Hot To Trot 8 Hour Race
August 7, 2004
Atlanta, Georgia

Weather almost forced us to postpone the Hot To Trot 8 Hour Race. Record low temperatures greeted us race morning, and many of the volunteers were actually in jackets for the first few hours. I hated to ruin the race reputation of being delightfully hot and humid. But the runners insisted they could deal with the freak weather, so they were off and running shortly after 8:00 am on August 7, 2004. It was 61 degrees F with only 40% humidity at start.

We were at a new course this year for the fourth annual event. A new cross-country course had been built at Lakeside High School in Atlanta, and we'd been invited to use it. The offer to was too good to pass up. Recent rains had muddied the course a bit, and Coach Eddie Roberts had spent part of the morning hauling sand to fill in the low spots. What a guy! The course is quite a bit more hilly than the old course in Roswell, and all trail except for a pass around the paved track each loop. As such, we expected a slow course. Wrong!

John Dove led from the start, and quite possibly could have continued on to break 50 miles. But John's only goal was to get in a quick 50k and return home for a family funeral. Ray Krolewicz ran a close second for a while, with Scott Ludwig running third. But after John's departure, it became the Neeb-Stroh Show. From the beginning, Alex Neeb and Tim Stroh had been running together and keeping a nice, steady, strong pace. They soon passed both Ray the K and Scott and continued to hammer throughout the day. As it became more and more evident that they would break 50 miles, something we'd all thought
impossible on the slow course, the excitement began to build. The two finally separated for the last few miles, with Alex getting to the Fabulous 50 (50.85 miles, 45 laps) just minutes before Tim. Ray K finished third, with 47.46 miles (42 lap), and Scott Ludwig 4th with 46.3 miles (41 laps). All four received hats provided by Montrail. While both Alex and Tim ran the same distance, Alex gets to claim the course record by being 5 minutes faster at the end.

The women's race wasn't quite as exciting, at least not in the front. Last year's winner and course record holder, Jenna Carver, was injured and only able to power walk a few laps. Jill Egan (36 laps, 40.68 miles), last year's second female, ran away with the lead from the beginning and the new course record. Susan Lance-Parker finished second (34 laps, 38.42 miles), and Paula May third (33 laps, 37.29 miles). The race for fourth place developed later in the day, as the women knew I was going four deep with the highly coveted Montrail "Run Like A Girl" hats. The volunteers let Iva Lightsey and Eliza Weston know they were running for the hats, and the gals both kicked it in gear. In the end, Iva (33 laps, 37.29 miles) was able to hold off Eliza for fourth. In an unprecedented show of gentlemanly conduct, Ray the K presented Eliza with his just-won Montrail hat for having the guts to hang in there those last few loops and give it her best.

Thanks to the generosity of my sponsors, I was finally able to fulfill my goal of having hourly random prizes. Several folks won a pair of Injinji's TetraSocks and Road ID gift certificates. Also, Tom Adair won a pair of Montrail Velocity shoes, and Eliza Weston a subscription to TrailRunner.

Awards were quickly distributed (metal sun sculptures to Alex "Hottest Male" Neeb and Jill "Hottest Female" Egan, in addition to the hats), the race site packed away, and the show was moved to volunteer Debbie Burns' house for the post race party. They'd all been tempted with a swimming pool and cookout. What a perfect way to end the day.

This race always goes smoothly thanks to my incredible volunteers: Janice Anderson, Steve Brady, Sally Brooking, Debbie Burns, Teri Dove, Andrew Hackett, Janet Hudak, Melissa Nelson, Bill Powers and Joseph & Jen Pringle. Without them, this race simply would not happen. Many thanks to our sponsors: Clif Bar, Injinji, Montrail, Road ID, TrailRunner Magazine, Ultrafit Endurance Sports and, most importantly, Lakeside High School's Coach Eddie Roberts.

Complete results are available online @ http://home.earthlink.net/~h2t/

Name, Laps, Time, Miles
Alex Neeb * 45 7:49:10 50.85
Tim Stroh 45 7:55:33 50.85
Ray Krolewicz 42 7:58:54 47.46
Scott Ludwig 41 7:55:13 46.33
Jill Egan (F1) ** 36 7:48:47 40.68
Rob Apple 36 7:51:42 40.68
Steve Michael 35 7:51:55 39.55
Susan Lance-Parker (F2) 34 7:55:11 38.42
Al Barker 34 7:55:12 38.42
William Keane 33 7:42:31 37.29
Paula May (F3) 33 7:49:32 37.29
Iva Lightsey (F4) 33 7:51:41 37.29
John Hog Saunders 33 7:51:59 37.29
Jim Emig 33 7:52:24 37.29
Eliza Weston (F5) 33 7:54:29 37.29
Herb Hedgecock 32 7:25:07 36.16
Brenton Floyd 32 7:46:22 36.16
Raz Estridge (F6) 29 7:48:39 32.77
John Dove 28 4:30:15 31.64
Gary Lewis 28 7:56:21 31.64
Tom Adair 27 7:46:19 30.51
Chuck Savage 26 7:57:51 29.38
Beth Terry (F7) 24 7:32:24 27.12
Susan Maxwell (F8) 20 4:02:55 22.60
Dave Burns 12 2:26:15 13.56
Jenna Carver (F9) 11 2:59:51 12.43
Betty Mae Burrell (F10) 9 4:25:09 10.17

* Male Course Record
** Female Course Record

Sarah Tynes, RD