Results of the
5th Anniversary of the

Snow Peak 50 Mile Trail Run

June 2, 2001

The first weekend of June saw another successful run of The Snow Peak 50 Mile Trail Run in the beautiful mountains above Provo/Orem Utah. This was our 5th Anniversary and again a record field. We had over 160 entered. 144 actually started with 130 finishing. With record breaking hot weather a couple of days before the race we anticipated the worst but were blessed with an overcast day and much cooler temps. There was some light rain at the finish for just a few minutes in the afternoon as a thunderstorm passed by just to the north. And another did catch some of the last runners coming down off of Windy Pass. And the snow again was minimal with literally only just steps of it to go through.

Karl Meltzer returned and in top form as he went on to regain his title. He won here 2 years ago with what was then a course record. Chad Rickliffs broke it last year and Karl got it back again this year by running an incredible race and finishing with a time of 7:49:25. Leland Barker finished 2nd. had kept it close up through the 22 mile mark where Karl took off for good at the Pole Heaven aid station #5 (mile 22) (a more complete story will be in the next issue of Ultra Runner)

On the women’s side last years winner and course record holder Ruth Zollinger had the course all to herself as she went on to break her own record by 27 minutes with a great time of 9:20:59. Good job Ruth! Emily Loman also ran a good race with a time of 9:47 and becoming only the 2nd women to go under 10 hours, placing 2nd.

Scott Nelson was the recipient of this years Carolyn Erdman Spirit Award. This goes each year to a runner who has gone that extra mile due to injury or over coming personal barriers during the race. I acknowledge that most runners who finish this 50 miler could have received this award. The award like the overall awards is a hand carved stone sculpture made by the Navajo Indians. The Buffalo represents strength, courage and determination. The Arrowhead upon which it stands, represents staying on path and reaching it’s mark. As I looked over the runners and there families, sitting around in the Park at the finish eating and having a good time, my eyes fell on Scott sitting there in a chair, with his wife standing by his side. I knew that it was all he could do to finish this year because of cramping in his calves and an upset stomach for most of the 2nd half of the race. ON any other day Scott might have dropped but he was one of only 5 runners eligible for a special recognition to be presented at the Awards for having run all 5 of the Squaw Peak 50’s and he literally pushed himself to the limit. At least that is the look I saw in his face as he sat there looking rather pale and in pain. I latter found out, a few days after the race that the real problem stemmed from Scott passing some kidney stones. Scott also each year helps me out with marking the Windy Pass section of the course, and going with me the day I get all the food for the aid stations, and for being my sounding board when I have stuff and questions to figure out for the run. So in many ways he was well deserving of this award.

We also had 2 team divisions with a four person team and Husband/wife team. These 2 awards were based on the overall combined times of the team members. The 4 person team was won by Courtney Scaife, Ken Jensen, Tim Seminoff and Heikki Ingström with a combined time of 38 hrs and 55 minutes. The husband/wife division was won by Valerie Caldwell and James Davidson with a time of 23 hrs & 12 mins.

 

144 runners started, 130 finished