by Daniel Straitiff
January 3, 2015 was one of those Cleveland winter mornings were it seems that daylight may never come given heavy, gray threatening skies. Yet, in the damp darkness a hearty and dedicated band of road warriors gathered at South Mastick Picnic Area in the Cleveland Metroparks to embark on Cleveland West Roadrunner’s Club 34th running of the Cleveland Fat Ass 50km, now named in honor of long-time UltraRunner Art Moore. This year the course was free of snow and ice and at least for the first few hours the cold rain held off and, in a way that only a true Cleveland runner can appreciate, the conditions were pretty ideal for the event.
As the group formed up for pre-event instructions and a photo only one thing was missing and that was Art Moore himself. It should come as no surprise to learn that Art was already out on the course racking up 4 miles before the others even started and he came through the starting area just a few minutes after the main pack departed. Art eventually knocked off well over a half-marathon on the day, enjoyably accompanied by his daughter Andrea Bour.
The course wound along the trail north from Mastick and at mile 4.5 takes a devious turn up the Hogsback Lane hill to Stinchcomb Memorial and Scenic Overlook. Fortunately for the runners, the route only tackles this hill once, skipping this early challenge on the way back south. From there the course flows north to the turnaround at Scenic Park in Rocky River before returning south to Mastick and then along the trail all the way through Berea to the turnaround just south of Wallace Lake where Joe Jurczyk ably provided an aid station. From there it is back to Mastick to book the full 50K.
Congratulations to all the participants, particularly those completing the full 50K. Brad Polman and Jonathan Scooby Bolha lead the men and assisted Ken Hagan to finish his first 50K. Heather Bishop lead the women. A great group of folks enjoyed a fun and challenging day running and I know look forward to the AMFA 50km 2016, tentatively scheduled for the first weekend in January.
| Place | Name | Gender | Time |
| 1 | Brad Polman | M | 5:11 |
| 2 | Jonathan Scooby Bolha | M | 5:11 |
| 3 | Ken Hagan | M | 5:12 |
| 4 | Jamie Barbour | M | 5:43 |
| 5 | Michael Samick | M | 5:47 |
| 6 | Heather Bishop | F | 5:52 |
| 7 | Tom Morgan | M | 5:52 |
| 8 | Elizabeth Ann Kelly | F | 5:58 |
| 9 | Aimee Shilling | F | 5:58 |
| 10 | Michael Kazar | M | 6:32 |
| 11 | Michele Snyder | F | 6:35 |