WMRC 2008 Awards!!!!!

Runner of the Year – Andrew Heard for his two 2nd place finishes in the San Diego 100 and Javelina 100. He probably could have won those 2 races if it wasn’t for his pacers…me SD 100 and Higgy JJ 100, sorry Andrew, I wish we could have done better for you. He is also a top ten finisher in Old Pueblo and Zane Grey every year. Andrew is the prototypical WMRC’er, every wed, every weekend training run, every Grand Canyon run. You name it and he is there to run it and he has a pick-up truck in case you need help moving.

Runner up- Perry Edinger- He won the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning. That is completing four of the oldest and toughest 100 mile trail races in the country. His combined time was 96 hrs in those races. He also is race director for Pat’s Run in honor of the late great Pat Tillman and The Zane Grey 50 miler while also pacing Honey in a 100 and Chip in his first 100.

Honorable Mention-Jeff Jones. He completed the Old Pueblo 50 miler, Zane Grey 50 K, Man vs Horse 50 miler and his first 100 miler in the mountains of Wyoming. The Bighorn 100. He always shows up for WMRC and is always planning the weekend training runs. He would have been higher on this list but he won it last year and he is a pain in the ass. Piriformis Syndrome.

Performance of the year-This is an easy choice for me….Nick Coury wins this in a landslide. His performance at Hardrock 100 last year was the craziest thing I have seen someone stuck a banana in my pants and turned a monkey loose. To come from Phx and run 31 hours on that course is insane. The race is run at 10,000-14,000 ft with 33,000 ft of climbing mixed in over 13 mountain passes, all the while with wet shoes from going thru the snow and rivers. He was 5th place overall and the youngest finisher ever. He also had the 2nd fastest split ever in the last section, mile 91-101. He did that section in like 2:08. It took me over 4 hrs. Although in my defense, JJ was just running me around in circles going thru the same river 5 times just to get a laugh or 2. Great Job Nick, I wish you had better luck in the lottery this year to do it again.

Honey Albrecht get the woman’s award for this. She went to Sheridan Wyoming to run the Bighorn 100. She was 5th overall woman and she beat her time from last year by over 2 hrs and then helped get JJ thru his first 100. I wish I had more info on this race but Honey keeps her training tips a secret. Plus we don’t want her to get a big head.

The McCarville Injury of the year- Kirk fell off a cliff at the Hardrock 100 this year, wrecking his knee and ending his race at about 38 miles. This happened on Virginius pass at about 13,000 ft and he had to limp down the mountain for another 6 miles to get to Ouray where everyone was waiting for him. He seems to win this award every year so I changed the name of it in his honor. BTW, Kirk was hit by a car last year….

Who's leg is this??? Can you guess???

Newcomer of the year- -Michael Chen- He shows up last Feb to run in the dark for the first time. Then decides to sign up for Zane Grey 50, one of the hardest 50’s in the country. He finishes ZG on a very hard day when others couldn’t (me included) and then goes on to Man vs Horse 50 miler and finishes it up with a Javelina 100 finish for his first 100 miler. All in a Year and all with a smile on his face. Plus, he is a Wildcat, he will win an award every year from now on.

Newcomers – Honorable Mention- After years of trying to get my friend Brent Shuster to join the group I gave up and got his wife Candace to come out and she brought Carol with her. They are a much better addition than Brent would have been. Not only are they better runners but they smell nicer. Rounding out the new chick trio is Lisa O. She finally gave up on 40th st lot and drove the extra miles to get over to Squaw side. She is also a great runner and doesn’t mind when Blue Dog slobbers on her leg when we are all in the back.

Epic Adventures- The couple lines these 2 get here don’t nearly do it justice. This is what it is all about, adventure and pushing the human limits.

Jody Chase-took off from Denver the day after pacing me at Hardrock and jumped on the Colorado Trail. She did a 200 mile solo self supported trek in 10 days. Carrying everything and sleeping under the stars in the middle of nowhere. With bears and mountain lion at every turn this would certainly freak me out but she loves it. No pictures, no reports, just the memories in her head and the fact that she can accomplish just about anything she wants to.

Jamil Coury- completed the entire Arizona trail from Mexico to Utah. 780 miles solo with some friends joining along occasionally. This trail includes going thru the Grand Canyon and over Humphries included The Matazals and 4 peaks, the Superstitions. Some of the roughest areas in the state. This trek took him 31 days, 3 hours.


The Joe Most improved runner award- Laura Phlugefelder gets this award for finishing her first trail marathon at Man vs Horse just a few months after running the trails every Wed. She was newcomer last year and with this improvement she will be runner of the year in no time.

Least improved runner- Laura Phlugefelder- so much for that runner of the year award. Oh well, you had a great first half of the year, get back out here.

The Latvaaho-Least improved member Chris Latvaaho-Chris has decided to focus on qualifying for the Ironman in Hawaii (again). But he gets this award for leaving the dirt and trying to kill Kirk last year, one of our founding fathers. (Nothing changed from last years awards e-mail)

Best excuse to not show up- Steve Ward, “I went out Tues after work for one beer and next thing I knew it was 1:30 am and I was in line at Jack in the Box”. Damn that Billy Joel!!!!!

Quote of the year I was a the start of the Hardrock 100 and went up to Nick Coury and told him “Be careful out there and don’t start out too fast” he nodded his head in agreement and that was the last I saw of him. He beat my by 10 hours. So much for elderly advice….

Albrecht Spirit Award – Jody Chase- She is there every Wed always ready to help anyone in any race and puts on one of the best training runs anywhere in the Cave Creek marathon. Without her and JJ, I would not have made it thru HR this year.

For people on this list that don’t normally show up, make this the year you do, you wont regret it. Don’t let the stories we tell on here talk you out of it. Wed’s are mellow and prepare you for something more if you want it; you were put on this list b/c someone thought you could take it. I have made some great friends on this deal and I know that will continue and the memories we share will last a lifetime. What a great year 08 was and 09 is shaping up to be another great one. Thanks to everyone who continues to show up each week, I know it is my favorite run of the week. BTW….I’m not sure if you know, but Kirk fell off a cliff

Cosmas