By Ben Holmes and Coco Tieghi, RDs
We couldn’t have ordered-up a more perfect day for the 13th annual Psycho Wyco Run Toto Run. The excellent course conditions, the perfect-for-running weather and the depth of field contributed to a lot of fast times and some great head-to-head competition this year. The 50k had a record 170 entrants with a record 133 finishers, and both 50k course records fell.
We were very happy to see Kaci Lickteig return to this race; the same race that she debuted her ultrarunning career just five short years ago. Kaci ran metronome-even splits on the three-loop course, breaking her own female course record (that she set five years ago), smiling the whole way and finishing in 4:09:27! Ann Marie Chappell of Country Club, Missouri took second place honors in 4:36:32, at her ultra-distance debut. Ann Marie, a running coach, is very new to trail running. She’s learned a lot from her fellow Trail Nerds in the past few months to add to her natural ability to adapt and conquer. Margaret Chamas of Smithville, Missouri finished just a couple of minutes behind Ann Marie, while Christy Swearingen (another local runner) finished fourth and most importantly, in sub-five-hours. With the talented field and great conditions, we had a record 25 runners finish sub-five this year.
Rescue dog Charlie becomes an official ultra-pup with trail buddy Heather Cotten. Photo: Rick Mayo/Mile 90 Photography
The male 50k record fell to the wayside by a full ten minutes. Joe Moore (of Manhattan, Kansas) raced his first ultra-distance trail race, finishing the hilly course in 3:44:15. There have only been four sub-four-hour finishes in the 13-year history of this race, with Scott Gall having succeeded twice at the task. We expect to see more greatness from this 2:18 marathoner-turned-trailrunner! Cory Logsdon (Omaha, Nebraska) also finished sub-four-hours to take second in 3:57:55. And local yokel, Cody Jones took third place in 4:06:47; Cody is a naturally talented athlete who normally competes in mountain bike or cyclocross events, but on occasion will toe the line at a trail running event. He invariably ends up with a podium finish, despite having had a beer (or two) on the starting line while also wearing various non-running-related articles of clothing. Cody is also a Master Homebrewer who welcomes the rest of the field to the finish line by generously sharing his liquid art.
Jason Yuhasz rocks cutoff shorts. Photo: Rick Mayo/Mile 90 Photography
While this race attracts talented and experienced runners, it also attracts many first-time ultrarunners. I think this is mainly due to the “word being out” about our terrific Trail Nerd organization, our expert Trail Nerd and Mud Babe aid station volunteers, the tasty post-race chili by Sarah & Matt Ireland (my daughter and son-in-law), the three kegs of craft beer, the excellent swag and Mile 90 Photography photos, all topped off with the upbeat finish line music by DJ Perry. The course is a tough one by Midwest standards but the perks and friendly fun are what are remembered most.