CAPON VALLEY 50K

THANKS TO DON PARKS AND WWW.IPLAYOUTSIDE.COM FOR MUCH OF THE PRIOR YEAR INFO

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2006 RUN

RACE DIRECTOR'S STORY

Runners and campers began arriving for our 8th annual Capon Valley 50K Run early on Friday, May 5th. We had perfect weather, mid 60's with very low humidity, and the run began at 8 AM on May 6th.

The 109 runners left the Ruritan Park in a pack, but since we have added a few hills on the way to Aid Station 1 (my horse barn), by the time the runners arrived at stop 1, there was a good spread.

The run went so smoothly this year that I (as race manager) had nothing to do, and it was lovely. Our volunteers have blossomed into fantastic aid station organizers and runner aids, leaving me with the ability to arrive at each stop, make sure all was in place, and move on to the next, then on to the finish.

Serge England-Arbona finished at 4:02:58, 15 minutes ahead of last year's finishing time. In years prior to 2005 the course was a little shorter, so this is a record time for our new course - which added 2 miles and several significant hills. Mark Hoon and Robert Magin finished in second place together at 4:19:42. The first 3 runners were all from Maryland. Our first woman, Monica Bachmann from Pennsylvania finished at 5:10:20. 109 runners started the course, and 102 runners finished, 7 dropped out due to various pulls and injuries.

The Ruritan outdid itself, as usual, with its wonderful chicken barbecue dinner, pasta salad and wonderful home made desserts, along with vegetarian ribs, after the runners had a nice hot shower!
 

It was our best ever run, and we thank all of our incredible volunteers who, with their kindness and attention to detail, made this such an impressive event. Once again, all proceeds from the run will support the Capon Springs Volunteer Fire and Rescue, the Ruritan Club and Edgebrook.org. I have already received endless compliments via e-mail from the runners, thanks so much for your kind words and we hope to see you next year.

Although I am a horse back rider, not a runner, I love bringing together folks from the ultra running community for a day of camaraderie and fun and sharing with you our much-loved trails through the Capon Valley in Hampshire County, West Virginia. We have as much fun putting this run together as you have running it. Our hope is that you'll find the trail challenging and leave with great memories, a new friend or two and plans to come back next year.

Lynn Golemon

CAPON VALLEY 50k RUN - 5/06/06
122 Registered
109 Total Started
102 Total Completed
15 States represented

75 Men Starters 80 registered
5 Men - pulls
93% -- % Completion-Men                                                                                                             Thanks for 8 years as RD

34 Women Starters 42 registered
2 Women - pulls
94% -- % Completion-Women

2005 RUN

The New Face of the Capon Valley 50K
by Lynn Golemon, race director

The 7th annual Capon Valley 50K was the most difficult Capon Valley race so far. Some of our experienced runners have been telling us for years that the course was short. So over the last year we measured the entire course with a GPS and a topo map, and guess what... they were right.

Our first aid station has always been early in the race - 2.9 miles - so before that seemed a natural place to add mileage. Unfortunately, any time you add mileage in West Virginia you also add hills. We added 2 miles to the race - 1 mile out and 1 mile back from the first aid station - and removed the 1/2 mile around the flat track at the Ruritan, so that made it seem longer than the extra mile and a half to many of the runners.

The weather, along with a bit of new gravel road made the course even more difficult for the runners this year. It was by far the hottest race day we have ever had at 82 degrees with high humidity and very little wind. The rain and cool temperature of previous years were sometimes hard on the volunteers, but the runners loved it. We extended the finishing time this year due to the record heat and humidity, but we still had 15 runners drop out, more than the total of all the previous years.

It would take pages to thank all of the run volunteers including the Ruritan - for a great chicken dinner, and the Capon Springs Volunteer Fire and Rescue - for their safety checks at the road crossings; we had more help this year than ever before. And as always the runners were most gracious and seemed happy to have such good support.

I guess the Capon Valley Run will no longer be considered a 'walk in the park', but as some of our runners pointed out... it is now a 'legitimate 50K run'. Those who finished are really pleased with themselves, and those who did not... we hope you will be back next year to finish.

Congratulations to all of you, and thanks for being with us.

CAPON VALLEY 50K RUN - 5/14/05 
207 Registered
185 Total Started
170 Total Completed
18 States represented

129 Men Starters 144 registered
11 Men - pulls
98% -- % Completion-Men

56 Women Starters 63 registered
4 Women - pulls
98% -- % Completion-Women

2004 RUN

RACE DIRECTOR'S STORY

Crossing creeks in Capon Valley

Runners began arriving for our 6th annual Capon Valley 50K Run early Friday afternoon, May 14th. We had lots of campers, and we had a record 186 runners start from 19 states, aged 18 to 64. There was a tie for first at 3:49, with our hikers arriving in just over 8 hours. See the statistics for names and times.

The staff was a little anxious about the increase in the number of runners, but other than a little scrambling behind the scenes to keep the aid stations well stocked, it went very well. The only line we saw all day was at the showers at the end of the race.

The Ruritan outdid itself with its wonderful chicken barbecue dinner, pasta salad and wonderful home made desserts. There were even vegetarian ribs!

Off and running to check point #1

We had a record number of first time Capon Valley runners, but many of our returning runners were very puzzled... something was missing... ah ha! It was not raining! The day was wonderful, albeit just a tad humid for runners.

Due to the nice weather, we had an awesome starting ceremony that brought tears to many eyes - our national anthem combined with the raising of the American colors followed by the release of a gorgeous flock of white doves - compliments of Great North Mountain Doves and our friend Lisa Green. We hope this will become a tradition. Lisa not only arranged the moving dove release but also rode her 21 year old endurance horse, Spry, for 25 miles of the trail, and walked the final 2.4 miles behind the runners to assure all were safe and accounted for.

Just a few of the many great volunteers

At the runner check in before the race, Rosie heard one of the funniest comments of the day. When handed his map, the color drained from the face of a runner running his first ultra, and he asked in a panicked voice "YOU MEAN THE TRAIL IS NOT MARKED - WE HAVE TO FOLLOW A MAP????!!!" She reassured him before he collapsed! We get great comments about our trail marking (and we bicker endlessly while marking, accusing each other of spoiling the runners with way too many ribbons)!

We have absolutely the best long-suffering volunteers who get a real kick out of watching the runners as they progress through the race. Our crew at stops 1 & 6, headed by Bonnie and David Thompson, see the runners at their best and worst! It's amazing how far you can go on M&M's and Advil! We try to offer the best of run diets but we find that the cravings vary from year to year. Anyone need any peanut butter?

Sneaking a little shade on the way to the finish

The runner awards, counter savers (tempered glass cutting boards) with a picture along the run trail, given in lieu of T-shirts, were also a special hit. As we handed them to runners, we said "Here's your T-shirt." One runner said that he was going to have trouble pinning his number to it! Some runners wondered what they would wear home, because they had planned to wear their run t-shirt having brought no other.

Oh, and to all the runners who asked... there were plenty of flat places on the trail... the bridge across the river, the old airstrip before stop #3, the beautiful trail along the old and historic railroad bed, and the hayfield by the river! Other than that... guess what.

We were so impressed by runner Kev Hawn who did the MMT 100 last weekend, and then strolled through our 50K with his wife, Faye (his 6th Capon Valley 50K). Way to go Kev!

It was our best ever run, and we thank all of our incredible volunteers who with their kindness and attention to detail made it such an impressive event. Once again, all proceeds from the run will support the Capon Springs Volunteer Fire and Rescue, the Ruritan Club and Edgebrook.org. I have already received endless compliments via e-mail from the runners, thanks so much for your kind words and we hope to see you next year, y'all.

Lynn Golemon, Race Director

CAPON VALLEY 50K RUN - 5/15/04
211 Registered
186 Total Started
180 Total Completed
19 States represented

114 Men Starters
2 Men - pulls
98% -- % Completion-Men

72 Women Starters
4 Women - pulls
94% -- % Completion-Women

2003 RUN

Sure there was a little rain, and some nice cool temperatures, but there's no stopping the good times in Capon Valley. The fifth annual 50K was once again a huge success with record crowds coming out to enjoy the beauty of green pastures and lush forests. Throw in a little playing in the mud, some splashing through creeks, along with the infamous post-race chicken dinner, and it is easy to see why they keep coming back.

"THANK YOU" from RD Lynn Golemon

Hi Runners,

Well, another successful year. Thank you all so much for being a part of our 'run family'. We do love the event and it is especially nice to see all the smiling faces during the day.

One year we promise to have sunshine!

Attached is the final runner list along with the list of awards. Please be sure to let me know if there are any adjustments. I apologize for the fizzle in the awards. I was notified that we had 2 runners missing. My focus shifted and we just didn't get back to the final few awards. The 2 runners found themselves and arrived back around 6 PM and we all breathed a sigh of relief. As I said, we take runner safety very seriously, and we were out searching for over an hour before their return.

Be sure to check out the results and runner pictures on iPlayOutside.com/capon50, we appreciate your support of our web page. They provide us with a great service. Don Parks was there all day Saturday getting wonderful shots of all of you on the trail.

If any of you have any funny stories about the run you would like to share, please send them on to me for inclusion in an article. The runner stories are always the best!

Hope to see all of you next year, and I wish you all - happy trails.

Take good care,
Lynn and the Capon Valley Run Volunteer gang

CAPON VALLEY 50k RUN - 5/17/03
196 Registered
168 Total Started
164 Total Completed
17 States represented

113 Men Starters
3 Men - pulls
97% % Completion-Men

55 Women Starters
1 Women - pulls
98% % Completion-Women

2002 RUN
 

Two inches of rain the night before the fourth running of the Capon Valley 50K couldn't keep the crowds from tackling the challenging and scenic course. A few drops still fell as the race began, but most of the day was just cool and cloudy. While the stream crossings got treacherous, and the trails were rather muddy in spots, overall the participants were thankful for the mild temperatures.

For more information, read Steve Snyder's story on Your Stories.

2001 RUN

THE CAPON VALLEY 50K RUN,  May 19, 2001 By Lynn Golemon, Race Director             

A great adversary of any race director is the weather.   And one of the worst nightmares of a race director is the obliteration of a beautifully marked trail.  Fortunately I have had the opportunity to observe these nightmares as a volunteer at the MMT 100 Mile Run, and as a rider in the Old Dominion 100 Mile Horse Race in Fort Valley, Virginia before having to face my own as director of the Capon Valley 50K run.  I’ve been present as Old Dominion riders (including me) and MMT runners (not me) battled wildfires, heat, humidity and bird-sized gnats in Fort Valley, as well as freezing rain, raging rivers and fog; and boy am I glad I had this under my belt before last Friday night.

Our beautiful Capon Valley has been extremely dry this spring, and our farmers have been desperate for rain, so it was with very mixed feelings that I watched the weather channel last Thursday and Friday and saw those giant green patches on the radar headed right for my precious run trail.  Sure enough, as the runners were pitching their tents and settling in their camps Friday evening the thunderstorms moved in and dumped over 2 inches of rain in less than 6 hours.

The “dry” creekbeds I had described in my final e-mail to the runners last week, were turned into quick moving torrents, described by our winner, Scott Wolfe, as “up to my waist” in one section.  My perfect (if a little dusty) trail now included mud puddles and even some slick spots.  Were my bright pink trail markers blown by the wind and rain now smushed flat against the trees, totally invisible?  Could anyone see red plates on this dark cloudy day?  Then I worried that no one would come to run in this chilly, wet weather.

Well, all that worrying was just a waste of time.  Of the 106 runners signed up, 105 arrived cheerful and excited, and we even had 4 more sign up on race day.  The only runner that was unable to make it e-mailed me that he had a severe stomach virus.

Of 109 starters we had 106 finishers (this is always an important number for me).  Two of our seasoned runners just weren’t having great days and pulled themselves.  Our third pull was a first-timer who had only planned to run 20 miles and she did!

Two of our runners got lost, and they assured me that they had to duck under the bright pink tape across the trail AND run right past the NO sign to get themselves off trail.  They finished, too, it just took them a little longer.

The runners all loved our beautiful trails, said the weather was perfect, made sure to thank all our volunteers and assured me that the course was one of the most well marked courses they had ever run.  Probably my favorite words were  “it was all great, and I’ll be back next year”.   I truly don’t know who had more fun, our runners or our volunteers.  One of our local folks’ favorite things is feeding hungry people…and on race day they served up barbecued chicken dinners with a local secret sauce and all the trimmings all day long.  One of our weekend residents is a chef in Washington, DC, and he made a huge green salad, and there were even home made desserts.

 Awards covered two entire picnic tables, and were mostly hand crafted by talented local crafters.   They ranged from a wonderful camel-back carrier donated by Mountain Trails of Winchester, VA (chosen by our first woman, Anne Riddle), to a platter of home made oatmeal cookies (chosen by our first man, Scott Wolfe).  We had beautiful baskets containing hand embroidered towels and soaps, candle holders and crystal vases along with plants and hats.  We even had a hand painted egg.  Some runners took longer to choose their award than to run the race (just kidding).  Every runner who attended the awards presentation received an award, so those of you who were yakking in the club house or left early, remember this next year. There is a list of all our special awards attached to the schedule of results.

On top of all this, we were able to raise over $4,000 to support our local Ruritan Club and Capon Springs Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company.  Some proceeds also support Healing Trauma and Loss Workshops, which I help facilitate.  The key word here is volunteer…none of these local folks are paid for their community services.  We thank all the runners for your support and we hope to see you all next year!

2000 RUN