| RECORD BREAKING WIN FOR PACHECO, CROSBY-HELMS COMES CLOSE
Congratulations to Jorge Pacheco on his fourth win at LD50! Running with 3rd place finisher Oswaldo Lopez through mile 13.4 aid station, Jorge then took the lead, crossing the finish line in 6:29:15, cutting more than 5 1/2 minutes off his 2006 course record. Second and fourth place finishers Kevin Sullivan and Tom Nielsen stuck together until after the Green Valley aid station where Kevin slowly put some ground between them.
The women's division hosted "the young and the restless" (& fastest) this year with 25 year old Devon Crosby-Helms coming in 5th O/A, less than 2 minutes off Krissy Moehl's 2006 record. Second woman and 9th O/A in a tough field of male & female competitors was 24 year old Christine Ensign. Quite an impressive accomplishment in her first 50 miler.
In addition to Jorge's new course and A/G record, the 1999 record for female 60 & better was obliterated by Nancy March, 60, of Cool, California. Nancy neatly trimmed a whopping 2:13:34 off the record set by San Diego's Betty Frankum. I'm guessing Nancy's record will hold at least as long as Betty's did.
The 4th annual Spring Chicken Sprint had it's largest field to date with 14 youngsters at the starting line. Founder of "Running Times" Magazine and local runner, Ed Ayres took home the winners trophy. LD 50 veteran Joanie Matheson was first woman.
Seventy year old Gary Miller and 61 yr old Joe Magruder are two of the most familiar faces at LD, having missed only one or two out of 17. Marv Powers, one of the key trail maintenance guys, celebrated his 80th, yes 80th, birthday by running the Sprint with long time friend Ollie Biederman. This guy can outwork any lumberjack on the trail any day.
Trail work, race organization, aid stations, radio communication, and finish line are all done by volunteers, to whom we are deeply indebted. For 17 years many of the same people have given their time to help make the Leona Divide what it is today. My heartfelt thanks to all of you!
I also sincerely thank our sponsors for their generosity: Tom Hester and Cornerstone Display Group, Inc. (designs, builds, and donates custom awards), Leona Valley Winery, Dirty Girl Gaiters (Chrissy Weiss), Moeben Sleeves (Shannon Farar-Griefer), TYR Sport (sport items for raffle), Micah White and Vincenzo's Pizza (supplied lots of yummy pizza to aid stations), and Clif Bar.
For a really entertaining re-cap of the 2008 Leona Divide check out what LD finisher Charlie Nickell has to say on The Run Down website.
About
The Race
The Leona Divide Fifty Miler began 16 years ago and is now
one of the premiere Ultra Marathons in California. As a
Non-Profit event, it is supported by generous sponsors
and many volunteers, without
whom the race would not be possible. A generous
portion of the proceeds are donated to the Painted
Turtle Childrens' Camp of Lake Hughes. They greatly
appreciate your support for the race.
The
course will remain the same as the last few
years with about 34 miles of Pacific Crest Trail and 16 miles of dirt roads in the Angeles National Forest. As we did last year, we will offer a 28.4 mile option for runners 60+ years of age which follows the first 24.5 miles of the 50 miler, then heads directly back to the finish in Lake Hughes. 10 well-stocked aid stations cover the course of the 50 miler. The 28.4 miler passes through four of those before it returns to the finish.
Awards are presented to the first male and first female overall, as well as within each age group for the 50 mile run. The number of awards in each age group will be determined by the number of entries. First overall male & female in the 50 will receive lifetime free entry to the race and first male & female in each age group receive free 2009 entry. Also, runners in either race receive a LD fleece blanket and a $25 gift card from the Leona Valley Winery, and each official finisher receives a finisher shirt. Special awards go to the 1st man and 1st woman overall in the 28.4 mile run. On top of all that, loads of great prizes donated by race sponsors are raffled off to runners.
Photos will be taken on the course by Lori from Shoot Me Photography and can be ordered from their website.
Lodging
is available a 30 min. drive away in Palmdale, also at the Rock Inn across the street from the race.No Camping
is allowed at the Start/Finish.
Lake Hughes (across the street from the race)
Rock Inn (661) 724-1855, or www.harleysrockinn.com
Palmdale
(30 min. Drive to Start):
- Ramada
Inn (661) 273-1200
-
E-Z 8 Motel (661) 273-6400
-
Super8 Motel (661) 273-8000
-
Motel 6 (661) 272-0600
- Holiday
Inn (661) 947-8055
- Days
Inn (661) 273-1400
- Best
Western (661) 573-9322
Castaic
(40 min. Drive to Start):
- Comfort
Inn (661) 295-1100
- Days
Inn (661) 295-1070
Spunky
Canyon Campground:
- Closed
due to flood damage
Cottonwood
Campground:
- 21
Miles northeast of Castaic on Lake Hughes Rd
- 22
campsites, vault toilets, picnic tables, fire rings;
No potable water. Adventure Pass required.
- More
info:www.FS.FED.US/R5/ANGELES
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