HARRI's win Chuckanut 50 km

Written by co-RD Krissy Moehl

Will it rain? How cold will it be up on the ridge? Tights or shorts? How will the competition be? Some of the questions that have run through my mind in past years preparing for the Chuckanut 50 km, but this year the same questions ran through my head as a race director. Similar concerns, but this time I was thinking about 200 runners instead of just one.

Plenty of the 178 starters, were jumping around in shorts and t-shirts as I attempted to shout some last minute trail warnings and thank our predecessors. Doug McKeever and Richard West started this race 10 years ago and continued as mentors for the two new RDs.

Runners were greeted by cool, strong winds and attentive, excited volunteers at the aid stations. As one runner put it in a thank you email after the race, "I got better service from your volunteers than I could get from room service at a 4 star hotel." The trail was clear, well marked thanks to Doug and Richard (the part of the race they continue to enjoy) and mostly mud free. "…the best I've seen this course in it's 10 years" one runner stated at the finish line.

All of this resulted in fast times. For the fourth year in a row the women's record was broken. With last year's female winner being the first to go under five hours, this year the top 3 women added themselves to this list. Kathleen Harri led the pack with a time of 4:39:32, nine minutes ahead of last year's record. Still going strong at 68 years young Barbara Maclow finished in 8:10:47, an inspiration to everyone out there.

Ed Harri led the men's field in 4:08:37, the third fastest time run on this course. Rob Lang made a huge push leaving aid station #4 in 6th place and in the last 9 miles moved up to 2nd place finishing in 4:25:02. Bill Ball toughed it out, starting the race with an already sprained ankle. In spite of the email he sent to pull himself out of the race the night before, he started and finished in 8:53:13.

All runners were greeted at the finish line by pleasant weather and the rich smell of garlic hamburgers homemade and bar-b-qued by my parents. Those two continue to support me in any crazy endeavor I take on. Thanks to Peggy and Dennis for making this race an event.

A low budget race like this would not be possible without the volunteers or the generous sponsors. Montrail, Patagonia, Petzl, Fairhaven Runners and Trail Runner provided a variety of give-aways for our creative prize drawing. Clif, Mission Foods and Clear Water Supply helped fuel runners along the way with gels, bars (Clif), tortillas, pretzels and chips (MF). Odwalla and Great Harvest added to the finish line feed by providing juice and bread.

The Greater Bellingham Running Club is run by an avid group of runners and helpful individuals that make putting on a race very easy. From helping us gather permits and insurance, to going out of their way to provide support and supplies the GBRC deserves a special thanks for enabling the Chuckanut 50 km to continue as one of the premier ultra events in the Northwest (but then again I am biased… it was my first ultra).