Lt. JC Stone 50k

March 22, 2008

Lt. JC Stone 50K

North Park, PA

Hampton Rotary Club – Host & Race Sponsor

7:00am Start

Ultra-Running has returned to North Park, Pennsylvania. North Park is an Allegheny County Park located approximately 10 miles north of downtown Pittsburgh, PA. The park is the former site of the GNC 50K/50Mile/100K races. It was time to bring ultrarunners back to the park to enjoy the scenic 5-mile loop around North Park Lake. The Hampton Rotary Club was just the organization to do the job. This club, like most Rotary Clubs, has a membership roster full of ‘professional volunteers.’ The runners benefited from their enthusiasm. The aid station was staffed by wives and friends of the runners, Rotarians and friends of the Rotary Club.

The 2008 Lt. JC Stone 50k had 43 starters, with 40 runners finishing the course. In the field were 14 first time ultra-runners, including Joe Patrick the overall winner with a time of 3:39:35. The veteran group included Chris Gibson (the race director for all those GNC Ultras who took the opportunity to run an ultra on his course), Connie Gardner & Ron Ross (both from Medina, OH), Sammy Bertenthal (RD for Sammy’s Birthday Run in the South Hills of Pittsburgh), Jay Barry, and Bruce Purdy (running his 208^th Ultra).

The day started with a snow shower but quickly settled down to a cold, overcast Pittsburgh early-Spring day. At 700am the runners were off. By 10:39am finishers began to cross the line. After the race it was massages for sore muscles, provided by Professional Rehabilitation Services and a post race party with pizza, beer and food for all runners, friends and family.

The medals and tek fabric t-shirts were favorites of the runners. One great story involved Ramiro Munoz, who after 21 miles was going to call it a day. He was not feeling very well and decided it might be time to drop. As RD I wanted him to be sure, as he had four hours to complete the remaining 10 miles. He was still considering dropping when I thought it might be a good idea to show Ramiro the finisher medal, a 4” diameter full color medal that was a finish line favorite for the runners who received them at the end of their run! He said, “That is a beautiful medal, thank you, I will go now.” He went on to finish 9^th overall in 4:22:44 and proudly accepted his well deserved medal. He earned it and proved again that this sport has a lot to do with mental toughness.

The Men’s overall winner was Joe Patrick with Chris Petit and Ron Ross taking 2^nd and 3^rd. Connie Gardner came in 4^th and was the Woman’s overall winner, with Anne Stallworth and Amy Rose taking 2^nd and 3^rd. Chris Gibson was our Men’s Master’s winner and Becki Steiner was our Woman’s Master’s winner.

RACE RESULTS, SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2008

Place Name Finish Time

1. JOE PATRICK, 49 3:39:35

2. CHRIS PETIT, 35 3:43:14

3. RON ROSS, 49 3:54:50

4 CONNIE GARDNER (F), 44, 3:58:11

5 CHRIS GIBSON, 55 3:58:15

6 MITCH RADELLA, 42 4:06:04

7 DERIC PARK, 39 4:08:20

8 SCOTT FINNELL, 51 4:19:10

9 RAMIRO MUNOZ, 49 4:22:42

10 ANNE STALLWORTH, 35 4:23:20

11 AMY ROSE (F), 32 4:24:36

12 TONY MAURO, 65 4:24:38

13 JEFF GLEASON, 50 4:24:41

14 ANDREA MOORE (F), 32 4:25:58

15 CHRIS KERRIGAN, 31 4:26:54

16 DAN NEPHIN, 40 4:27:48

17 ANDY KARNAVAS, 49 4:29:44

18 TOM NEFF, 44 4:30:46

19 BOB CRAWFORD, 61 4:38:24

20 ANDREW STADLER, 33 4:38:32

21 STEVE MILLER, 33 4:39:04

22 PHILLIP WESTLAKE, 36 4:43:23

23 JAY BARRY, 54 4:54:26

24 DAN RUBLE, 45 4:54:56

25 TIM END, 49 4:55:52

26 KREIG SPAHN, 43 4:56:02

27 SCOTT FERRARI, 50 5:04:59

28 DENNIS MIRANDA, 36 5:09:33

29 DAVID SYIEK, 50 5:13:17

30 SAMMY BERTENTHAL, 49 5:13:52

31 JOHN McCARROLL, 63 5:14:03

32 BRUCE PURDY, 51 5:15:45

33 STEPHEN WALCZAK, 54 5:16:59

34 BOB BUCCIARELLI, 45 5:19:16

35 RUSSELL KOWALIK, 53 5:23:10

36 KELLI STAUB (F), 31 5:23:20

37 SCOTT PETERSON, 51 5:48:29

38 KIM PETERSON, 50 5:48:3

39 REBECCA STEINER (F), 46 5:50:48

40 JERRY BRUCE, 66 6:46:32