|
Living History Farms Race 2002 |
|
The LHF race was quite an experience. After being away from running for some time
I think it made it very exciting just be part of the crowd. I think for a person
like me who has ran pretty impressive times in the past, it brought back good memories
from the college years and more. This race was the best (Most fun) race I have ever ran! I really liked how the course was so tough and grueling. I also liked the logs, creeks, dense woods, STEEP hills, and the layout of the course (Not loopy, loopy courses make me dizzy). I will DEFINITELY run this race next year Dale Butler I cannot find my name in the results. My name is Yuan Zheng, from Buffalo Grove, IL. My registration number is 1456. I finished the race in around 1 hour and 2 minutes. Could you please check what happened? Thanks! Yuan We are working on it! This is the best race ever!! It is not about running a good time - but running to have a good time. I think that with the amount of people entered - you can't do a better job. I heard comments during the run about "they need to have different start times for the faster runners", "split this up into 2 races" etc. People get real!! This is not an olympic event or a qualifing run for anything - this is just a great race to go out, have fun and get muddy!!! Keep up the good work. I'm already looking forward to next year!! Janis Bartley We are considering a heat arrangement, but no promises! I love this race and also love that so many people--some who really aren't runners--do it. It's a great way to get people out to play and be active. One suggestion--I think we need a reminder about how to be a considerate cross-country runner. I saw one incident that scared me and had the potential to be very dangerous to other runners. At one creek crossing, someone behind me too a run and flying leap across the creek. He crashed into another runner who was just exiting the creek and knocked her down. Hard. She was ok (because I asked her when I caught up to her). I didn't even hear the person who landed on her say anything to her but just kept on running. She could have easily been hurt falling. Other than that, it was awesome! Laurie Comstock Good idea! We'll use it. I read the story about the guy who had both shoes come off in the creek in the 2001 race. I thought he must have been quite inept. Well, I came to the first creek and jumped in, my left shoe came off, stuck in the mud. I retrieved it and kept running with one shoe on, trying to get my double knot out, with no success. Finally after about 400 yards of running with only one shoe on, I stopped and somehow got it on. Finished in 43+ minutes, probably cost 1 minute or so. Lesson learned stay away from edges, jump more to the center where the bottom is harder. Gregg Winkel Once again, thanks for providing an excellent opportunity for runners to be challenged. I had a very good race, and had an absolute ball getting to the finish. This is the fifth Farms race for me and my ten year olds third mile race. He would like to experience the trails as I do, but not at the expense of five to six miles on his still developing legs. He loves to run and has some success. We went out this (stayed over Sat. night) AM and did a couple miles on the trail, entering the pasture area just east of the interstate tunnel. We did the rest of the race from there. I thought, why not make a small loop race. This loop, I figured to be about two to two and a half miles. Just a thought, and I know that what you have done and provided for so many is still working, thus the improved numbers. And to close, this is still truely, an incredible race. Neil Paarmann - 38 years old, 7th place in my age group and missed the cornish hen handouts! P.S. I brought down seven more runners from the Mankato, Minnesota area than last year. I can't say enough about this race. Hope to have more next year. Thanks for the experience! Reply: Neil, we had to give up on the 2 mile race (with more obstacles) after the problems in 1998. That year we had the first 14 runners in the five+ race get off course and on to the 2 mile course. They were disqualified and not at all happy. Since then we just haven't wanted to take any chances with confusion. We will take you suggestion into consideration though. Excellent. Had a blast. Hadn't been since '96 and have been dying to get back. I believe I was your only runner from Oklahoma. Thanks again for a great race. Brian It was a great experience! I would definitely do it again. Thanks for putting on such a great race!! Lori Vander Molen What a great race, it was a perfect day out, one of the best races that I've participated in this year, it's certainly a refreshing break from the street courses. Delsin Knowler This was my first Living History Farms Race, and I hope I can get myself to do it again next year. I have only been running regularly for about three years. I'm more of a 5K person, and have never run a longer organized race than a 5K, so this was a challenge for me. I finished in under an hour, and felt pretty good about that for my first effort. I was glad I read last year's stories prior to the race. It helped me get "equipped". I wore a pair of gore-tex socks, and a pair of ankle gaiters that fit over the tops of my trail running shoes. Not one drop of creek water touched my skin, and not one speck of debris got inside my shoes. At the end of the race, other than being exhausted, my feet were warm and comfortable, which is the way I like them. The gaiters have straps that run under my shoes, so no muddy creek bottom ever threatened to disrobe either of my feet. With the trail shoes, I never lost my footing once going up any hill or slippery creek bank. Maybe you have all the participants you could ever want, but I think if you added a three mile run, you would get a lot more. I understand the trail confusion you had in 1998, but I think it could be done. You guys did a great job of organizing and staging this event. Thanks for all of your hard work. You should feel very gratified and appreciated for your efforts. CTC Move over Kickbox and Step, I think i've discovered a new form of exercise....never really been much of a runner so started training about a month ago. Joined forces with a couple other women and entered the race as team "Boot Camp"! Now I can't wait to do it again....the more hills, trails, creeks and trees the better!! That made it interesting and exhilarating! My thanks to the race committee for a well organized event, to Walter for the great weather, and to my Boot Camp Teammates and Captain (Lisa) for motivating me/us!! Nancy Campbell It was fantastic again! This year my two youngest daughters ran also and they had a blast. The course was excellent and everything went smooth for us. We are some of the crazy people who drive 4 hours to get there and run and then return home. Thanks for a great experience. I like this race because my kids (I have 5) can see that all kinds of people love to run and have a fun time. Can't wait for next year! Kristie Austin Just a note to say THANK YOU and the LHF and the Striders and everyone associated with the race. It may get bigger every year, but it also gets BETTER. What a hoot!. A tremendously fun way to "wrap up" the racing season. Congratulations to you and the volunteers. Great course this year and as always those doughnuts at the end are literally and figuratively the icing on the cake. See you at next year's event (and at a few dozen more before then. Kevin C First off I would like to say that I am definitely coming back for the 25th Annual race without a doubt. This was my first Living History Farms race. I came down here with a few of my friends who ran the race last year. Let me tell you that I have never had so much fun running in my life. I can't describe this race with any words, it is just something that you have to experience. A race must be great when you notice that you are bleeding 10 minutes after you finish and don't even realize it, let alone care. Again, absolutely amazing. Neil Grubaugh - Lincoln, NE P.S. Nice touch with the one man band playing the national anthem with his bugle. We came from Kansas City for the run, our third time, and had a blast. Hope to come back again. Just curious, though, the results do not appear to be very complete. My husband and I finished at the same time (just over 66 minutes), and his time is listed, but not mine. I am in the 45-49 age group, and even though you show 76 were in that age group, only 12 finishing times are shown. He is in the 60-64 age group, and only 12 of 19 in that age group are shown. It appears to be that way in other age groups as well. What happened? Anyway, thanks for the hard work involved in putting this on. We had fun and enjoyed the craziness. Kathleen Purduski and Dennis Morgan First, the age group page only listes the top twelve in each age group and we don't tell you that. We should have. Second we will find you and get you in place on the 6 MILE OVERALL page. We apologize, you are the second person that we missed. thank you for coming. First of all, thanks! I can't even imagine what it takes to put on an event like this. You put Iowa on the map and this is a real special event. In spite of the large numbers, parking and packet pickup went very fast. The kybo wait was not too long and the start was organized. As usual, the post race treats were excessive (not complaining). If anyone went home hungry, it was their own fault. My only frustration is the start. The gate is narrow and there are a lot of runners. I came to a comlete stop four times in the first 1/4 mile and had a lot of trouble passing slow runners. If you could design a very wide start with a 1/4 mile sprint before the first bottle neck, it would give the fast runners a chance to pass the slow ones. I realize you are limited by the location, so maybe this can't happen. It is obvious you are tryin to tweak the event to make it better which is was prompted my note. Thanks again! Bill We'll look at the start again. Steve I pre-registered for the Living History Farms Race. I arrived (1) hour before race time with (7) other pre-registered runners. I requested an XL t-shirt on my race form and only had the choice of a small or medium shirt. I am extremely disgusted with not being able to get the shirt that I requested. I would have settled for an XXL or a L but neither of those were available. What's the benefit of registering early? If there are any XL t-shirts available, I would appreciate one. Respectfully Linda P.S.Yes - My family and I DID enjoy the race. My only complaint - the announcer prior to the race start was a GRUMP!!! I'm sorry we ran out of shirts. I ordered 500 more than last year, and it still wasn't enough. We just can't seem to realize that the race will keep growing. More and more people are picking their shirts up on Fri, night. they all got the appropriate size. That is why we put on the online entry form "shirt size not guarenteed on race day". I forgot to put it on the printed entry form. Adidas needs me to order the shirts 2 months out as they make them up just for the race. No one stocks this many long sleeve shirts. The last year before Adidas did the shirts we cleaaned out every warehouse in the U.S. of L.S. tees in the color we chose. At that time the race was only 2100. We will get you the shirt as soon as possible. the shirts come from Adidas and it usually takes about 6 to 8 weeks to get and get printed. Let us know if there is anything else that we can do. The announcer at the start was me or Cal Murdock (the man who does the results and assists in every other aspect of the race) and I will admit, I (we?) am stressed out about that time. I hope I (we) didn't offend you badly. WHAT A HOOT THIS RACE IS!!!!!!!! I am new to racing, this being only my third race (first one at this distance). I was scared silly until I got into the start area and saw ALL sorts of FUN costumes. Then I started smiling, and just kept that face ON!!! It was a hard 6 miles, but there was always a helping hand available when needed, and MUCH encouragement from fellow competitors. The course was GREAT, and THANK GOD for those ropes!!!!!! (Why I decided to do the HARD route, I'll never know, but it was FUN!!!). The results were ready in record time, and the awards were great (only change is to give MORE awards in the middle aged categories....like just for finishing the thing!!!!). MANY MANY MANY THANKS to all the volunteers who worked so hard to make this a reality. I hope to run in this every year for a LONG LONG LONG time!!!!! THANK YOU ALL!!!!! Dr.Linda Thompson My Amazing Feet… With this being my second Living History Farms race, I was familiar with what to expect and felt confident going in that I could run at a 6:30 pace and break into the top 100. Every thing went according to plans until the middle of the first creek. That is when I discovered that my stretchy laces, designed for fast transitions in triathlons, also allowed a shoe to come off in a rapid like manner taking with it my nice cushioned sock. So I'm standing on the other side of the creek, watching runner after runner jumping in the creek at the approximate location I believe my shoe to be. After a brief and futile attempt to dodge the oncoming athletes and rescue my ill-fated shoe, I had a decision to make, do I finish the race with one bare foot or do I call it quits? Recalling the story from last year of the runner who ran in socks and claimed it wasn't all that bad, I decided I could do the same, after all, either way I have three miles to go. But I couldn’t run with just one shoe, that wouldn’t look right, so off came the other shoe and sock. These I left on the side of the creek for anyone else that might happen to need them. Now either I don't have tough feet, or that guy from last year was lying, cause believe me it hurt. It's amazing how many little rocks there were that I never would have noticed wearing shoes, even a pair of socks might have helped. However, I did find that on the steep muddy slopes, I had an advantage over those with shoes as I was able to dig my numb and bleeding toes into the soft soil. After two miles of sole searching, I ran under the bridge loaded with spectators, and as I heard people commenting about the "crazy guy with bare feet", I felt a surge of energy that had been bottled up during the last two tip-toeing miles. As I felt the soft grass caressing my feet, I let this surge of energy carry me up the final hill and down through the line of runners. My reward for sticking with it was to fly like a bare-footed crazy man past numerous runners who having passed me earlier, were now at the end of their energy reserves, while I was only just discovering mine. #461 Ernest Rigdon III, 29, Kirksville, MO. You should check your Tetnus status (should be past 5 yrs. I believe), and if you aren't sure, get a tetnus shot.Sorry about the shoe problem. He sent pictures of his feet. If you want to see them, let me know. Hi, I was looking at the results, and couldn't find my name anywhere. Does this happen often? I was in the 54:00 to 55:00 range, so it's not a big deal in the overall scheme of things. Just curious. This is the third time that I have done this race, and I think that this year was the best yet! I really like the way the course was changed to make the start go smoother. Hopefully everyone else liked this too and we will see this course design again next year. Regards,Jon Poling Don't know why you aren't there, but we will try to get that rectified right away. You're #3 out of 4000, not to bad but more than we want. I want to know who the sadistic course marshall was at about the four mile mark. This was my first LHF race, so I was entirely unfamiliar with the course or where I was going. At roughly four miles, after finishing one of the more grueling hills, a course marshall said "way to go, that's the last hill". I felt briefly relieved, until we immediately hit a long gradual incline, followed by countless undulations thereafter. My mind doesn't adjust well to extreme variances between expectation and reality. Next year I will know exactly what lies ahead. It was a great event. Thanks for everything. The single most negative part of the race was runners not having the respect of other runners. Frequently runners in tight quarters pulled out in front of other runners with out looking or giving others the courtesy of trying to give them room to manuever. At the beginning of the race and or in some of your pre race litterature one could maybe mention the two stride rule and being aware of those around you. Other than that, I do believe my son and friends will be back next year and possibly the years to follow. This was my first year and I found the entire program enjoyable. You should be commended for being able to put so many runners in such an area and have such success. How about a longer race next year ? Thanks again. Randy Raymond Wanted to thank all involved for the tremendous efforts put forth to make such a memorable event. This is my third LHF run (second with my daughter). I participate in a few competitions every year but look forward to this one most. I use this as the culmination of my running season and to share with runners of all abilities, fellowship in a less competitive nature. I know there are complaints about the shear number of participants and the issues with getting good times under those circumstances. But I look at this event more as a celebration in running rather than a race in the strictest sense. You need not look further than at the starting line with competitors in unconventional attire to see that while many are there to compete, many are there to enjoy being with a special group of people that truly deserve to call themselves runners. It is also great to see such worthwhile programs benefit from such an event. See you next year. Ken Kreber |