Crisp air, clear skies, and a competitive field produced two record performances by Northeast Ohioans at the 2011 Fools 50k Trail Run.
Twenty-two year-old Shaun Pope of Hudson, second-place in 2009, reset the course record by 26 minutes with a finish time of 3:59:02 (previous record 4:25:20 by Mike Selig, 2010.) Jonathan Hastings of Grove City, winner of the 2010 Fools 25k, also bettered the old CR with a time of 4:17:30.
Twenty-two year-old Sandi Nypaver of Parma Heights, winner of the 2010 Mohican 100 and Grindstone 100, led all women in 4:42:27 and a course record by 14 minutes. A close race developed as three women -- Liza Canowitz of Albany, Nypaver, and Lee Conner of Cleveland -- arrived at the halfway mark within 95 seconds of each other and defending champion Beth Woodward another minute back. Meredith Hale of Westlake rounded out a female quartet that beat the previous 50k CR (previously 4:56:55 by Beth Woodward, 2009.)
Justin Hayes of Akron (1:55:34) and Sarah Lopienski of Columbus (2:20:05) claimed victories in the 25k race.
In all, 162 runners completed 25-km and 116 finished the entire 50-km.
The strong community of NE Ohio trail and ultrarunners was on full display as nearly 90 volunteers stepped up during race week and race day to make the Fools Run happen. A huge THANK YOU to everyone who gave part of their day.
Reports and photos: Any links submitted will be compiled on this year's page on the website.
Preliminary results:
50k
25k
Send inquiries to: fools50k@gmail.com