West Windsor, Vermont, July 22. Brian Rusiecki and Kathleen Cusick won the 24th annual Vermont 100, held on the hilly carriage roads and trails in central Vermont. Rusiecki pulled clear of Leigh Schmitt after Camp Ten Bear at mile 68 and finished an hour ahead of runner-up Rod Bien. Schmitt withdrew at 76 miles with heat issues. Rusiecki missed Schmitt’s course record by less than a minute.
In a thrilling women’s race, Cusick edged a fast-closing Amy Lane by a mere two minutes for the win. Runners were treated to a beautiful summer day, with high temperatures in the low 80s after an overnight low of 53F, and modest humidity. There were 217 finishers within the 30-hour time limit.
Men
1. Brian Rusiecki, 33, Westfield, MA, 14:54:05
2. Rod Bien, 40, Bend, OR, 15:52:40
3. Mike Le Roux, 36, Cairns, Australia, 16:11:10
4. Paul Terranova, 38, Austin, TX, 16:19:30
5. James Sweeney, 31, Albany, NY, 16:23:03
Women
1. Kathleen Cusick, 37, Knoxville, TN, 18:51:38
2. Amy Lane, 32, Westfield, MA, 18:53:38
3. Debbie Livingston, 37, Bolton, CT, 19:20:27
4. Donna Utakis, 44, Amherst, MA, 19:55:37
5. Karen Benway, 40, Warwick, RI, 20:40:26
Complete results are available at http://www.barttiming.com/summer/results12/vt100-12-1.htm
Photo top: Brian Rusiecki crosses the finish line (Sarah Peterson photo)
Kathleen Cusick at the Massanutten 100 (Bobby Gill photo)