Lester Park Run, the 8th race in the Fall NMTC Series, took place on Sunday, October 25th.  Congratulations to Mike Benchina (39:37), Jen Houck (43:23), and Leslie Semler (45:30), whose performances qualified for the Lester Park Best Times List.

Pictures submitted by Melanie Olson.  Many more are available at her Picasa site.

Pictures from the Hartley Run last Sunday.

From Lisa Messerer:

From Eve Stein:

Submitted by Tom Urbanski

HARTMARK SMASHES PUMPKIN RUN COURSE RECORD

CLOQUET, MN-- A field of 263 runners and walkers participated in the fourth annual Pumpkin Run and Walk Five-Kilometer Race held at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet on Saturday, October 24.

Eric Hartmark of Duluth led all runners to the finish in a course record time of 15:13, carving off 1:22 minutes from the previous record set in 2008. Brandon Channell was second and Andrew Chapin of Duluth was third overall. In the women's division, Marlo McGaver of Duluth placed first with a time of 19:36. Amanda Lepisto was second and Jenny Johnson of Carlton finished in third place.

Notable performances included sisters Claire and Ann Kleinschmidt of Duluth, ages 14 and 12 respectively, who finished first and second in the under-18 age group, finishing only one second apart at 22:18 and 22:19. Sara Cherne of Duluth ran 25:09 to place first in the 60 and over age group. Finishing second overall in the race was 14-year old Brandan Channell

Best costume awards went to Joshua Hutchison, Doug Hartmark, Amanda Lepisto, Kelly Erickson, Kandi Geary, and Kaylie Ledyard.

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, Culligan Water, Great Harvest Bread Co., Austin-Jarrow, Grandma's Marathon, Moe and Nevin Insurance Adjusters, Anytime Fitness, Cub Foods, Black Bear Golf Course, SMDC Foundation, AmericInn of Cloquet, Aces on 29th, and Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Foundation.

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

Overall Winners

Male:
1.  Erik Hartmark 15:13*
(*New course record, old record was 16:35 by Darren Larsen, 2008)
2. Brandon Channell 19:05
3. Andrew Chapin 19:26

Female:
1. Marlo McGaver 19:36 

2. Amanda Lepisto 20:12
3. Jenny Johnson 20:44

Age Division Winners:

Under 18 Male:
1. Eric Miklausich 22:16
2. Jeromy Zarwas 23:07
3. Joseph Hallgren 23:50

Under 18 Female:
1. Claire Kleinschmidt 22:18
2. Ann Kleinschmidt 22:19
3. Rachel Dixon 23:44

18-29 Male:
1. Craig Isakson 19:34
2. Dave Lane 19:58
3. Ben Martin 19:59

18-29 Female:
1. Laura Mills  22:34
2. Antoinette Cook 24:24
3. Jesse Bittmer 25:42

30-39 Male:
1. Kristopher Glesener 19:41
2. Tim Prosen 20:39
3. Jason Sickmann 21:03

30-39 Female:
1. Laura Ribich 22:45
2. Erika Heins 23:14
3. Catherine Nachbar 23:39

40-49 Male:
1. Tim Kleinschmidt 19:42
2. Pat Mullen 20:31
3. Mark Hagen 21:12

40-49 Female:
1. Ann Robertson 23:52
2. Leann Frestedt 24:38
3. Lynn Stottler 24:54

50-59 Male:
1. Randy Back 20:43
2. Byron Koster 21:28
3. Ronald Eng 24:26

50-59 Female:
1. Linda Norton 25:39
2. Arlene Eldon 26:16
3. Lenora Moe 28:22

60 and over Male:
1. Tim Krohn 24:31
2. Dan Sydow 25:30
3. Phillip Lind 28:10

60 and over Female:
1. Sara Cherne 25:09
2. Margj Dvergsten 39:57
3. Bonnie Wenborg 1:06

Hawk Ridge, the 6th race in the Fall NMTC Series, took place on Wednesday, October 7th.  Congratulations to Eric Hartmark (20:29), Mike Benchina (20:41), Elaine Nelson (22:51), and Leslie Semler (23:47), whose performances qualified for the Hawk Ridge Best Times List.

Hartley, the 7th race in the series, took place last Sunday.  We are experiencing a minor glitch in transferring the results from the NMTC command nexus to the Northland Runner server, but we expect it to be resolved within the next couple days.

Pictures submitted by Eve Stein.

23rd Annual Duck Pond Run Results

Watersmeet, MI 

Submitted by giiwe Martin. 

Gray skies and a light mist welcomed the runners to Watersmeet to the 23rd Annual Duck Pond 5k (3.1 mile) run on October 3rd.  The delightful cross country course through the north wood's changing colors could have easily been a distraction for the runners as they made their way through Aggie Lane.  Aggie Lane was constructed by Brother Willie Martin in his sister’s memory.  Each year the race is held in her memory.  Agnes Martin, youngest daughter of Rose and Sam Martin of Watersmeet, MI lost her life to suicide in 1986.  Since her death her sister giiwe Martin has held the run to remember her sister’s life and to celebrate the wonderful memories of her youngest sister.

Today, there were no such distractions for the serious runners as Calumet’s mother and son took winning laurels in the 5K cross country event.  Coleman Kaiser, 14, from Calumet, took overall honors with a time of 17:14.78, while mother Theresa Coleman-Kaiser, 45, of Calumet took top female honors in a time of 22:34. 

Runners with 1st Place -
Willy Martin, 57, Watersmeet, MI 17:54
Giiwe Martin, 60, Watersmeet, MI 25:15
Dylan Taivalmaa, 9, Ironwood, MI 27:10
Marty Celeski, 62, Ironwood, MI 31:25
Henry Williams, 12, Bruce Crossing, MI 36:29
Garrett Williams, 9, Bruce Crossing, MI 36:30

Walkers with First Place:
Ed Wyutack, 69, Watersmeet, MI  43:30 
James Williams Jr., Watersmeet, MI  46:24
Toni Edwards-Williams, Bruce Crossing, MI 46:24
Edmond Williams, 4, Bruce Crossing MI, 46:24
Nicole Taivalmaa, 12, Ironwood, MI  63:15
Laurie Celeski, 39 , Ironwood, MI  63:20
Margaret Celeski, 61, Ironwood, MI  64:24

Runners were treated to Chili, long sleeve shirts, and trophies after the race.  Duck Pond Run is rated the Best Little Race in the U.P. by the runners of the event!