Courtesy: American Ultrarunning Association

by Kevin Setnes and Dan Brannen

The 2001 USA National 50 Mile Trailrunning Championship is set for Saturday, July 28 on the White River course at Crystal Mountain, Washington. The depth of quality in both the Men's and Women's fields is, simply stated, unmatched in the history of American off-road ultrarunning.

The West region, long known to have some of the finest trail ultrarunners in the country, could very well dominate this national championship. Eric Clifton, Ann Trason, Luanne Park, Tim Twietmeyer, Scott Jurek and Nate McDowell are just some of the talented ultrarunners scheduled to compete from the west.

In the 2000 USA 50 Mile Trailrunning Championship, held on Wisconsin's Ice Age Trail, the Midwest men swept the top three medal spots with an overwhelming performance on their home course. That top-heavy dominance, however was offset by little known Coloradan Dusty Olson (4th) and the top two women, Luanne Park and Deb Bollig, enabling the West to upset the favored Midwest to win the American Regional Trail Challenge.

Last years Men's national champion, Dan Held of Waukesha, Wisconsin (also selected by both USATF and by Ultrarunning Magazine as the top American ultrarunner of 2000) has withdrawn from this years event with a foot injury that will probably sideline him for the remainder of the season. Held literally destroyed the competition last year by holding back in the first 25 miles and then outrunning his next 5 closest competitors by an average of more than a minute per mile over the second half of the course.

Last year's women's champion, Luanne Park of Redding, California is back to defend her title. She'll be challenged by 1999 national trail champion Amanda McIntosh of San Antonio, Texas and by Ann Trason of Kensington, California.

The East Region has had little representation at the trail championships in recent years. This year, however, they have quite possibly the most talented runner in the field in Dave Dunham. Dunham, the first American male to be named to both the USA National 100Km and National Mountain running teams in the same year, combines all of the skills necessary to win the trail championship. This spring in Chicago, he out-dueled Held to set the official American record at 50 kilometers on the road. His time of 2:57:29 equates to a 5:43 per milepace.

The South brings its own start power in the person of Courtney Campbell of Berryville, Virginia. Campbell is one of the dominating figures on the east and southern trail racing stage. He will be tested in this trip to the Pacific Northwest, yet has the strength and masterful trail technique to handle the challenges of the demanding White River course.

The host White River course is set in the idyllic shadow of Mt. Rainier, offering spectacular views. Over the 50 mile distance the race rises and falls a staggering 17,400 feet. The course terrain features rolling ridges, ridge tops, northwest forest, several sections of technical trails and of course several demanding climbs and challenging descents.

The American Ultrarunning Association (AUA), in conjunction with the USA Ultra Team Program of USATF, sponsors the American Regional Challenge (ARC) team competition, held at each of the USA National Ultra Championship events. This competition brings all areas of the country together in a highly competitive team format, determining which region of the country has the best all- around ultrarunners at that particular event.

The ultrarunning ARC will be held at the major national championships throughout the year. The 2001 series includes The USA National 100K Championship (GNC, Pittsburgh; March), USA 50 Mile Trailrunning Championship (White River, Crystal Mountain, WA; July), the USA 24 Hour National Championship (Olander Park, Sylvania, OH; September) and the USA 50Km Trailrunning Championship (Indiana; December).

The ultrarunning ARC breaks the country up into four distinct regions; the East, the Central, the South and the West. Each region's top 3 men and top 2 women will combine their scoring places (cross country scoring) to see who has the lowest aggregate score. The team with the least amount of points is the winner.

The regional breakdown by state is as follows:

East: ME, NH, VT, MA, CT, RI, NY, PA, NJ, WV, MD, DE Central: OH, MI, IN, IL, WI, MN, IA, MO, ND, SD, NB, KS South: VA, KY, TN, NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, LA, AR, OK, TX West: CA, OR, WA, ID, MT, WY, NV, UT, CO, AZ, NM, HI, AK

On Saturday over $10,000 in prize money is being offered by the host White River event to the competitors with thanks to the Foot Zone of Seattle, Montrail, Patagonia and Mercedes Benz. For more information on the race, call the Race Hotline: 206-325- 4800.