Runners defend titles in Mt. Ashland Hill Climb - Sports - MailTribune.com - Medford, OR

Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)

2014-08-15

Document text

0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation  |  Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories District board says it won't levy maximum tax rate after all Ashland gets new city parks director Man who tried to blow up DA's office faces 15 years in prison All evacuation advisories lifted for Rogue River Drive fire Jackson County plans low-cost pet vaccination clinic Crime, Courts and Emergency Services All evacuation advisories lifted for Rogue River Drive fire Emergency Services Fire levels historic Phoenix house Medford rainfall hits record, halts fire Short, masked man with a sickle robs Mini Pet Mart Politics and Elections Commissioner Skundrick plans final four town hall meetings Medford eyes electronic sign visual pollution Medford council veterans plan exit Medical marijuana patients run for council seat Former colleagues laud Atiyeh's 'practical' leadership Education Middle schoolers get a taste of college living Abraham Lincoln Elementary parents raise money for new playground State treasurer stumps for educational endowment measure Free meals program expands in Grants Pass Migrant student numbers soar Environment Stressed but off life support Rogue watershed councils plan to merge West Nile Virus found in mosquitoes collected near Central Point State news Nation - World Obituaries Michael Francis Cole Jr. Homer K. Kessler Death Notices Charlotte Beeson Toon Mary Louise (Dickey) Simpson Weather Photo Galleries Videos Web Cams Sports Latest Stories Manfred elected the next MLB commissioner (No heading) Beavers have a heated red zone session (No heading) Thompson Tradition Varsity 541 College Sports Beavers have a heated red zone session Thompson Tradition SOU men picked first, women second in CCC Freshman Hawkins catching on at OSU Running down Heisman contenders not named Jameis Pro Sports Manfred elected the next MLB commissioner (No heading) (No heading) Record Pace Controversial call helps Giants top White Sox Community Sports Results / Standings Second season a success for Rogues Runners defend titles in Mt. Ashland Hill Climb Locals shine in Dwarf Car Nationals opener Mustangs rout Alaska in opener Business Latest Stories If there's a way to fund energy savings, they'll find it Oregon's unemployment rate holds steady Blog: Big boy investors chasing after Grocery Outlet Blog: Once Upon A Time... Blog: AmericanWest owners seeking ways to cash out Real Estate News Median residential housing prices rise 10.7 percent, but may begin to level out People In Business People in business Transportation Medford airport has second-best June ever Agriculture Hail has local pear growers checking for damage Del Rio plans to add 50% more plants Harry & David sets sights on year-round operations Opinion Latest Letters to the Editor, Aug. 14 Our View: Cheers and Jeers George Will: Is the U.S. leaping into a new void? Dana Milbank: Golfing as the world burns Letters to the Editor, Aug. 13 Editorials Our View: Cheers and Jeers Our View: Police body cams provide a valuable tool Other Views: Curbing campus assaults Our View: Dark money flows into Oregon Our View: Cheers and jeers Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Aug. 14 Letters to the Editor, Aug. 13 Letters to the Editor Tuesday, Aug. 12 Letters to the Editor, Aug. 11 Letters to the Editor, Aug. 10 Guest Opinions Who I am and why I want to serve on the City Council City council members should be paid Lifestyle Latest stories Community blog: Spur quicker consumption with quick pickling Community Blog: Is Peace Possible in the Middle East - Part three of four Dutch ovens are a versatile way to cook outdoors Matt’s Favorite Pie Crust Peach Pie Food Community blog: Spur quicker consumption with quick pickling Dutch ovens are a versatile way to cook outdoors Matt’s Favorite Pie Crust Peach Pie Southwestern Baked Chicken Home and Garden Lawn talk Tips for keeping backyard birds cool this summer Bath time for the birds: You can help them stay cool and clean Learn to pick produce at the peak of ripeness Support the mycorrhizae! It could help your plants Health Community blog:Can We Define Quality Health Care? Patient numbers double at local clinics Shaking that plumb-tuckered feeling Community blog:Maybe the Movies Will Lead the Way Asante plans to open big outpatient clinic in Grants Pass Faith Community Blog: Is Peace Possible in the Middle East - Part three of four Religion briefs Community Blog: Is Peace Possible in the Middle East part 2 Religion briefs Community Blog: Peace: The inward passage - by Bonnie Greenwell Milestones and Achievements Century Club New Arrivals Wedding: Schulman-Nadolny Stuss-Bones Births Tempo Latest stories 5 Things to Do This Weekend Third Fridays art walk in Medford Film festival kicks off annual 'Daedalus Project' Review: The joy of 'Godspell' is infectious Delta Halos and The Lures at Club 66 Theater Film festival kicks off annual 'Daedalus Project' Review: The joy of 'Godspell' is infectious Randall Theatre opens 'Godspell' Entertainment 'on the bricks' at OSF 'Shrek' comes to the stage as a musical Music Review: Béla Fleck pairs his banjo with Britt orchestra Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra at Pear Blossom Park Duke Street: 'On the Fly' Fleck to perform banjo concerto Sweet Ghosts at Oberon's Community Events 5 Things to Do This Weekend Dining Basil & Berries India Palace Taco Riendo Uber Herbal Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED   » Obituaries TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW       RUNNING Runners defend titles in Mt. Ashland Hill Climb By Daniel Newberrry for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Daniel Newberrry for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 9, 2014 @ 7:54 pm Updated Aug 10, 2014 at 9:56 PM By Daniel Newberrry for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 9, 2014 @ 7:54 pm Updated Aug 10, 2014 at 9:56 PM MT. ASHLAND HILL CLIMB --> RECAP: Ashland's David Laney and Becka Kem defend their respective titles in the 37th annual event. Laney earns the men's title with a time of 1:47:44 while Kem secures the women's title in 2:11... » Read more X MT. ASHLAND HILL CLIMB RECAP: Ashland's David Laney and Becka Kem defend their respective titles in the 37th annual event. Laney earns the men's title with a time of 1:47:44 while Kem secures the women's title in 2:11:54. »  Social News ASHLAND — Ashland runners David Laney and Becka Kem successfully defended their titles Saturday at the 37th annual Mt. Ashland Hill Climb in perfect course conditions made possible by favorable winds. For the past few years, forest fire smoke has been a wild-card for the nearly 400 runners who each year attempt the 13.3-mile foot race from Lithia Park in Ashland to the summit of Mt. Ashland, a climb with a vertical elevation gain of more than a mile. Though the nearby Oregon Gulch fire was visible to the east from the Mt. Ashland summit, and several smaller fires in California were visible to the south, the course remained smoke-free. Laney, the men's winner, almost didn’t race this year, as he was still feeling the effects of the Western States Endurance Run, his first 100-mile race, run six weeks earlier. "I felt like I wasn't going to run the race," Laney said shortly after winning. "But I knew I'd regret it, and I thought a local should win." Laney's victory was never in question, as he led from the gun, never seeing another runner. He finished 4 minutes, 36 seconds ahead of runner-up Josh Nelson. This race is often described as being two separate races. The first is 13 miles, all runnable. The second is an oxygen-starved, heart-thumping scramble for one-third of a mile up the Upper Tempest ski slope, an anything-goes route where the difficulty is perhaps best measured on a rock climber's scale. "This is the worst part," said Laney. "Usually I can take rocks and boulders and step on them, but it was more like scree this year. Usually you have solid steps. I think it was because there wasn't enough snow this year to pack it down." Laney's winning effort of 1:47:44 was good for fifth on the all-time list. The next dates on his racing calendar call for flatter races. He hopes to run the Rogue Half Marathon next month and perhaps a road marathon in the fall. Several minutes behind Laney, the chase pack battled it out until the final quarter mile. For much of the race, Portland resident Jonathan Talik and former Crater High School standout runner Neil Seibert battled each other for second, with Klamath Falls runner Nelson trailing but within striking distance. "Those guys led through most of the race — 20 to 30 seconds ahead — and I held back until the steep terrain, which is what I'm good at," Nelson said. Nelson passed his two competitors near the bottom of the ski slope. "I've spent a couple of good weeks in the Sierras, around Mt. Whitney, climbing and bouldering," said Nelson. "It's what I like. The steeper, the better." Kem found herself trailing a woman she didn't recognize for the first three miles of the race. Because Kem has missed quite a bit of training recently, she decided to let the other woman go. "My priorities have been mother, work, running," Kem said. "I haven't trained a lot because of my new business ... I'm still in startup mode." Kem is a former school teacher who recently opened a children's art studio in Ashland, an endeavor that has proved to be a marathon in its own right. "I wasn't planning on really competing, I was just going to run within myself today," said Kem. "But when I got to Four Corners (mile 6.5), I picked it up to see how I was feeling." Knowing she was in the lead, she pushed harder. At the base of the ski slope she had a pleasant surprise. "I felt better when I got to the scramble, so I was able to run some of it, where last year I had to walk all of it," she said. Though Kem's time of 2:11:54 was more than two minutes behind her winning time from last year, it was still good for fourth on the all-time list and put her 19 minutes, 13 seconds ahead of runner-up Corinne Fletcher of Portland. Kem was the runner-up at last month's Siskiyou Out Back 50 kilometer run in Ashland. The next date on her race calendar is another ultramarathon, the Flagline 50K in Bend in September. The masters division winners were Francis O'Neill (2:09:14, Ashland) and Lorelei Phillips (2:47:12, Phoenix). The Mt. Ashland Hill Climb is a fundraiser for the Ashland Woodlands and Trails Association. The race has a new logo this year, introduced by incoming race director, Joseph Chick. The change in management happened rather quickly. In June, Chick and Torsten Heycke, the race director for the past 11 years, were working at an aid station at the Western States Endurance Run near Auburn, Calif., when Heycke suggested he pass the baton to Chick. "I was at the wrong place at the wrong time," Chick joked. For full race results, visit http://ultraopinions.com/mtashlandrun/results/ MEN'S RESULTS (Top 10)  — 1. David Laney, Ashland, 1:47:44; 2. Josh Nelson, Klamath Falls, 1:52:20; 3. Johnathan Talik, Portland, 1:53:00; 4. Neil Seibert, Portland, 1:55:15; 5. Ryan Kaiser, Bend, 1:58:42; 6. Jonathan Marcus, Portland, 2:01:11; 7. Lindon Powell, Ashland, 2:01:19; 8. Nathan Einbinder, Ashland, 2:02:49; 9. Cary Dunagan, Ashland, 2:03:34; 10. Francis O'Neill, Ashland, 2:09:14. WOMEN'S RESULTS (Top 10)  — 1. Becka Kem, Ashland, 2:11:54; 2. Corinne Fletcher, Portland, 2:31:07; 3. Nikki Dinger, Phoenix, 2:35:56; 4. Stacie Truitt, Roseburg, 2:45:44; 5. Lorelei Phillips, Phoenix, 2:47:12; 6. Mary Hough, Ashland, 2:47:36; 7. Kristen Bell, Roseburg, 2:50:01; 8. Sarah Strickler, Central Point, 2:51:58; 9. Lucy Whitridge, Ashland, 2:52:36; 10. Emily Halmon, Eugene, 2:52:44. Daniel Newberry is a freelance writer living in the Applegate Valley. Email him at [email protected] By Daniel Newberrry for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Daniel Newberrry for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 9, 2014 @ 7:54 pm Updated Aug 10, 2014 at 9:56 PM »  STAY INFORMED   Email NewsLetter   Sign Up Today   Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. fantasy football Bortles Impresses Again in 2nd Preseason Game  Aug. 14, 2014 at 10:28 pm Fantasy Owners Should Steer Clear of Foster  Aug. 14, 2014 at 9:10 pm Lee's Instant Fantasy Reaction   Aug. 14, 2014 at 8:57 pm West Represents Great Value in Fantasy Drafts  Aug. 14, 2014 at 8:55 pm Martin Won't Be a Reliable Fantasy RB  Aug. 14, 2014 at 8:07 pm Lynch's Price Tag Makes Him Risky for Fantasy  Aug. 14, 2014 at 7:34 pm calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed   Email newsletter   Sign Up Today   Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.    Privacy Policy  |  Terms of Service  |  Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501