2023 LLTH Results and Race Recap

 Preliminary results have been posted:

 https://headfirstperformance.com/Results/23%20LLTH.pdf

If you note any errors or have any missing information, notify Headfirst Performance.  Results will be on Ultrasignup at a later date once the results have been finalized and HeadFirst Performance gets them uploaded to that site.

 

Recap:

The 19th running of LLTH is now history.  This year there were over 400 entrants.

start video:

The weather and/or trail conditions usually add to the challenge of LLTH.  The weather though, was fairly typical for this time of year with low 20's & light winds at the start with upper 40's & moderate winds in the afternoon.  As for trail conditions, many of the trails resembled ice rinks on Wednesday, but warm temps on Thursday & the sunny day on Friday pretty much removed all the ice except for some isolated spots & 3 or so short sections :  on the gravel road just after the start, the 2nd downhill on the Red Trail and the downhill approaching the sidewalk on the Siltstone Trail.  For the most part, the trails were hard & frozen for the 1st few hours & then were increasingly muddy as the day wore on.

2023 winners:

50k:  Benjamin Shirrell     4:47:13            Piper Gray           5:55:12

15m:  Evan Heitz              2:02:00            Melissa Pitts        2:20:08

6m:   Seth Snider-Hayes      41:59            Sally Thompson      50:08

 

Other notes:

Like last year, the free pasta dinner had several hundred attendees -- Quest Outdoors has been a great sponsor & has done an incredible job putting on this dinner.    Thanks Quest!-

As usual, tasty homemade soups & other assorted food was available at the post race meal --  Thank you Cynthia from all of us!

As noted previously, in collaboration with Land Between the Lakes (LBL), a special award will be given to those who complete both LLTH (50k, 15m or 6m) and LBL (50m, 60k, marathon or 23k).  Information on LBL can be found here:  https://runsignup.com/Race/KY/GrandRivers/LandBetweentheLakestrailruns.
 

An award is issued to runners when reaching 10 finishes at LLTH.  4 runners reached that milestone this year:  Jonathon Amlung, Ryan Miller, Jeanette Schmidt and Gerard Weiter -- Congratulations!

If anyone has any photos/videos/race reports that they wish to share on this blog, send them or the link to me.  Thanks!

This video is shared by "Late-Runners" on YouTube:     https://youtu.be/H_ZeTRe-OSs

Swag:

 

 

 

 

Congrats & Thanks to all for making LLTH once again a success this year!

 

 

 

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Feb-1-2023 LLTH last minute notes

Online registration thru UltraSignup ends tonight (Feb 1) at 11:59 pm EST.

Early packet pickup is at QUEST OUTDOORS at 4600 Shelbyville Road in the Shelbyville Road Plaza in Louisville on Friday from 4 to 7 pm EST.  QUEST OUTDOORS will also be having their FREE pre-race pasta dinner again this year at their store location -- everyone is welcome.

You can also register and/or pick up your race packet at the Horine Center at the Start/Finish area on race morning starting around 7 am EST.  It's recommended to pick up your packet on Friday to avoid the rush & lines on race day.

Flagging will be pink this year.  Trail junctions will be marked with several flags & major junctions will also have signs or a volunteer on site.  Intermediate flagging is spaced approx. 200 to 300 feet along the entire course.

Out on the course flagging trails today, there’s a layer of ice at many locations on the trails from the sleet and freezing rain yesterday with a very light dusting of snow on top.  At times it was difficult to even hike. Forecasters say it will warm to the low 40's tomorrow (Thursday) & will do a lot of melting but I would not count on all of it melting & what does melt will probably refreeze Friday & early Saturday, so be prepared for ice.

At Mitchell Hill Lake mile 6.2 this morning:  

All main roads in Louisville are clear, although the 1st half mile of the race is on a gravel road that holds water in one area & it was a sheet of ice today, as were all the wood trail bridges.

Current local weather from the National Weather Service can be found here:   NWS Fairdale, KY

The course layout is unchanged from last year — not even minor changes, which is rare.  However, there are changes in the works.  One is a re-route on the Scott’s Gap trail (unaltered for 20+ years) that will bypass a steep incline and 2 deep ditches next year. You may see some wired flags in the ground veering off the trail -- ignore them & just follow the pink flagging on the well worn trail to stay on course.

50k runners will notice that one hillside on the Siltstone Trail was burned due to a small brush fire during the drought last Fall.  It looks like the trail worked as a small firebreak and also allowed quick access for firefighters.

As in previous years, in collaboration with the Land Between the Lakes (LBL) trail running event in western KY, a special award will be given to those who complete both LLTH (50k, 15m or 6m) and LBL (50m, 60k, marathon or 23k).  Information on LBL can be found here:  https://runsignup.com/Race/KY/GrandRivers/LandBetweentheLakestrailruns.

Good Luck & Be Careful!

 

 

update 4 pm Thursday, Feb 2 2023 :

With warmer temps today, most all of the course is no longer ice covered.  There are exceptions.  The ice in the photo above is now all gone.

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