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Starkey, Nordyke Repeat as Champions
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”Wettest, Longest, Hardest Patch Ever”
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Left: Women’s Champion Deborah Nordyke.
Right: Men’s Champion Cole Starkey
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SEPARATE BUT EQUAL
When 56-year old trekker Jon Bush
neared the top of Mt. Pok-O-Moonshine, he was alone and well behind the
next to last finisher at Saturday’s Patch Sprint. That’s when he
ran into a competitor who was on his way down, but offered to return to
the top to accompany Bush to the finish. “These steep sections are
killing me,” groaned Bush. “I know what you mean, I was struggling on
the hills too,” the other racer concurred.
The man accompanying Bush was Cole Starkey, 26, overall race winner, who finished with a time more than five hours faster then the final trekker.
92 racers and trekkers completed the 2011 course, one less than in
2010, but under much more trying conditions. “It was not a great
spring, weather wise,” said Jim Kobak, five-time champion who
knows the course better than most. Indeed, water, mud, heat and
humidity slowed finishing times for all. “What a difference a year
makes,” stated Tim Singer, who has finished more Patch Sprints
than anyone. “The course was never better than in 2010, and never worse
than this year. That’s adventure racing!”
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 RACING DIVISIONS
The 25th
anniversary Patch Sprint was won for the second year in a row by
Starkey (Tulsa, OK), who turned in a time of two hours, fifteen minutes
and 40 seconds, 13 minutes off his record mark set last year. “I was
fifteen minutes slower than I wanted to be,” said the champion, who
added, “but then again, so was everyone! But, as always, it was a lot
of fun.”
Starkey did establish a record split up Bare Mountain,
but fell victim to not only the conditions, but a course change that
added nearly a half mile to the total distance.
“Wettest, longest, hardest Patch Sprint ever,” lamented six-time champion Jason Fiegl, runner up for the second consecutive year. In fact, the top four were exactly the same as a year ago, with Grant Haynes and Kobak following up; the quartet’s average finishing time was 15 minutes slower than 2010.
The surprise near the top of the men’s racing division was 16-year old Nelson Pelton,
who had never even seen the course, let alone race it. Pelton was one
of only seven racers to break three hours, as opposed to 16 a year ago.
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Age Group Division Winners
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Women
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Men
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Annie Preston
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Joseph Zimmerman
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Alexandra Disney
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Nelson Pelton
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Sabrina Smith
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Kurt Schuler
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Marcie Kobak
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Cole Starkey
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Stephanie Lylis
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John Richardson
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Susie Trzaskos
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Jason Fiegl
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Deborah Nordyke
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Jim Kobak
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Ellie Bouffard
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Dale Wells
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FULL RESULTS
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Ken Herz
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Jerry Ross
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Mark Gibson
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For the fourth time in as many tries, Deborah Nordyke (Hadley, NY) captured the women’s racing division. “I woke up
feeling sick and it was a struggle all day,” said Nordyke, who arrived
at the top of Pok-O in just under three hours. “But, this is a great
event.” At 49, Nordyke continues to defy age, winning the division by
five minutes over 23-year old two-time champion Alexandra Disney. Marcie Kobak recorded her third straight top-3, followed by Susie Trzaskos and Sabrina Smith.
The Clydesdale division has never been thinner, both in numbers and size, with Matt Elliott (Brighton,
MA) taking the title at just 210 pounds. In the past, Elliott has
finished as high as second overall, yet this was his first division win.
Josh Bornt, also coming in trimmer than ever, earned his fifth top-3 finish.
In three out of four racing divisions, the 2010 winners successfully
defended their title; Kindersprint was no exception, with Eric Shreiner taking the trophy by three minutes over 2009 champion Jackson Konowitz. Wyatt Trzaskos took third; at just five-years old, he’s the youngest to ever score a top-3.
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 TAKING THEIR TIME
42 out of 47 trekkers who started the event successfully completed the entir e course, with all but one making it to the top of Pok-O-Moonshine.
Most inspiring among them may have been Bob Andrews who covered the course with apparent ease of effort, and a cheerful attitude to become, at 76, the oldest ever Patch Sprinter.
Andrews was book ended (and is pictured with) 9-year old Nora.
In 2009, Nora become the youngest ever Patch Sprinter and, again this
year, was the youngest to cover the course. She was led by her father Drew Canning,
who co founded the trekker division in 2001, and has made it a habit of
guiding young kids around the course. “I had five with me this year.
We stopped a lot for food and had much more fun then those idiots who
try to run it as fast as they can!”
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Patch Volunteers
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Julia Backus
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Cecilia Disney
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Michelle Rowley
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Thomas Backus
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Lauren Jacoby
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Merrily Starkey
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Wendy Backus
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Claire Levy
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Angela Swan
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Erin Canning
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Tom Lynch
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Shai Walker
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Amy Daley-Kobak
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Scott McIntyre
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Kristin Wahrheit
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Erin DeBusk
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Sheila McIntyre
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Augusta Wilson
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Sarah Disney
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Mary O'Leary
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Maggie Durlacher
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Alex Durant
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Liz Pierson
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Chef James
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Mike Gast
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Phil Rolfe
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Sharp Swan
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Mauricio Gonzalez
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Sandy Rolfe
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Andy Paine
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MAKING IT HAPPEN
Many thanks to the volunteers (listed, left) who worked a variety of
jobs- summit timers, aid stations, Sherpas- crucial to the success of
the event. “These folks make it all happen,” stated Patch Sprint co
founder Greg Henderson. “We especially want to thank Erin, Erin
and Tricia, who helped us with the planning, as well as the racers,
trekkers and outdoor education staff who were not official volunteers,
but contributed in many ways!”
In 2011, a record 187 participants raced, trekked, volunteered and,
most importantly, gave generously. Over $8,000 was pledged to the Adirondack Scholarship Foundation,
insuring that a handful of children now have the opportunity to
experience summer camp, and climbing the Pok-O Patch mountains.
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 WEATHER… OR NOT
The 2011 Patch Sprint has been nicknamed by many (just go to Facebook
and see) “The Year of the Mud.” But, in truth, the weather Gods were
smiling last Saturday. During a holiday weekend filled with severe
thunderstorms, tornado watches and warnings, and several inches of rain,
Patch Sprinters were rewarded with an eight hour window Saturday, in
which to run, trek, watch, celebrate and party. It was the only dry
extended period all weekend.
Will the Patch Gods be smiling again next year? Join in May 26-28, 2012 to find out!
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