Saturday, May 15, 2004 -- Yellow Spring - Capon Valley, WV
Capon Valley 50K Run (iPO Event Id#: 5713)
Photos by Don Parks

[Details] [Coverage]
[Overall Results]
Pictures: [Set 1] [Set 2] [Set 3] [Set 4] [Set 5] [Set 6] [Set 7] [Set 8] [Set 9]
[Set 10] [Set 11] [Set 12] [Set 13] [Set 14] [Set 15] [Set 16] [Set 17] [Set 18] [Set 19] [Set 20] [Set 21] [Set 22] [Set 23] Past Coverage: [1999] [2000] [2001] [2002] [2003]

Crossing creeks in Capon Valley

Runners began arriving for our 6th annual Capon Valley 50K Run early Friday afternoon, May 14th. We had lots of campers, and we had a record 186 runners start from 19 states, aged 18 to 64. There was a tie for first at 3:49, with our hikers arriving in just over 8 hours. See the statistics for names and times.

The staff was a little anxious about the increase in the number of runners, but other than a little scrambling behind the scenes to keep the aid stations well stocked, it went very well. The only line we saw all day was at the showers at the end of the race.

The Ruritan outdid itself with its wonderful chicken barbecue dinner, pasta salad and wonderful home made desserts. There were even vegetarian ribs!

Off and running to check point #1

We had a record number of first time Capon Valley runners, but many of our returning runners were very puzzled... something was missing... ah ha! It was not raining! The day was wonderful, albeit just a tad humid for runners.

Due to the nice weather, we had an awesome starting ceremony that brought tears to many eyes - our national anthem combined with the raising of the American colors followed by the release of a gorgeous flock of white doves - compliments of Great North Mountain Doves and our friend Lisa Green. We hope this will become a tradition. Lisa not only arranged the moving dove release but also rode her 21 year old endurance horse, Spry, for 25 miles of the trail, and walked the final 2.4 miles behind the runners to assure all were safe and accounted for.

Just a few of the many great volunteers

At the runner check in before the race, Rosie heard one of the funniest comments of the day. When handed his map, the color drained from the face of a runner running his first ultra, and he asked in a panicked voice "YOU MEAN THE TRAIL IS NOT MARKED - WE HAVE TO FOLLOW A MAP????!!!" She reassured him before he collapsed! We get great comments about our trail marking (and we bicker endlessly while marking, accusing each other of spoiling the runners with way too many ribbons)!

We have absolutely the best long-suffering volunteers who get a real kick out of watching the runners as they progress through the race. Our crew at stops 1 & 6, headed by Bonnie and David Thompson, see the runners at their best and worst! It's amazing how far you can go on M&M's and Advil! We try to offer the best of run diets but we find that the cravings vary from year to year. Anyone need any peanut butter?

Sneaking a little shade on the way to the finish

The runner awards, counter savers (tempered glass cutting boards) with a picture along the run trail, given in lieu of T-shirts, were also a special hit. As we handed them to runners, we said "Here's your T-shirt." One runner said that he was going to have trouble pinning his number to it! Some runners wondered what they would wear home, because they had planned to wear their run t-shirt having brought no other.

Oh, and to all the runners who asked... there were plenty of flat places on the trail... the bridge across the river, the old airstrip before stop #3, the beautiful trail along the old and historic railroad bed, and the hayfield by the river! Other than that... guess what.

We were so impressed by runner Kev Hawn who did the MMT 100 last weekend, and then strolled through our 50K with his wife, Faye (his 6th Capon Valley 50K). Way to go Kev!

It was our best ever run, and we thank all of our incredible volunteers who with their kindness and attention to detail made it such an impressive event. Once again, all proceeds from the run will support the Capon Springs Volunteer Fire and Rescue, the Ruritan Club and Edgebrook.org. I have already received endless compliments via e-mail from the runners, thanks so much for your kind words and we hope to see you next year, y'all.

Lynn Golemon, Race Director