Mountain/Ultra/Trail
December 1, 2004
Mackey & Kimball Named 2004 USATF Ultraunners of the Year ; Emerson & Heaslett Take Masters Honors
For performances in a variety of venues from rugged trails to road events in the US and overseas, USA Track & Field's Mountain/Ultra/Trail (MUT) Running Council selected the following ultrarunners as the 2004 men's and women's ultrarunners of the year in open and master's categories.
Dave Mackey - (34, Colo.) From setting a course record (7:51:07) at the Zane Grey 50 Mile trail race in April to his first place finish at the Mountain Masochist 50 Mile trail race (6:52:28) in October which was the second fastest time run on that course, Dave Mackey ran an impressive season of ultras including second place finish at the prestigious Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run (16:30:17) in June. Mackey also won the 2004 Montrail Ultra Cup highlighting his strength and speed on tough mountain trails. These achievements earned him the 2005 Ted Corbitt Award for men's ultrarunner of the year.
Nikki Kimball - (33, MT) Kimball racked up an impressive set of ultra wins this year including the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run (18:43:25) in California in June, the USATF White River 50 Mile Trail Championship (7:45:21) in Washington in July and Mountain Masochist 50 Mile (7:55:57) in October. Her 2004 season of racing produced a series of top performances to win the 2004 Montrail Ultra Cup. Kimball also raced at the World Cup 100K in September in Holland demonstrating speed on both trail and road venues. For these performances she is named the 2005 USATF women's ultrarunner of the year and receives the Ruth Anderson Award.
Ann Heaslett - (40, Wisc.) Heaslett's overall wins at the HUFF 50K (4:15:48) in December 2003 and Ice Age 50 Mile (7:30:00) in May along with two sub-8:40 100K performances in 2004 demonstrate her versatility and talent on a variety of terrains and distances. In 2004 Heaslett began competing as a masters athlete and earned the 2005 USATF women's masters ultrarunner of the year award. In 2002 Heaslett won the USATF Ruth Anderson award for her outstanding accomplishments as an open ultrarunner.
William Emerson - (40, OR) Emerson ran 23 ultras between November 1, 2003 and October 31, 2004. Being a master didn't stop him from winning 16 events overall and setting 7 course records besides his 16 masters course records. The resilient master, who finished no less than 6th place in any race, has been named USATF men's masters ultrarunner of the year.
William Emerson's 2004 Runner of the Year Ultra Races
|
Race |
Date |
Time |
Place |
|
Tanks
a Lot 50K |
11/8/2003 |
3:58:49 |
1st, CR |
|
Quad
Dipsea 28M |
11/29/2003 |
4:01:02 |
1st |
| Tiger Mt. Fat Ass | 1/3/2004 | 5:20:00 | 1st |
|
Bridle
Trails 50K |
1/10/2004 |
3:44:28 |
1st, CR |
| HURT 100K | 1/17/2004 | 13:26:00 | 1st, CR |
| Hilo to Volcano 50K | 1/24/2004 | 3:58:00 | 1st, Masters CR |
| Lord Hill 33 Miler | 2/7/2004 | 4:16:00 | 1st, CR |
|
Haag
Lake 50K |
2/21/2004 |
3:52:28 |
1st, Masters CR |
|
Dirty
Duo 50K |
3/6/2004 |
4:54:40 |
1st, CR |
|
Chuckanut
Mountain 50K |
3/13/2004 |
4:13:46 |
1st, Masters CR |
|
Rucky
Chucky 50K |
3/20/2004 |
4:29:02 |
1st, Masters CR |
|
Mt
Si Relay and 50K Ultra |
4/4/2004 |
3:27:03 |
1st, CR |
| Diez Vista 50K | 4/10/2004 | 4:28:00 | 1st, Masters CR |
|
Leona
Divide 50M |
4/17/2004 |
6:57:05 |
3rd, Masters CR |
|
McDonald
Forest 50K |
5/8/2004 |
4:23:29 |
3rd, Masters CR |
|
Winter
Hawk Six Hour |
6/19/2004 |
43.6 |
2nd, Masters CR |
|
Knee
Knackering North Shore 30M |
7/10/2004 |
5:16:54 |
2nd |
|
White
River 50M USATF Trail Championship |
7/31/2004 |
7:22:08 |
6th, Masters National Champion |
|
Stormy
67K |
8/14/2004 |
5:24:44 |
1st |
|
Where's
Waldo 100K |
8/21/2004 |
11:43:10 |
4th, Masters CR |
|
McKenzie
River 50K |
9/11/2004 |
4:01:09 |
3rd |
|
Lost
Soul Ultra 100K |
9/24/2004 |
13:16:32 |
1st |
| Capital Peak 50K | 10/2/2004 | 4:32:00 | 1st, CR |
"Because of the growth of our USATF national championship ultra program over the last 6 years, and ultra series such as the Montrail Cup, there were many very competitive performances to consider this year," says Lorraine Gersitz, MUT Awards Coordinator. "It's very exciting. On the women's side in particular we had the tightest vote ever in both the open and masters categories."
The USATF ultrarunners of the year are voted for by MUT members from nominees who run exemplary performances at USATF National Ultra Championships, World Cup venues, and other significant races between November 1, 2003 and October 31, 2004 and who are current USATF members. These athletes will be presented awards at the Awards Breakfast of the 2004 USATF Annual Conference in Portland, OR on December 4, 2004.
The MUT Council that selects USATF ultrarunners and contributor of the year was established in 1998 to assist USATF with the sports of mountain, ultra, and trail running. For information about MUT and the USATF ultrarunner of the year awards, visit www.usatf.org and click on Mountain/Ulta/Trail.
Previous Ultrarunner of the Year award winners are:
Year
|
Ruth
Anderson Award |
Ted
Corbitt Award |
|
1990 |
Ann
Trason |
Rae
Clark |
|
1991 |
Ann
Trason |
Sean
Crom |
|
1992 |
Ann
Trason |
Eric
Clifton |
|
1993 |
Sue
Ellen Trapp |
Kevin
Setnes |
|
1994 |
Ann
Trason |
Tom
Johnson |
|
1995 |
Ann
Trason |
Tom
Johnson |
|
1996 |
Sue
Ellen Trapp |
Kevin
Setnes |
|
1997 |
Sue
Ellen Trapp |
Roy
Pirrung |
|
1998 |
Ann
Trason |
Kevin
Setnes |
|
1999 |
Daniele
Cherniak |
Mark
Godale |
|
2000 |
Janice
Anderson |
Dan
Held |
|
2001 |
Ann
Trason |
Rich
Hanna |
|
2002 |
Ann
Heaslett |
Chad
Ricklefs |
|
2003 |
Connie
Gardner |
Joe
Kulak |
Year
|
Ma
|
Masters
Male |
|
1995 |
Theresa Daus-Weber |
Kevin Setnes |
|
1996 |
Sue Ellen Trapp |
Kevin Setnes |
|
1997 |
Sue Ellen Trapp |
Kevin Setnes |
|
1998 |
Sue Olsen |
Ray Piva |
|
1999 |
Suzanne Brana |
Eric Clifton |
|
2000 |
Sue Olsen |
Jim Garcia |
|
2001 |
Sue Ellen Trapp |
Rudy Afanador |
|
2002 |
Ann Trason |
Roy Pirrung |
|
2003 |
Pam Reed |
John Geesler |
