6'th Annual Wickham Park Marathon, 50 and 100 Mile Fun Runs Melbourne FL, May 28-29 2000 100 Mile (2 50-mile stages) 1 Mark Henderson, 40, TX 22:19:27! (10:42:59 + 11:36:28) 50 Mile 1 Mark Henderson 10:42:59! 2 Mike Dobies, 39, MI 11:37:53 3 Matt Mahoney, 44, FL 12:25:53 Marathon 1 Chris Seinkner, 31, FL 3:54:22! 2 Mark Henderson 4:40:59 3 Tony Mangan, 43, FL 4:42:40 4 Mike Dobies 4:59:55 5 Matt Mahoney 5:41:25 6 Stu Gleman, FL 5:45:59 7 Andrew Colee, 53, FL 5:54:59 8 Tim Hanks, 37, FL 6:09:05 9 Sue Thompson, 37F, MI 6:59:59 Eric Robinson, 32, CA 6:59:59 11 Pat Dixon, 64F, FL 10:27:59 13 starters ! = course record. The first day was brutally hot: 97 F, dew point of 70 F, sunny with clear skies. The humidity was near 100% at the 7:30 AM start. By the time the 12 hour and 30 minute cutoff expired at sunset, the temperature was still 90 F. In spite of these conditions, Mark Henderson of Houston Texas set a new 50 mile course record of 10:42:59, breaking the previous mark of 11:01:28 held by Adam Bookspan, a racewalker from Aventura FL. On the next day, when it was only 95 F, Henderson ran another 50 miles in 11:36:28, and became the first and only finisher of the Wickham Park 100 mile stage race, for a combined time of 22:19:27. Although this was the sixth year for the marathon and the fifth for the 50 miler, it was the first for the 100 miler. To finish, competitors must run 50 miles on two consecutive days, each in 12:30 or faster. Those not finishing on the second day get credit for the 50 mile race, and those not finishing 50 get credit for the marathon. The race consists of 7 laps of 3.75 miles each, followed by 7 more laps of 3.4 miles on flat trails, then repeating the next day. The race has no fee, no aid, no awards, and no wimps. The trails are rough, with long stretches of soft sand, some bushwhacking, and fallen trees. The 50 mile loop includes a quarter mile of firebreak, a deeply rutted trench filled with roots and stumps. Many of the runners were stung by bees. Mike Dobies was second in the 50 miler, but did not show up on the second day. To train for the heat in Michigan, he would run for 2 hours in a heavy winter coat, wind pants, baclava, hat, and gloves, when it was 70 degrees F. He said that the heat here felt worse than anything he had done in training. Dobies' most recent race was the Massanutten Mountain 100 mile trail race held two weeks earlier. Chris Seinkner of Cocoa Beach FL set a new marathon record of 3:54:22, breaking the previous record of 4:11:00, held by Jason Maki, a 33-34 minute 10K runner. Seinkner is training for Ironman. Mark Henderson ran a 4:40 marathon for second place, while on his way to his 50 and 100 mile course records. He was followed by Tony Mangan of Cocoa Beach (originally Ireland) in 4:42:40. Mangan is a 2:38 marathoner who finished second in the Lake City 50 miler, a tough, high altitude race in Colorado. Mangan continued another 10 miles in the 50 mile race before withdrawing. He had been vomiting during the race. Stu Gleman of Titsville FL (or Silverton Colorado, where he at least owns some land) was 6'th in the marathon finishing in 5:45, and likewise, withdrew after 10 more miles. Gleman PR's are 3:05 for the marathon, 8:48 for 50 miles, and 23:16 for 100 miles. Andrew Colee was next in 5:54, and ran an extra lap to meet his distance goal of 29.6 miles. He is a veteran of many ultras. Tim Hanks of Satellite Beach FL was next in 6:09. Eric Robinson of Oakland CA, and Sue Thompson of Novi MI tied in 6:59. Thompson came back to defend her 50 mile course record of 11:26:26, She stopped after the marathon, but still holds the record, and also the distinction of being the only female to finish the 50 miler. Robinson was having trouble with the heat, but continued for 4 laps after the marathon, then came back the next day and ran another marathon, for a total of 66 miles. He and I both are training for Nolan's 14, an 88 mile race in Colorado that includes 14 summits over 14,000 ft, 44,000 ft. of climb, a 60 hour time limit, and no finishers since the race began last year. We had both qualified at the Hardrock 100. However Robinson had not done a lot of training since he ran 306 miles in the Across the Years 6 day race five months ago. Also, his system of heat training, setting his car heater to 130 degrees, did not prepare him for the humidity. Pat Dixon of Rockledge FL had a goal of running 65 miles for her 65'th birthday, which was on the second day of the race. She ran the first marathon in 10:27, continuing to 30 miles in 11:56. On the second day, she ran another marathon in 9:24, then continued to the 35 mile point in 12:39, for a total time of 24:35. A few years ago, Dixon ran 92 miles in a 24 hour race, then one week later qualified for Boston with a 4:05 marathon. Debra Stohlberg of Merritt Island FL accompanied her for the last 20 miles, and 82 year old Harold Tucker of Melbourne Beach FL went with her for one lap. Jane Varnell, 41, of Delray Beach FL, who has a marathon PR of 3:25, dropped after 6 laps. Jay Ward, 27, of Melbourne FL, who has a 4:24 PR, quit after 4 laps. My designated sacrificial virgin was Chris Hudson of Houston TX, who accompanied Mark Henderson in the 1000 mile drive to my race. Hudson had never run a race, not even a 5K, but he did hunt hogs here at one time, so he was used to bushwhacking through swamps and back woods. He did finally show up on the second day and managed one loop in 1:12, one minute ahead of Pat Dixon's first lap on her second day. One of the benefits of direcing a low key, self supporting race is that I get to run an ultra without a lot of travel. I finished 50 miles on the first day with 5 minutes to spare on the 12:30 cutoff, but on the second day my legs were pretty stiff and I only managed 40 miles (including pulling course markers on the last lap) before time ran out. Marathon, day 1 3.75 7.5 11.25 15.0 18.75 22.5 26.2 Chris Seinkner 32 1:01 1:30 2:03 2:37 3:15 3:54:22 Mark Henderson 35 1:14 1:52 2:34 3:05 3:59 4:40:59 Tony Mangan 33 1:02 1:40 2:16 2:57 3:43 4:42:40 Mike Dobies 33 1:12 1:50 2:30 3:11 3:59 4:59:55 Matt Mahoney 33 1:14 2:00 2:50 3:51 4:44 5:41:25 Stu Gleman 42 1:23 2:11 3:04 3:53 4:47 5:45:59 Andrew Colee 41 1:26 2:17 3:05 3:59 4:56 5:54:59 Tim Hanks 36 1:27 2:10 3:00 3:59 5:04 6:09:05 Sue Thompson 40 1:37 2:23 3:19 4:26 5:48 6:59:59 Eric Robinson 39 1:40 2:40 3:48 4:51 5:47 6:59:59 Pat Dixon 42 1:50 2:46 4:08 5:57 7:33 10:27:59 Jane Varnell 35 1:14 1:54 2:37 3:23 4:18 Jay Ward 42 1:35 2:24 3:37 50 miles, day 1 29.6 33.0 36.4 39.8 43.2 46.6 50.0 Mark Henderson 5:30 6:26 7:16 8:15 9:05 9:58 10:42:59 Mike Dobies 5:48 6:47 7:45 8:48 9:52 10:43 11:37:53 Matt Mahoney 6:45 7:51 9:03 10:02 10:51 11:37 12:25:53 Eric Robinson 8:14 9:26 10:37 11:38 Tony Mangan 5:58 7:02 7:53 Stu Gleman 6:47 8:18 8:56 Andrew Colee 7:06 Pat Dixon 11:56 Marathon, day 2 3.75 7.5 11.25 15.0 18.75 22.5 26.2 Mike Henderson 41 1:26 2:15 3:05 3:58 4:55 5:47:10 Matt Mahoney 41 1:30 2:21 3:32 4:48 5:47 7:00:05 Eric Robinson* 1:02 2:22 3:33 4:47 6:20 7:50 9:12:45 (total 66) Pat Dixon* 1:13 2:23 3:42 4:54 6:13 7:54 9:24:59 Debbra Stohlberg* 1:19 3:00 4:30 5:58 7:21 (total 20 in 7:45) Chris Hudson* 1:12 (total 3.75) Harold Tucker* 1:30 (total 3.75) 50 miles, day 2 29.6 33.0 36.4 39.8 43.2 46.6 50.0 Mark Henderson 6:42 7:50 8:35 9:26 10:10 10:55 11:36:28 Matt Mahoney 8:30 9:52 10:59 12:20 Pat Dixon* 10:52 12:16 (35 in 12:39, total 65) *Unofficial, did not run 50 miles on day 1. Matt Mahoney, race director matmahoney@yahoo.com http://mahoney4.home.netcom.com