The first annual Psycho Psummer 50 km event was a Midwest
scorcher. We had a two-loop course in the (very hilly) Wyandotte
County Lake Park,
in Kansas City, Kansas. This course is very different from
our Winter 50 km in the same park, the "Psycho Wyco Run Toto Run," which is in it's 4th year, this February.
Two miles of this course did not even exist four weeks prior to the event.
Yep, we hacked-out two miles of new trail for this event, with the park's permission, of course. And eleven miles of the existing
trail was so severely overgrown with poison ivy, stinging nettles, and branches of various trees and bushes, we had to trim
those trails back with a vengeance, too.
On race day, we had some terrific aid station help from ultra veterans like
Caleb Chatfield and Patrick Perry. That made the difference for all of the participants
on this hot day. They pushed the electrolytes, fluids, and ice, and knew just
what the runners needed to succeed. Very few 50 km runners dropped to the 15
mile distance option.
The race broke into two front-running groups.
Wynn Davis and Gregg Buehler moved out ahead early, and kept within sight of each other for the first loop. Kyle Amos, Tony Clark, Brian Pawley, and Rick Mayo were together for the first loop, also. They trailed slightly behind the two leaders. In the race
for first female, Becky Leahy was dominant from the get-go, and maintained her lead throughout the race. The Wisconsin native, Wynn Davis pulled ahead strongly on the second loop. He won in a time of 4:29:05, followed by
Gregg Buehler in 4:42:40. Local "Trail
Nerd" Kyle Amos, not fully recovered from a 3rd Place finish at the Kettle Moraine 100 mile, was third in a time of 5:04:26. Becky Leahy (of St
Louis, MO), smoked the hot course in a time of 5:35:19,
for first female honors. Karen Douglas came in 2nd at 6:08:39,
and Jonette Killmar was third female, overall.
The 15 mile trail race saw S. Hayworth finish in a time
of 2:32:16 for overall female 1st place.
Local "Trail Nerd" Sarah Sinning was 2nd in a time of 2:54:29, followed
by Iowan Kristina Kercher. In the men's race, Lee Griffin, of Edgerton,
Kansas was first with a time of 2:16:08. Peter Kretsch was 2nd, and my next door neighbor, Ray Millard was third.
Wynn Davis adds: "I had an idea that it might be similar to the Afton
course. Both courses are hot, tough, and two 25km loops. However I felt that the Psycho course was tougher due to the fact
that the climbs were longer, some consisted of putting your hands on the ground (hedge hog climb). This course has about 1,000
ft. more gain than Afton, but the biggest thing I noticed was how rocky, rutty and choppy this course
was. It was difficult to get a good rhythm going because of the climbs and such. The last 3 miles I felt were the best parts
to stretch out the legs and gain some speed. The heat was very oppresive.
I felt flat on the first loop. Caleb was working the last aid station and handed
me another bottle of SUCCEED. The 2nd loop was hotter and my pace started to reduce on the climbs. I was starting to get sick
of gels and basically just reserved my palate with ice water, SUCCEED caps, which saved me, and watermelon.
I'm convinced watermelon is the best tasting fuel in a race. I bombed a major
hill that was riddled with rocks on my 2nd loop, although I caught my toe on a rock and did a hardcore nose dive on my side
and rolled down the hill for a bit. I freaked out and yelled some profanity. Miraculously I was not injured, just some minor
road rash. I carried on and went steady through the single track climbs which I like. No bad patches this stretch. The exposed
sections seem to be the hardest at times because they were so exposed, but somewhat flat, so it was important to run them.
I was starting to distance myself from the guy behind me now and carried through to the finish where I was cheered and welcomed
by folks and Bad Ben (Holmes) who lead me to the aid station for ice water, electrolytes and some of his smooth homebrewed
grog! Tasty!! Kyle came in with a hard finish, which was great to see. One thing
is for sure, this is the kind of course and a time of year where mental and physical toughness comes into play."
Come and join us for more fun in this same park at the Psycho Wyco Run Toto Run in February.
Happy trails,
Bad Ben
50 km Results: http://psychowyco.com/2007PP50KRESULTS2.doc
15 mile Results: http://psychowyco.com/PsychoPsummer15MileTraiRunV2.doc
Dick Ross' Photos: http://00673d3.netsolhost.com/photoalbum_index.htm/9-14psycho/index.htm
