The 12th Annual 50K HAT RUN
Saturday March 25, 2000
Susquehanna State Park, Maryland
Phil Anderson
Bill Blewett
Jeff Hinte
Pre-Race:
About 75 participants made it to the pre-race get-together at Yogi’s Sports Bar. Early on everyone had a good time. Since last year Karaoke had been added to the Friday night activities at Yogi’s and we will have to relook at meeting in that area. We didn’t stick around to see if any of the runners took part in the karaoke!
Once again the race reached the 275 limit. We anticipated 20 no-shows and had far less. At the start we had closer to 300 runners.
The Course:
Two years ago the trail was rerouted due to erosion. This took out two of the best climbs and shorten the course by about a mile. The distance was made up at the start of the race with a tour through the grounds of the Steppingstone Museum.
This had another benefit – that of spacing the runners out before the first stream crossing.
Race Report:
Midway through the annual Hinte-Anderson 50K Trail Run Saturday, it appeared that two women -- both new to ultramarathoning -- were about to steal the race.
Jacquie Merritt and Cassy Byrne, who between them had run just one ultramarathon, were at the front of the pack of 305 runners as it wound through Susquehanna State Park.
Byrne took the lead at the 13-mile mark and held it until a hamstring cramp slowed her near mile 21. Merritt remained close behind.
Paul Kent, their teammate in the Valley Forge (Pa.) Striders, took over the lead near the 21-mile mark and opened a 2-minute gap in the last 10 miles to win in 3:51:05.
Paul Kent
Veteran Barry Lewis, also of Pennsylvania, took second place in 3:53:21.
Barry Lewis
Merritt finished third overall in 3:59:30 to become the first woman to break 4 hours in the race's 12-year history. Both she and Byrne, who finished in 4:02:20, broke the women's course record of 4:08.
Jacquie Merritt
It was the first ultramarathon for Merritt, 30, a marathoner who logged 130 miles during the week of the race.
"It was a totally different experience," she said. "I walked most of the uphills and ran the downhills, and I am paying for it now. My legs are kind of done between the Olympic Trials and this weekend."
Four weeks earlier, Merritt, an attorney from King of Prussia, Pa., placed 11th in the U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials with a career best of 2:41:44.
"If Jacquie and I had had a good day, we would have won it (the 50K) together," said Byrne, 34, a former hurdler for Villanova and professional mountain bike racer who competes in adventure races. "We both had bad days, and we were still third and fourth. That's not too bad."
Merritt enjoyed the race, but Byrne, who prefers 5K and 10K distances, did not.
"After the first one, I said I'd never do another one," said Byrne. "Now I definitely will not."
It was the first ultra for Kent, 35, of Coatesville, Pa. He was one of 10 entrants from the Valley Forge Striders.
Pennsylvania runners took eight of the top 10 spots. Derrick Carr was fifth in 4:08:03. Others in the top 10 were Kevin Koch, 4:11:04; Evan Sandt, 4:12:46; John Hayward, 4:14:05; Michael Yoder, 4:19:12; and Paul Dovin, 4:21:54. Carr and Hayward are from Virginia. Third place among the women also went to a Pennsylvanian, Karen Shiley, who ran 4:40:31.
By the end of the day there were 229 finishers.
Thanks to all the runners for making this a great event for us and a special thanks to all the great volunteers for making it a great event!