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Capon Valley 50K Run 2001 Report(WV):

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!