Submitted by Tom Urbanski.

LARSEN, WIRTH SET COURSE RECORDS AT 2008 PUMPKIN RUN

CLOQUET, MN-- A record field of 277 runners and walkers participated in the third annual Pumpkin Run and Walk Five-Kilometer Race held at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College on Saturday, October 25.

Darren Larsen of Cloquet led all runners to the finish in a course record time of 16:35. Sean Gaskell of Esko was second and Dave Schuneman of Duluth was third overall. In the women's division, Rochelle Wirth of Duluth set a new course record of 19:25. Molly Pennings of Culver was second and Jenny Johnson of Carlton finished in third place.

Notable performances included 13-year old Matt Lepisto of Duluth who finished fifth overall and won the under-18 age group in a time of 18:57. Sara Cherne of Duluth ran 24:39 and unseated two-time age-group winner Marilyn Schnobrich in the 60 and over age group. In the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Student Division, Naomi Cleveland of Kettle River won the title as the Fastest Student. The first-ever wheelchair finisher at the Pumpkin Run was Michael Larson of Culver.

Many of the race participants helped celebrate the theme and season of the Pumpkin Run event by wearing costumes or orange and black clothing. Winners of the Best Costume Awards were Amy Nelson, Kelly Nelson, Amy Wicker, and Adam Whelan who were dressed as the Three Little Pigs and
the Big Bad Wolf; and Robert, Sheila and Abby Smith dressed as hippies.

The race course started on campus and then followed 14th Street going south to the Valley View neighborhood and then turned around on Harner Lane and returned along 14th Street to the campus. Course safety was provided by law enforcement students at the college, along with the Cloquet Police Department.

Local businesses helped sponsor the race through prize and refreshment donations, including Super One Foods, Wal-Mart, Duluth Running Company, The Athlete's Foot, Duluth Clinic Fitness and Therapy Center, Great Harvest Bakery, Austin-Jarrow, Grandma's Marathon, Duluth Family Practice Center, Arrowhead Tennis and Athletic Center, Cub Foods, Black Bear Casino Resort, St. Luke's Hospital, SMDC Foundation, and Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College.

Complete race results are available at www.myvira.com and a photo gallery will be posted on the college website at www.fdltcc.edu/pumpkinrun.

Overall Winners

Male:
1. Darren Larsen 16:35*
(*New course record, old record was 17:24 by Sean Gaskill, 2007)
2. Sean Gaskell 17:12
3. Dave Schuneman 18:11

Female:
1. Rochelle Wirth 19:25*
(*New course record, old record was 21:59 by Gina Rockstad, 2007)
2. Molly Pennings 21:45
3. Jenny Johnson 21:56


Age Division Winners:

Under 18 Male:
1. Matt Lepisto 18:57
2. Thomas Olson 21:44
3. Eric Miklausich 21:59

Under 18 Female:
1. Calianne Marsaa 25:15
2. Anna Urbaniak 25:18
3. Macey Dunn 26:55

18-29 Male:
1. Clint Agar 19:40
2. Adam Doe 20:22
3. Michael Miller 21:00

18-29 Female:
1. Kristin Rognerud 22:25
2. Geri Pelzel 24:12
3. Melinda Erin 24:23

30-39 Male:
1. Brian Burdette 19:54
2. Roger Reinert 20:31
3. Jason Sickmann 21:10

30-39 Female:
1. Gina Rockstad 22:06
2. Kimberly Voss 22:19
3. Lindsay Leno 22:34

40-49 Male:
1. Kenneth Ripp 18:36
2. Pat Mullen 20:32
3. Randy Back 20:57

40-49 Female:
1. Janet Milich 24:50
2. Lisa Henrickson 26:35
3. Karen Kucza 27:11

50-59 Male:
1. Jim Young 22:26
2. Jim Maslowski 23:10
3. David Turnham 23:20

50-59 Female:
1. Arlene Elden 25:53
2. Lenora Moe 26:50
3. Verna Westin 28:30

60 and over Male:
1. Phillip Lind 27:56
2. Bill Croke 33:12
3. Herb Dillon 35:54

60 and over Female:
1. Sara Cherne 24:39
2. Marilyn Schnobrich 26:45
3. Ella Fennessy 36:50

Fastest Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Student
Naomi Cleveland 28:21

Best Costume Awards
Adam Whelan, Amy Nelson, Kelly Nelson, Amy Wicker, Robert Smith, Sheila Smith, Abby Smith

Pictures submitted by Tom Urbanski.  More pictures will be posted soon as well as a photo gallery at the race website.  Results are available at www.myvira.com and will be available soon at Northland Runner.

Pictures from the Hartley 10.5k run on Sunday, submitted by Eve Stein.

Current NMTC Point Standings:

Women

Men

If you have a running article or short story you would like to submit, e-mail it to us and we would be happy to post it for you.  The following story was submitted by Steve Salzer.

Varpaisjärvi

On July 3, Dave Hyopponen, our families and I travelled to Finland to visit and run a half marathon.  We landed in Helsinki on July 3. We drove to Lahti one hour north to stay with our relative Raimo Hyopponen and his family for two weeks.

The next day we rented a diesel van (gas/diesel is about $11 a gallon) and we drove four hours north to the small town of Varpaisjärvi, the site of the race. We picked this race because it was the only race that coincided with our stay in Finland. We found out that no other Americans had ever run this race and we would be the first. We would be running with runners from Sweden, Norway, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Estonia and Russia. The 10k race started at 8pm and the full and the half marathon at 9pm. There were a total of two or three hundred runners. The cost was 20 Euro (about $35 US) and included a sauna after the race.

All of the races were run on the same course with a traffic cone set out at the turn around point. It was an out and back course. The course was on a tar road with many hills in a rural lake area. The full marathoners ran the course twice with some finishing after 2 am. Markers were in kilometers, not mile markers. There were very few spectators on the course along with some cars. It was quiet and no music except at the beginning. The spectators cheered us (I think) in Finnish. There were no medical tents or aid station and there were no massage tents at the end like at Grandma’s Marathon. There were water stations about every three kilometers. We suffered from jet lag, lack of sleep, feeling sick, not eating right and not hydrating properly. Dave did eat some French Fries before the race which may have been a good strategy for him.

When the race began our bodies found the energy to run. Dave looked really good and kept pace with some of the marathoners and top finishers of the half. The Finnish runners looked very good too. Most have been skiing all winter and were in great shape. None of them had a runners tan and I must have stood out not looking Finnish and dark tan from running outside.

Only the top five received awards. Dave finished in 1:28. This was sixth place overall just missing an award by a second. Though Dave didn’t receive an award for placing in the top five he was asked to speak to the crowd about Duluth and the race course. We awarded him the name baby popple legs because his legs were strong and white. I finished in 1:49 seventh place in the men’s 55 to 60 age group.

We celebrated with other finishers in a bar across from the finish line till the wee hours of the morning. It was still light out when we went to bed about 2 am. It was hard to fall asleep after all of the excitement of the previous forty-eight hours and all of the noise. The full marathoners were still finishing and the music was still playing.

We found Finland to be similar to Minnesota with many lakes, trees and the climate. The people were very friendly and language was not a barrier since most people spoke very good English. When we got home, Ahti Kirtola, the race director sent us a copy of the local paper and even invited us back. We hope to return. Click on the following link to view information about Varpaisjarvi.

www.varpaisjarvi.fi

Pic 1: Dave, Raimo, and Steve

Pic 2: Steve and Dave

Pic 3: Steve finishing

Pic 4: Finishers at 11pm

Pic 5: Dave speaks

Pic 6: Steve and Dave

Submitted by the 1st National Bank of Wakefield Marathon race directors

Near perfect conditions welcomed eighteen runners to the 3rd Annual First National Bank of Wakefield Marathon. The 26.2 mile race circles beautiful Sunday Lake nine and a half times.

"The fog was fairly dense the first hour of the run, but temperatures were ideal," said race director Jim Engel. "It's the third year in a row we've had excellent marathoning weather. The fog lifted and it turned out to be a beautiful day, for five hours."

The final two marathon runners finished in rain, heavy at times.

"Joyce Wyzlic and Sheila Modjeski, running her first full marathon, really got dumped on during their last lap of the run," Engel reported. "Fortunately the temperatures remained mild during the downpour."

The weather suited hand cyclist Dean Juntunen, 48, Mass City, just fine as he sped around Sunday Lake nine and a half times in 1:49:43.

Engel said, "Once again Dean really got after it. His time was almost a half a minute faster than the year before. In fact, Dean has improved his time at each race here."

Fifty-seven year old Doug Riske, Athens, WI, was the first runner to cross the finish line of the 26.2 mile race in an impressive 3:37:08.

"Ya know most of us slow down considerably as we get older but Doug defies Old Father Time," Engel said. "And the man runs many, many races of various distances at a very high level all year long."

Ironwood's Geneva Smiles, 30, won the women’s race for the second year in a row in 3:55:55. Her time was over five minutes faster than a year ago.

"Geneva had another strong run as she successfully defended her title here today," Engel said. "She is the first runner to win twice here at Wakefield."

Many of the eighteen runners entered used the run as a long training run, running between 12 and 18 miles. The 'lap' format can make the long distance seem more manageable for many of the runners.

Engel commented, "That's cool. It's a great opportunity to have other runners out with you to help motivate you on that long run. Aid is provided and ya never know when someone may just get the urge and finish that first marathon."

"I've got to once again thank Tony Ringsmuth and the First National Bank of Wakefield for his sponsorship of the race. He's a huge supporter of activities here in Wakefield. Thanks to my wife Denise for the great sloppy joes for the runners and to my daughter Janelle who has acted as race recorder for all three marathons and to Rose Engstrom for helping her out. The VFW aid station was, for the third year in a row, taken care of by Casey Evsich, assisted by Courtney Dean. Thanks."

The 4th Annual First National Bank of Wakefield will take place the second Saturday in September, 2009.

Marathon finishers:
Dean Juntunen, 48, Mass City 1:49:43 Hand Cycle
Doug Riske, 57, Athens, WI 3:37:08
Cliff Reithel, 59, Ashland, WI 3:54:52
Geneva Smiles, 30, Ironwood 3:55:55
Leah Nikula, 47, Ironwood 4:03:54
Jim Engel, 53, Wakefield 4:15:58
Gary Engstrom, 61, Ironwood 4:22:05
Joyce Wyzlic, ??, Ironwood 5:45:43
Sheila Modjeski, 54, Ironwood 5:45:44
Bill Sved, 60, Marquette 6:42:05 (Walked the marathon distance due to recent surgery)

Other distances run:
Monica McCarter, Ironwood 21.1
Michael Gregor, Ironwood 21.1
Jason Cihlar, Mercer 18.3
Gary Aimore, Hurley 15.5
Forrest Kivisto, Ironwood 15.5
Kari Kartheiser, Bessemer 15.5
Scott Erickson, Ironwood 14
Ken Nikula, Ironwood 12.7

Submitted by the Duck Pond Run race directors.

The 22nd Annual Duck Pond Run Results
Watersmeet, MI   Sat. October 4, 2008

If you haven’t been there you should try it next year.  Willy Martin offers one of the best 5K trail runs there is!  Rolling hills, sort of steeple-chase style, but the beauty of nature in its most colorful coat was simply amazing. 

The run starts out going west from Willy’s home where the race is held and quickly turns south into the woods and takes you on a beautiful adventure.  It is an awesome out and back course.  Though we have had much rain over the past week, the course was in excellent condition.

Willy Martin, 56 of Watersmeet and Jamie Badour, 37 of Ewen, MI just coming off wins at the Loggers Run, both semi-injured ran one fantastic race.  They were the over-all winners respectively with Martin posting an 18:55 and Badour posting a 19:10.  Eight year old Dylan Taivalmaa of Ironwood pushed the pace for giiwe Martin 59 of Watersmeet, both finished with impressive 23:49 for the 5K event. 

Other Age Group Winners were:
Laurie Celeski, Margaret Celeski, and Nicole Taivamalaa of Ironwood.  Nicole Taivalmaa and Dylan Taivalmaa also won top honors for the youth division top finishers. 

Top One Mile Walkers were Ken LaRock, Waabanookwe LaRock, of Watersmeet, MI Mike Hazen, Joyce Hazen, Watersmeet, MI Chloe Galloway, Even, MI Pete Allard, Land O’ Lakes, WI.  

Photo 1: Dylan Taivalmaa froze his ears on this crispy October morning and giiwe Martin/race Director bestowed this hat to him to wear during the 23rd running of the Duck Pond Run next year.

Photo 2: Overall Winners- Top (L to R): Willy Martin, Jamie Badour. Bottom: Nicole Taivalmaa and Dylan Taivalmaa.

Photo 3: All over-all and age group winners from the 22nd Annual Duck Pond Run.

Rose and Waabanookwe made hot chili for all runners after the race.