50K (5 myriameter) and 5 Mile Runs

This inaugural race, first of its kind at Forest Glen and the second and final race in the East Central Trail Ultra Series, took place on October 15, 2011.  Organized by two individuals from the Champaign-Urbana area, Dr. Bob O'Brien and Mike Ingrum, it was a fundraiser for the Vermilion County Conservation District Foundation.  As promised, all registration fees went directly to the Foundation.  The 5-mile course wandered along streams and the Vermilion River on Forest Glen's River Ridge Backpack Trail.  The course covered approximately 2,000 feet altitude changes with each lap; resulting in 12,000 feet over the six lap race, making this the "most challenging 50K race in the Midwest."  It did not disappoint! Participants were tempted with a race shirt, finisher medal, prize drawings, and of course, aspirations of setting the course record of this brand-new race.

It turned out to be a beautiful fall day, and a bit windy.  The temperature started in the high 40's, edging up into the mid 60's with sunny skies.  An excerpt from QCRunner.blogspot.com: "The difficulty of the course started to dawn on me during the first loop.  Very little level ground, very little run-able for length of time.  Lots of up and down.  How much?  Around 13,500 ft of climb and 13,500 feet of drop for a 30-mile race.  Instead of a typical 5-6 hour finish for a modest trail run 30 miles or 50K, I was looking at an 8-hour plus finish.  Was not planning on racing, but was certainly planning on finishing quicker.  GPS elevation plot showed elevations as high as 800 ft and as low as 400 ft.  Not huge, but constantly varying elevation.  Some slopes hand over hand ascent.  See GPS data."

The organizers really enjoyed the event and are planning for next year already.  There were 28 officially registered with 7 no shows; 8 in the 50K and 13 in the 5-mile.  Nine unofficial runners participated, 1 in the 50K and 8 in the 5-mile.  There were 20 official finishers; 7 in the 50K and 13 in the 5-mile as follows: