, a weather advisory has been issued for tomorrow (Friday) night. Of course, the forecast could change again.



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