Across the Years News

Final splits are now up on the website

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Combs) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 05:54:00 +0000

Gang,

The final validated splits for all runners have now been uploaded to the website. Just go to the front page, select 'Final 2008 Standings' and click on the runner number of the runner you're interested in (clicking on the runner's name will take you to their biographical information instead.)

Cheers!
Dave Combs

ATY 2008 Live Report

noreply@blogger.com (The Neologist) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 13:35:00 +0000

December 31, 2008, 11:11 AM

Dave again. First off, a big correction to yesterday's report. 72-hour race leader William Sichel is a Scot, not Irish! I'm not sure where I got Ireland from. ;-) William continues to look really good--he's a small, light guy and has a nice low stride and doesn't seem to waste any energy at all. He just keeps cranking out laps--they don't look very fast, but he doesn't seem to slow down much over the hours, and I've only seen him walk for a short distance a couple times, and the miles keep racking up. He's using this as a test race before a six-day in Athens in the spring. I'm betting that unless the wheels fall off or he decides to shut things down early, he's going to come very close to, if not pass, 300 miles. If so, he'd be the third person to do it in the history of the race, following John Geesler and Yiannis Kouros. Juli Aistars continues to lead for the women, and has extended her lead over perennial contender/winner Martina Hausmann. Juli's moving well again as the day warms up, and might get 250 miles. On a personal note, after my troubles with blisters and nausea/runs yesterday, a little Imodium and getting fixed up by Chris O'Loughlin and Andy Lovy did wonders. Another 55 laps put me ahead of race host Rodger Wrublik's son Gavin (he's almost 8 ;-) but he's since passed me again. I'll concede the victory if he gets past 50 miles. Gavin is currently going around with John Geesler, whose heel problems (some sort of bone problem, not the blisters I thought it was) have reduced him to a slow limp the last day or so. John stays out there, though he could pack it in anytime and nobody would fault him at all for it. 11-year-old Aaron Doman continues on his quest for 100, totally 33 and 66 the first two days. He'll have no problems.

In the 48-hour, it looks like a number of the second-day starters will do really well in the overall race. My current bet to take the win in Jeff Hagen, and I think Lisa Bliss might also pass first-day leader Hans Bauer. Lisa just ran by with her 100-mile lap, and looks like she's in good shape for her second day. If Jeff falters for any time at all, Lisa could pass him for the overall win. Early leader Tracy Thomas took a long break, and may be out again--I haven't seen her for a while. Jamie Huneycutt is coming up on 100 miles in the next couple hours, and will also finish among the leaders.

In the 24-hour, Wendell Doman took off as expected, and is cranking out consistent sub-3:00 laps. It'll be fun to see him move through the field as the day goes on.

Phil Rosenstein just walked by the start/finish and said "tell them how awesome I am". Okay, Phil, it's done! ;-)

Oops--just realized I screwed up an adjustment to the live results. All the 3rd-day starters in the 24-hour are displayed as Finished, while they are actually only 2 hours into their run. Better go fix it!

More later,
Dave

December 30, 2008, 1:32 PM
Dave again. Sorry for the long delay between posts, but things have been "interesting" here. Yours truly went out yesterday afternoon and decided to put in 20 miles, hoping to put together 50 over the three days in addition to timing duties. With little training, the 20 was rather painful, and resulted in a couple large blisters and some soreness. I stuck around until 9:30 p.m. or so last night, but the combination of miles and starting to get sick (a couple people in the area were already a little ill with colds, nothing to do with the race itself) just wiped me out, so I went off to sleep for eight hours or so. The first-day runners were into their last couple hours when I arrived back on the course around 7:00 this morning.

We sent the second 24-hour and 48-hour runners off at 9:00 a.m. Matt Watts finished his 24 leading that race with 117+ miles, though I'm guessing he'll get passed by one of the later runners. Wendell Doman has gone over 120 here before, and he's my current pick.

In the 48-hour, Tracy Thomas (dropping down from 72 hours because she has a tendency to get injured at the longer distance) has a comfortable lead over last year's winner Hans Bauer. After seeing Dr. Andy Lovy doing his medical magic on her early on day 1, I'm guessing she'll do well. We'll see whether any of the first day competitors can mount a charge, and how the second set of 48-hour folks do as they move up through the ranks.

In the 72-hour, perennial winner John Geesler led early, but blister issues on one foot have really taken their toll, and he's dropped several spots down the leader board. Achim Heukemes and Ireland's William Sichel were right there to grab the lead. Juli Aistars has looked very good since the start and currently has a 10-lap (5km) lead over Dagmar Grossheim. On the younger front, Aaron Doman, 11 (son of Wendell Doman and Sarah Spelt) is doing well. He comes out, runs a while, goes off to play with some of the other kids for a while, then comes back to run some more. He's shooting for 100 in 72 hours.

On the technical front, my apologies if you've noticed some odd displays on the leader board. We have had some "issues" with losing connectivity to the net, which resulted in "losing" runners from the board. We still had them in the timing computer, and no laps were lost in the main timing system. Those issues have since been fixed, so things should run a bit more smoothly from now on.

Back to the race!

December 29, 2008, 10:33 AM

Dave again. Everything went off at precisely 9:00 a.m., with Jamil Coury sprinting a first lap to assume the lead for a minute or two. ;-) Everybody's looking good, and in good spirits, settling in for the long day, two days, or three days that they're going to run. One quick note on the leader board: what you see through the web site is the same as they see here at the race, and we're finding that it's a bit too bright for people to see the leader on a big movie screen we have near the track. We're trying to fix it by changing fonts and colors, which is why things might look a little odd to those viewing on the web.

December 29, 2008, 7:32 AM

Dave again. We've made it to race day! If by any chance you've been looking at the timing information up to now, it's been showing test data that we're running here, to make sure that all the electrical and computer connections and other stuff are working. The leader board you see on the web site is the same one that's being projected to a screen alongside the track. We're a bit less than 90 minutes from sending everybody off for three days of fun! The weather looks good for the next three days.

December 28, 2008, 12:35 PM

Dave Combs here. Preparations are going into high gear here at Nardini Manor. As usual, race host Rodger Wrublik is trying to get a ton of the last-minute small details done but not getting enough sleep! Lots of runners are arriving already, though check-in doesn't actually start until 1:00 pm. I've just set up the ATY "race-day" page on the main race website (www.acrosstheyears.com), though of course the race doesn't actually start until tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. AZ time (1600 GMT). More later as things really get going!

December 27, 2008, 6:36 AM

Greetings to all readers! Lynn Newton, ATY's webmaster here. I'm writing this message from my home office in Columbus, Ohio, where today the unseasonably high temperature is predicted to reach the upper sixties! Today is packing day for me, as I have had little time to give any thought at all to preparations until now.

The purpose of this ATY News Blog entry is to initialize the page that will become the location of this year's Live Report. Periodic updates will be prepended today, tomorrow, throughout the race, and maybe a bit afterward, that will summarize progress and notable evens at the race site. There will be a link directly to this blog article at the top of the Web site's front page.

The weather during the race promises to be ideal, with daily high temperatures around seventy, the lows around forty-two, and sunny all day every day—utterly perfect for running! Nonetheless, for those who are coming into town for the race, we highly recommend that you bring warm clothing. The nights in the Arizona desert can chill one to the bone, and forty-two is not warm! And weather reports are not always reliably accurate.

Once again we are planning on presenting a webcast, this year with all the same features as before, but with better implementations, and the addition for the first time of a leader board that will be displayed on a screen to runners, and will also be visible to Internet visitors. Also, after a couple of frustrating years, Rodger finally seems to have worked out the problems that previously existed with his webcam, so looked for substantially improved reporting on that front. Ironically, because I also run the whole 72-hour race, I myself have never seen the beast in action.

Most returning runners know by now that the layout of the track and location of certain facilities will be changed substantially this year. Since I have not set foot on the property myself since I left last year's race, I know only what I've seen from the pictures Rodger sent, and from the descriptions he has provided, so it will be just as new and exciting to me as to everyone else.

Since I first visited the race in progress in Queen Creek on December 31, 1998, Across the Years has played a significant part in my life, becoming in turn a milestone, a tradition, a hobby, and an obsession. For as long as I live, my involvement with this race will be one of the top items in any list I make of Big Things I Have Done in My Life. This year will be my tenth consecutive year of participation, both as runner and as a volunteer, and as I now finally turn my thoughts toward doing it once again, despite being less trained than ever this year, I look forward to the tradition of meeting and saying hello to arriving runners the day before and on race morning, the joy of circling the track for hour after hour, the hope of racking up enough miles by the end that at least I won't be embarrassed by the total, the afterglow of the awards luncheon, and the satisfaction of writing up my inevitable report, for better worse.

And at this time, as people stream into town for the race, I can only hope and wish that all who participate, whether as runners, volunteers, crew members, or just observers, will find the experience as rewarding and satisfying as I have over the years.

Let the games begin!

—
Lynn Newton
Your Faithful Webmaster

Things Are Coming Together

noreply@blogger.com (Rodger Wrublik) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:40:00 +0000

ATY Runners,

We started setting things up on Saturday and have added some more pictures to the "ATY Track Improvements" album.

Jim O'Neil and Sue Norwood also added some pictures of their own, to their blog. You can view those at: "ATY Work Day"

We have a few changes this year that are really important, especially for those that are used to the way things have been for the past 5 years. New this year, setting up close to the big tent will no longer be allowed. The timing area has been moved to this location so that runners entering and exiting the big tent will no longer have to worry about which direction they were going in after extended stays in the big heated tent. All runners will be required to cross the mats before entering the tent and not allowed to cross the mats when exiting.

For those that are not familiar with how things work at ATY. every two hours the runners change direction on the track -- clockwise, counterclockwise, clockwise, etc. In the past, when runners went into the big tent to take a nap, change clothes, or whatever and then came back out, it's been troublesome trying to remember which direction they needed to go in. It will no longer matter, they will go in the direction that all of the other runner are currently going in.

Another change this year is the addition of a new "Quiet Tent" which will be located in the SE corner of the track. This tent is much smaller than our big tent and has limited space. We've had some complaints in the past that it's too noisy in the main tent, which has been really confusing to us to say the least (we thought this was a run, not a slumber party), but we want everyone to be happy and because of that, decided to have a dedicated tent for those that just have to have their quiet time. :-)

You will have to RSVP to get a spot in this tent and it will be on a first come, first serve basis - and only for runners that are actually running in that days race. There will be no 'night before their run' runners allowed. This tent will be heated and some cots will be available and like the big tent, the direction you go in when waking up from a long break will not matter. It is located at exactly the halfway point on the track. Contact me if you want a spot: nardinimanor@gmail.com

We have more people than ever before this year and are worried that we may run out of room in the big tent. We asked that everyone who planned to bring a tent, let us know in advance and with everyone that replied, we'll have just enough room for the runners only and nobody else. Crew members are welcome to share their runner's tents but we can't allow non-runners to setup their own personal tents inside (this only applies to inside, not outside on the grounds). Again, crew members are more than welcome to share your runners tent or set up as many tents as they wish outside on the grounds but first and foremost, we must take care of our runners. And please, the smaller the tent, the better (inside) - the limit is a 10 x 10 but remember, if everyone brings a 10 x 10, we'll only have room for about half the runners.

Also new this year, all runners will receive an 8.5 x 11 laminated name tag that you must display where you will be, when and if not running on the track. Whether it's on a table, chair, tent or even on your vehicle, for safety reasons, we want to know where you are if you're not on the track. No tents will be allowed in the big tent without one of these name tags. If staying in the quiet tent, you can pin your name tag on the sidewall above your cot. No small tents will be allowed inside of the quiet tent.

Another change is where you will go for registration. New this year, you will go to the front of the house and enter through the front door. We'll have a fire going, as well as warm fresh coffee. As in previous years, you will once again need to fill out the medical waiver. We wait until race time to do this so that our medical people have the most up to date information possible. Please allot enough time for filling out this form. To ease the onslaught of all those entering on the 29th, we've decided to offer early packet pick-up on the 28th, from 1:00 to 6:00 pm. My daughter Erica will be helping out in checking runners in.

See everyone really soon,

Rodger (ATY Host)

DryMax New Sponsor

noreply@blogger.com (The Neologist) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 12:21:00 +0000

We are pleased to announce that DryMax Sport Socks has just joined the ranks of Across the Years sponsors. We are pleased and grateful for their support and generosity, and look forward to seeing what they contribute.

Changes to the track at Nardini Manor

noreply@blogger.com (The Neologist) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:10:00 +0000

For those of you who have not already heard about it, there will be some substantial changes to the way things are done at ATY this year. Among them are some alterations to the track at Nardini Manor, which Rodger Wrublik is hard at work implementing. He sent me some photos of the current state of things, which you may see if you click the link. Don't worry, it'll be done by race time! You have to have run the track before to realize how substantial these changes are. The track will be recertified before the race to assure that it's still 500 meters. The changes just make it wider, not longer. We expect a few more people this year than in the past.

Run From the Ducks—A Good Training Run

noreply@blogger.com (The Neologist) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 17:26:00 +0000

Across the Years alumnus Tony Mathison has written to inform us about his 8-hour fixed time race Run From the Ducks, held at the Clark Gardens Botanical Park, located at 567 Maddux Road, Weatherford, Texas. He suggests it might make a good training run for Across the Years runners.

The race seems to be held in September sometime, though I couldn't confirm that from the information on the Web site, but if you dig around on the site I'm sure you'll eventually find everything you need. In any case, there is contact information, by means of which you should be able answer any questions.

Accordingly, we are happy to make this information available to ATY runners who might be interested.

New Wisdom from Andy Lovy

noreply@blogger.com (The Neologist) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:47:00 +0000

Today Andy Lovy sent us a new article consisting of pre-race advice, which I have edited and added to the page Andy's Wisdom. Be sure to read it, as it contains some excellent advice about running multi-day races, coming from an experienced medical practitioner.

Andy has also advised us that he and Chris O'Loughlin will be on board to put on a sort of workshop the day before for crew on stretching, massage, etc., and to answer any medically related questions they may have.

Registration 2008 Open

noreply@blogger.com (The Neologist) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 12:15:00 +0000

The race organizers are happy to announce that registration for the 2008 race has now begun, and will be open until August 4, 2008. There is no rush to register, as being first is of no advantage whatever. Visit the Web site to see details.

Anyone considering registering really should read the entire registration help page before starting, because there are a few things that are different this year, and from what other races do.

--
Lynn Newton
ATY Webmaster

An Update on Registration 2008

noreply@blogger.com (The Neologist) — Fri, 30 May 2008 01:42:00 +0000

Ok, so we're way behind. Sorry. Life has thrown us all a few curves this year, and we're doing the best we can.

It's going to be at least another week, maybe longer, before we will be able to open up for registration. That means June 8th if things go perfectly, but recently things haven't been going so perfectly, so I'm not optimistic.

Hang in there. There is still plenty of time left in the year.

--
Lynn David Newton
Across the Years Webmaster

News About 2008

noreply@blogger.com (The Neologist) — Sun, 18 May 2008 12:16:00 +0000

The main news about ATY 2008 is that there's nothing substantial to announce just yet. But never fear, the race is not dead, just behind schedule. Work is going on actively behind the scenes to make preparations for next year, including some important changes.

The purpose of this post is merely to let you all know that we're still alive and hard at work. The nearest we can predict at this time is that registration will begin on or about June 1st, and will continue until early August. As was true last year, there will be no rush to register, as being first to do so will give runners no advantage whatever in their chances of being selected.

Day 2 has started!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Combs) — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 17:44:00 +0000

Dave here again. Day 2 of Across The Years started a little less than two hours ago. After RD Paul Bonnett's pre-race meeting, the second set of 24 and 48-hour runners took to the track right at 9:00, after the first set of 24-hour runners finished. It was kind of odd for a few minutes, looking at the scoreboard and seeing lap totals like "295 laps" next to "2 laps", and watching the different speeds of the runners, some fresh and some having just passed 24 hours of their 48 or 72-hour journeys. Last night took a toll on everybody, as temperatures were unseasonably cold here (certainly somewhere in the 30s), with a bit of wind from time to time. Performances of note included 24-hour runner Dave Putney, whose 131+ miles led all runners for the first day. Tony Mangan was closing fast, though, passing 24 hours about 3 laps behind Dave, but doing the 72-hour. John Geesler and Tracy Thomas also did well with more than 100 in the 72-hour, and both look strong right now. Carrie Sauter missed 100 in 24:00, but passed that under 25 hours. Don Lundell, June Gessner, Matt Watts and Jenny Hoffman rounded out the first-day 24-hour finishers over 100 miles, but I expect several people to join them on day 2 or 3. One to look for on Monday is Paul DeWitt, who wants to shoot for 165 miles+ to break the American record.

Today looks to be good, with temperatures supposed to rise a bit, though the wind has also picked up. Hopefully most of the technical issues that plagued us yesterday and caused a lot of interruptions with our sending lap totals to the net are over (keep your fingers crossed!) Back with more in a few hours.

Technical "issues" today

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Combs) — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 03:37:00 +0000

Dave Combs here. I just wanted to issue an apology to those watching on the web. We've been having some technical issues here with the timing equipment and uploads to the race website. We're not sure exactly why, but it may just be the amount of stuff we have at the race site drawing power, combined with the amount of information we're trying to forward to the web and a bit of a slow net connection. That's why occasionally you'll see laps with missing times on various runners live totals. We've had some timing glitches, but have verified that laps have been adjusted correctly for any affected runners. For those of you interested in why John Geesler and Tony Mangan keep showing lap times of 00:00, it's due to a technical problem with their wearing two timing transponders in case they manage to break a record. The software I wrote to figure out lap times didn't quite deal correctly with having two separate times for the same runner that were right close together, but both "correct". I'll have to work on that for next year--we don't want to change something like that right now! ;-)

The race conditions have been interesting--high 30s at the start, probably mid-60s during the afternoon, but it's chilling off again now that the sun has been down a while. The runners seemed to enjoy it, but we're freezing in the timing tent, even with a heater! ;-) Tony Mangan keeps cranking out the laps, with John Geesler trailing by a bit. Tracy Thomas is once again leading for the women. Dave Putney leads both the 24-hour race and the overall laps for everyone, with Pam Reed, June Gessner and Jenny Hoffman taking spots 2-4 in the 24-hour. ULTRA list folk Ron Hamilton and Fred Dummar lead the 48-hour runners.

More later as the night wears on,
Dave

YouTube Videos

noreply@blogger.com (Jamil) — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 00:34:00 +0000

We now have successfully uploaded new videos from today's races onto our YouTube channel.

This first is a look at pre-race activities:

Here is this morning's start!

We are in progress!

noreply@blogger.com (Jamil) — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 17:56:00 +0000

We are now 2 hours into the race and the runners have just changed directions for the first time. Juli Aistars and Don Charles Lundell were the first to switch.

John Geesler and Tony Mangan are neck and neck in the 72 hour race with Tracy Thomas and Glen Turner following close behind.

We currently have two videos completed and awaiting upload to our youtube channel. Our connection out at Nardini Manor is still holding us back, but we should have these up shortly.

I Can't Believe It Isn't Email

noreply@blogger.com (The Neologist) — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 21:34:00 +0000

Several people who have learned that they can send messages to runners during the race have written to ask what email address they should use. The answer is that it isn't email, so there is no such email address.

Anyone wishing to send messages to a runner may visit the Web site any time 24 hours a day during the race and click on the link at the top that says Send Greetings. Select the runner's name, identify yourself, write your message, and press Send.

It's regrettable that this feature has come to be called "email," though it's understandable why it has because outwardly it is quite similar. What else would it be called?

When I wrote the package I originally thought of calling it I Can't Believe It Isn't Email. But for our purposes this package is actually quite a bit better, because it's faster, tidier, and allows us to manipulate and print messages in a way that would be difficult to do with ordinary email.

When a user presses the Send button, his message is deposited immediately in a database and never has to go out over the Net. An auxiliary administrative program allows race officials in the timing tent to view, sort, print, and otherwise manage messages.

Another part of the package allows anyone visiting the site to view all the messages sent to every runner. This is a feature that we like, because it adds to the spirit of the race to see all that electronic cheering. But those sending messages should be aware that what they write will be viewable by the whole world, so must be discreet about saying personal things in these messages. Just remember that what you send is not email! Across the Years does not have a means to handle real private email messages to runners.

It's almost time for the festivities to begin! See you all in a few days.

Lynn David Newton
ATY Webmaster

ATY Trails and Tribulations Podcast

noreply@blogger.com (The Neologist) — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 01:37:00 +0000

On December 18th your lowly webmaster hemmed and hawed his way through a conversation with ultrarunning podcasters Kim and Andrew, the producers of the Trails and Tribulations series of podcasts about ultrarunning, wherein we talked for over forty minutes about Across the Years. The resulting interview is available from the website in podcast form, along with some background information. Just click on the link in this paragraph, and download the podcast from their site in whatever way you normally would do to lisen to these things.

Better Directions to ATY & Some Other Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Rodger Wrublik) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:31:00 +0000

Over the years we have had a real problem with people trying to use Mapquest, in getting directions to Nardini Manor. Please, do NOT use Mapquest; you will get sent miles in the wrong direction. Use 'Google Maps' instead. I recently updated the Nardini Manor information on Google Maps and and it is, now, very easy to use. Here's a link to our site that has the updated information: http://www.nardinimanor.com/directions.htm

Yesterday (12/16/07), we had 7 volunteers show up that helped in putting up a lot of the equipment for this years run. All of the shirts, sweatshirts, gloves and gaiters have been put into the duffel bags (with more items, still to come), We think everyone will absolutely love what they're going to get. All of the bibs have been printed and put onto the race belts that you get to keep after the run. It's not mandatory but has become an ATY custom, to keep your bib (which has your name and state flag on it) facing to the rear. This gives the runners that come up on you or that you are passing, an opportunity to know who you are. Also, by keeping your bib on the race belt, it will make it very easy to change clothes and still keep your number visible for our timers. The race belt has an easy to use, quick snap buckle, similar to what you have on a fanny pack.

We started grooming the track and putting up of the flags and banners. There's still more to do but things are really shaping up. The main aid station is up but we're still waiting delivery on a new medical and timing tent.

We decided to go with a black timing tent this year, in an attempt to eliminate the glare on the laptops that we've been experiencing over the last few years. We'll also be adding a new medical tent, which will be set up right beside the main aid station tent and directly in front of where the main entrance to the large tent is. Kachina Rescue will be in this new tent, with Andy Lovy and Chris O'Loughlin in their usual locations (in the big tent). Ideally, Andy and Chris will do a lot of the 'comfort care' but for anything really serious, Kachina Rescue will be the ones to see. Andy and Chris truly do enjoy helping the runners, but hopefully, this will give them a little more time for running. As most of you already know, Andy already has his 1000 mile jacket but Chris still needs 223 miles, before getting his.

Last year there were a couple of complaints about the medical staff making too much noise in the main tent. Remember, THIS IS A RUN, NOT A SLUMBER PARTY! ;-) If you need absolute quite, you may need to get a hotel room or find an out of the way place on the grounds someplace, instead of in the main tent, for that. At night (usually after 10 PM), we do dim the lights and we do ask that everybody keeps the noise level down but we will never ask our medical staff to do the same. What they have done and continue do is much too important to this event.

We have added 24 additional slots to our mailboxes this year. This way, everyone will have a personal slot and we won't have to change things up as the race progresses, like we had to do last year. For those of you that haven't run with us before, we have email mailboxes for all of the runners and instead of trying to hand out hundreds of emails as the run progresses, we now put all of them into your own personal mailbox. You should find your mail slot before the run begins so that you are familiar with where your slot is located. You are welcome to get them as often or whenever you wish. They will be located just east of the timing tent. They will also be in our archives on the ATY website if you'd like to look at them again, later.

Nardini Manor is once again looking like a running venue, which is definitely one of the best times of the year! ;-)

See everyone real soon,

Rodger

ATY Work Weedend

noreply@blogger.com (Rodger Wrublik) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:12:00 +0000

For any of you that were scheduled to attend the work weekend, the schedule has been shortened to just Sunday the 16^th, instead of Saturday and Sunday, the 15^th and 16^th.

Rodger & Tana

ATY 2007 Live Report

noreply@blogger.com (The Neologist) — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 23:56:00 +0000

Tuesday, January 1, 2008 3:30 am

Latest through 200 miles is Carrie Sauter a few minutes ago. She's now going off for a break. The last of the 72-hour runners with a shot at 200 is Ray Krolewicz, who will probably get there with an hour or two left. Hans Bauer has a decent shot at 200 for the 48-hour runners, and Tim Englund has an outside chance as well, as both of them have now passed previous leader Debbie Richmeier. Scott Eppelman probably will hit 175 or 180, and Lisa Bliss is now moving well again after a break, with 19.5 miles to go to pass Debbie and take the women's 48-hour win. Daniel Larson has been moving really well, with several laps under 3:30 as he closes in on 24-hour leader Dave Putney, who finished on day 1. My guess now is that Daniel will do it, in the process also setting a race PR for himself. Conditions are getting a bit worse, as warmer temperatures earlier this evening have given way to a brisk northeasterly wind and everybody is just trying to keep warm, which is especially hard for runners that have used up most of their energy already.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008 12:35 am

Happy New Year from ATY! We just got done with the traditional champagne, party favors and walk around the track. Paul Bonnett's fireworks this year were excellent, especially one that reminded me of a machine gun, shooting blasts into the sky as it swept back and forth. Now most everybody is back to business. It was also fun to watch both Craig Slagel and Juli Aistars pass 200 miles. Craig's said that's it for him, but I hope he decides to do a few more laps later. Juli is continuing, and I'm not even sure she noticed us cheering for her as she passed through 200, she was zoned in so completely. Welcome to 2008!

Monday, December 31, 2007 11:10 pm

Dave again. I came back from a break for a couple hours to find that things had changed a bit. Paul DeWitt has now dropped from the 24-hour, leaving Daniel Larson and Wendell Doman as the two main contenders to first-day leader Dave Putney's 131+. Daniel and Wendell are the only ones running consistent laps much below 4:00. Martina Hausmann is now pulling away in the 72-hour women's race, though Juli Aistars is moving again. Unless he can pull out a really super effort in the last ten hours of the race, Tony Mangan will come up short of 300 miles, and John Geesler has essentially conceded the race win to Tony. In the 48, Hans Bauer and Tim Englund have a decent shot at 200 miles, with Scott Eppelmann a bit more of an outside chance. Lisa Bliss continues moving toward Debbie Richmeier for the women's lead.

It was nice a few hours ago to welcome both Ron Vertrees and John Surdyk to the race's 1000-miles-all-time club, just after John passed 151 miles tonight.

Other than that, things are moving along. Some people are winding down, while others are back pushing again, trying to get in as much more as possible before the 9:00 a.m. finish tomorrow. A brisk breeze has kicked up, which pushed the side of the aid-station tent out a bunch and caused it to contact one of the propane heaters and burn a big hole in the fabric.

More after the midnight ceremony and lap together!

Monday, December 31, 2007 6:20 pm

We understand there has been discussion about some greetings not showing up in the list of greetings you can view on the ATY website. As far as we know things are working correctly. Some runners requested that messages to them be kept private and not posted for general viewing. Lynn Newton implemented that feature this year, which is why some messages might seem to be missing.

Monday, December 31, 2007 12:20 pm

Dave again. The third-day 24-hour runners started at 9:00, and it's been really interesting to watch them. Paul DeWitt has run consistent laps between 2:15 and 2:20, finishing his first marathon in 3:13 on his quest for 165+ miles. He looks very strong. He's trailed by David Horner and past 24-hour ATY champions Wendell Doman and Daniel Larson. Paul has passed the first of the 24-hour runners from earlier days, and the others will do so within the next half hour or so. First-day 48-hour starter Debbie Richmeier finished with 167+ for a PR. We'll see how it holds up with the second-day starters moving up the leader board toward her. Tony Mangan's goal now is 300 miles for the 72-hour, and it will be close. He looks pretty good, though. John Geesler is having a bit of a hard time, but is approaching 200 miles now. He'll miss getting as good a distance as he usually does, but he's as cheerful and philosophical about it as always, and keeps moving along. If you've never met him, John is truly one of the good guys in this sport. The real big move I've seen since early this morning is Martina Hausmann, who has closed from almost 60 laps behind 72-hour women's leader Tracy Thomas to trail by less than a mile. With a bit of luck both of them will break Tracy's women's race record of just a hair over 250 miles. It's anybody's guess who'll get there first, but as usual Martina is doing what I call her Terminator routine--it doesn't matter what happens, she JUST KEEPS COMING.

It looks like today will be the best weather-wise for the whole race, with temperatures here at Nardini Manor up about 10 degrees from the start of the race on Saturday. With things now into the last day, everybody's looking pretty good, the earlier-day starters can finally see the finish in the distance, and it's going to be a good day!

Sunday, December 30, 2007 9:30pm

Phil Rosenstein decided to drop out with a stress fracture for those who are tracking his race.

Sunday, December 30, 2007 6:15pm

Dave again. It's been a good day today out at Nardini Manor. Afternoon temperatures got into the 60s, with nice clear skies, and only a bit of a breeze from time to time--ideal running weather for those in the four races currently going on (the 72-hour, both 48-hours and the second-day 24-hour.) The front-runners continued to lead, with Tony Mangan now holding about a 30K lead on John Geesler, and Tracy Thomas with just a bit less over Maryland's Carrie Sauter, who is trailed by Martina Hausmann and Juli Aistars, all in the 72-hour. Debbie Richmeier continues in the overall lead for the 48-hour, with women holding three of the top four spots. Tim Englund, Jesse Doggett and Hans Bauer lead the second-day 48-hour runners, and they're coming on quickly. Several of today's 24-hour runners are approaching 50 miles, and have started passing the back of the pack from yesterday's race. Several of the serious contenders in the 24-hour will start tomorrow, however.

It's been a great day and almost a half so far. I've really enjoyed one of the main activities that seems to happen at this race (and most other ultras, but especially here), catching up with old friends from all over. It's truly a three-day party, with a lot of running, walking, shuffling, eating, and napping thrown in. Some people that I've talked to before about these timed-event things say it must be really boring, but I'd challenge any ultra person to show up here and get bored! There's always something going on. Even for us spending time slowly freezing in the timing tent, there's always something to do, from checking the software's running correctly to printing and posting laps to sending updates to the net, writing this blog or just hanging out reminiscing. It's ALL good, even the cold parts!

More later, with any luck before I head for bed around 1:00 a.m.
Dave

Sunday, December 30, 2007 10:44am

Day 2 has started!
Dave here again. Day 2 of Across The Years started a little less than two hours ago. After RD Paul Bonnett's pre-race meeting, the second set of 24 and 48-hour runners took to the track right at 9:00, after the first set of 24-hour runners finished. It was kind of odd for a few minutes, looking at the scoreboard and seeing lap totals like "295 laps" next to "2 laps", and watching the different speeds of the runners, some fresh and some having just passed 24 hours of their 48 or 72-hour journeys. Last night took a toll on everybody, as temperatures were unseasonably cold here (certainly somewhere in the 30s), with a bit of wind from time to time. Performances of note included 24-hour runner Dave Putney, whose 131+ miles led all runners for the first day. Tony Mangan was closing fast, though, passing 24 hours about 3 laps behind Dave, but doing the 72-hour. John Geesler and Tracy Thomas also did well with more than 100 in the 72-hour, and both look strong right now. Carrie Sauter missed 100 in 24:00, but passed that under 25 hours. Don Lundell, June Gessner, Matt Watts and Jenny Hoffman rounded out the first-day 24-hour finishers over 100 miles, but I expect several people to join them on day 2 or 3. One to look for on Monday is Paul DeWitt, who wants to shoot for 165 miles+ to break the American record.

Today looks to be good, with temperatures supposed to rise a bit, though the wind has also picked up. Hopefully most of the technical issues that plagued us yesterday and caused a lot of interruptions with our sending lap totals to the net are over (keep your fingers crossed!) Back with more in a few hours.

December 29, 2007 8:37pm

Dave Combs here. I just wanted to issue an apology to those watching on the web. We've been having some technical issues here with the timing equipment and uploads to the race website. We're not sure exactly why, but it may just be the amount of stuff we have at the race site drawing power, combined with the amount of information we're trying to forward to the web and a bit of a slow net connection. That's why occasionally you'll see laps with missing times on various runners live totals. We've had some timing glitches, but have verified that laps have been adjusted correctly for any affected runners. For those of you interested in why John Geesler and Tony Mangan keep showing lap times of 00:00, it's due to a technical problem with their wearing two timing transponders in case they manage to break a record. The software I wrote to figure out lap times didn't quite deal correctly with having two separate times for the same runner that were right close together, but both "correct". I'll have to work on that for next year--we don't want to change something like that right now! ;-)

The race conditions have been interesting--high 30s at the start, probably mid-60s during the afternoon, but it's chilling off again now that the sun has been down a while. The runners seemed to enjoy it, but we're freezing in the timing tent, even with a heater! ;-) Tony Mangan keeps cranking out the laps, with John Geesler trailing by a bit. Tracy Thomas is once again leading for the women. Dave Putney leads both the 24-hour race and the overall laps for everyone, with Pam Reed, June Gessner and Jenny Hoffman taking spots 2-4 in the 24-hour. ULTRA list folk Ron Hamilton and Fred Dummar lead the 48-hour runners.

More later as the night wears on,
Dave

December 29, 2007 5:34pm

We now have successfully uploaded new videos from today's races onto our YouTube channel.

This first is a look at pre-race activities:

Here is this morning's start!

December 29, 2007 10:56am

We are now 2 hours into the race and the runners have just changed directions for the first time. Juli Aistars and Don Charles Lundell were the first to switch.

John Geesler and Tony Mangan are neck and neck in the 72 hour race with Tracy Thomas and Glen Turner following close behind.

We currently have two videos completed and awaiting upload to our youtube channel. Our connection out at Nardini Manor is still holding us back, but we should have these up shortly.

-Jamil

December 28, 2007, 8:48 PM
Greetings from Across the Years! I was out at the site this afternoon, where people are hard at work making preparations, while people are beginning to arrive. I was there only three hours today, and had to leave a bit earlier than I planned, so didn't get to meet some of the people I expected would be arriving in the afternoon.

The facility has never looked better, especially before the race, as the trail has been nicely groomed, and the property has had some improvements to it, including more lighting in the outlying areas.

The weather has been unseasonably cold recently, and reached only the mid-fifties today, but was mostly sunny. The forecast is for partly cloudy tomorrow, and sunny conditions the rest of the race, with temperatures warming to the mid-sixties by the end of the race. The nights may be somewhat cold, though, and if history is any indication, may prove to be difficult to deal with by those who are unprepared for it. We have seen a number of 24-hour runners packing up and leaving at 1:00 AM, finding that the cold is more than they can deal with. But for those who can, it could mean higher than usual mileages.

We have assembled what is by far the best field of runners for this race ever, and expect a tremendous race tomorrow.

ATY Lodging & Host Hotel

noreply@blogger.com (Rodger Wrublik) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 19:36:00 +0000

Once again, the Best Western in Goodyear, will be our host hotel.

The normal rates for this hotel (and they’re one of the less expensive places in the area) usually range from $129 to $144 per night. If you mention that you're with the Across The Years running group, they will give you a room for $69 +tax per night for the days from - 12/27/07 to 12/30/07. The rates will go up to $79 on the 31^st and then to $129 on the 1^st.

This is a very busy time of the year for the area hotels.

Contact Information:

Best Western (Goodyear)

623-932-3210 ext: 400

Website

E-Mail

See you soon,

Rodger Wrublik

Medical Support & Questionnaire

noreply@blogger.com (Rodger Wrublik) — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:37:00 +0000

Once again, Dr. Andy Lovy and Chris O'Louglin will be back to assist you during the run. They have been a key part of this event for the past number of years now and their assistance has saved many a runner from throwing in the towel early. For those of you that haven't already read it, we've dedicated a page on our website with some of Andy's thoughts and experiences: http://www.acrosstheyears.com/andy.html

As all of you that have run at ATY before already know, Andy and Chris also like to run in the event and they do this while assisting other runners that are in need of aid during the duration of the event. There have been years that they have been so overworked; we have wondered how they've managed as many miles as they have. Andy now has 1137 lifetime miles and Chris has 778. These two individuals are simply amazing!

New this year, in an attempt to ease the work load on Andy and Chris, we'll also have available the medical assistance of Kachina Rescue. My son and I have used Kachina for the past two years now, at the annual running of the Javelina Jundred and have found them to be very runner friendly and extremely professional. We're very pleased to have them on board.

Kachina Rescue has asked that all ATY participants please visit their website and fill out the questionnaire that is provided. All information submitted on this form will be sent directly to the officer charged with coordinating this event for Kachina Rescue. The information will only be used to provide care, should it be needed to the participant. Information will only be shared with medical providers directly involved with patient care and Kachina Rescue's medical director. Kachina Rescue does not bill individuals for their services, however; should a patient require EMS transportation to the hospital, the transport provider will bill the patient/patient's insurance for their services. If you have any questions, please submit them using this form.

Kachina Rescue will be providing pre-event foot taping for blister prevention as well. This is a free service. If you are interested in this service, please fill out the form and check the box on the form for the pre-taping.

In the past, Chris O'Loughlin has also provided pre-event taping. If you'd like to contact Chris about taping or anything else, he can be reached at: yogarhythms@gmail.com

Thanks,

Rodger Wrublik (Your ATY Host)

Webmaster News

noreply@blogger.com (The Neologist) — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 20:47:00 +0000

For readers who haven't heard, your ATY webmaster is about to embark on a major life change, namely moving permanently to Columbus, Ohio.

I wanted to assure everyone that I will continue to support Across the Years with technical services as I have done the last few years, although being frantically busy right now with trying to get moved by mid-November means that a few new features of the web site that I was hoping to implement for this year will not make it into this year's show.

The biggest change for me will be that starting this year I'll be running the race as an out-of-state visitor rather than a local resident.

It's my hope to continue to support ATY in coming years from my new home in Ohio.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in December, for what will undoubtedly be the very best edition of Across the Years ever.

--
Lynn

DeWitt Training Blog

noreply@blogger.com (The Neologist) — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 20:25:00 +0000

Paul DeWitt has started a new blog in which he intends to document his training for Across the Years, which he estimates will be about 60 miles a week, and at which he aims to get 165 miles for 24 hours. That would set a new US record. The blog is titled Dirt, Wood, and Books.

With Scott Jurek in the same race, who has hinted that he may also have his eye on the record, it appears we will have some excitement in the 24-hour race this year.

Read Paul's blog, and maybe you will be able to keep up with him!

--
Lynn

Enrollment Done!

noreply@blogger.com (The Neologist) — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 02:10:00 +0000

On August 5th the ATY organizers got together and selected the roster of runners for the 2007 races. There may be adjustments to the list over the next few months, but for the moment it is complete.

You can view the link by visiting the Who's Coming link in the navigation bar. Be sure to view the pictures and biographies of runners. We are still trying to acquire information for many of the newcomers, but this will be added as it becomes available.

Congratulations to those runners who were selected! We have the strongest field in the race's history coming to Nardini Manor in December.

We deeply regret that circumstances are not such that we have room for everyone who would like to run at Across the Years. It breaks our heart to have to tell those who could not get in that they will have to try again in the future.

There are now less than five months to race day. We wish the runners a happy and healthy training period. See you in December.

Enrollment On Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (The Neologist) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 16:44:00 +0000

We announced that ATY Enrollment — running the lottery and all the rest that goes with it — would be accomplished on August 5th or soon thereafter. Today is August 5th, and I'm happy to say we are pretty much on schedule. It's our plan to get together tonight and work through everything.

However, we want to urge everyone to exercise some patience. There is some important system updating that will be necessary, and we wish to announce everything at once, so it may be Monday or even Tuesday before it is all done.

Persons who are selected for the race will be notified by email. Those who were not will also be notified by email.

We have far more people registered than we have room for, so we need to forewarn you that quite a few people will be denied. Be assured that we feel as bad about this as will those who cannot get in, but the reality of the race is that we have limited space and simply must draw the line.

--
Lynn Newton
ATY Webmaster