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RAZ :-)

Subject: Rob Apple

Having followed Rob's accomplishments over the past few years, I note
that he seems to be running even more ultras per year than he used to:

1/23/93 Rob Apple finishes his 100th ultra at the Stone Mountain 50m
5/ 9/98 Rob Apple finishes his 200th ultra at the Massanutten Mtn. 100m
5/18/02 Rob Apple finishes his 300th ultra at the Bishop High Sierra 50k
1/29/05 Rob Apple finishes his 400th ultra at the Mountain Mist 50k

Congratulations, Rob!

Stan

P.S. Rob - what was your first ultra and when)?

Many kudos go out to Dink and Suzanne Taylor and their
tough volunteers for providing one great, unforgetful
event at the Mountain Mist 50K. This course is always
brutal but this year they were able to top themselves.
Kudos to overall male and female winners DeWayne
Satterfield and Courtney Smith for their outstanding
performances in totally deplorable conditions. I also
wish to chime in and congratulate Rob Apple on his
400th. He really earned this notch on his water
bottle!

I'm really looking forward to what the Taylors decide
to throw at us in 2006!

Jeff Bryan
Tallahassee, Florida
 

        Just got back from Alabama this evening, and am relaxing
with slightly sore legs. The results are already posted at:
http://www.huntsvilletrackclub.org/HTC_Races/mm04/index.htm
        This was a new ultra for me, and was most enjoyable.
Dink Taylor and wife and the HTC hosted a nice ultra. My running
pal Juli and I headed out from Louisville Friday morning with
the worry of the ice storm to contend with. As we drove up to
Mt Sano that evening it seemed that there would be the ice to
contend with, since the windshield was beginning to ice over.
Oh well, you can't do much about the weather, but worry.
        We settled down at the lodge and enjoyed the pre-race
pasta, as the other runners filtered in to also enjoy. Seeing
runners we had met at other runs and sharing hellos. Meeting
others. Having Dink and his wife welcome us so graciously.
Having the HTC meterologist guru explain the weather and
the prediction of possible icing on Mt Sano, and all of the
talk of maybe cancelling/delaying the run. Of running out
of bread during the meal. Of saying hello's to Sally
Brooking, Marty Coleman, Mike Dobies, Tom Possert, Joe Kyser,
Susan and JJ, Andy and Ruth, DeWayne, and others we had
met before. There were more door prizes than people present,
so we all went away with socks and other stuff as the night
wound down. Still we all wondered if the run would have
to be delayed due to weather.
        Fortunately the worst of the ice storm stayed
south. Juli and I drove up to the start Saturday only to
park on the mountaintop with a thin flim of ice, but none
on the road. It was nice that we could check in in the
warmth of the lodge. More time to mingle with friends,
eat a Krystal donut, and say a hello to Joe and Allison
Kallo, and tell stories before heading outside to start
our icy cool run. A quick hello to Wes Fenton and Rob
Apple as the starting gun had us on our way. Took me
a few seconds to find Juli in the 240 runners. We were
off on the short section of road. Easy running, and
we near the back of the pack. Got to say hello to
Dan (Dirt) Thompson as we crunched along the icy trail
before going ahead. [He's my idol and inspiration for
running across Kentucky in the future.]
        As the run progressed, I had to laugh at how
Dink had mentioned the night before about how dry the
trail had been only a few days before, and how little
mud he had encountered. Sounded like what I had told
the KUTS runners the year before. KUTS then would have
been nearly dry and ideal; sort of like how Mt Mist
might have been this year. But we had flooding at KUTS
the night before, and Mt Mist this year had wet conditions
to contend with. It seemed like we were running thru mud
a third of the time during the run. It was something
which just couldn't be avoided, and Juli and I had learned
our lesson well; go straight thru it. That worked all
day without losing shoes in the muck or having to dance
on the edges or finding ourselves horizontal in the
mire. We had some slippery times trying to scamper
up and down a few spots and ended up with muddy hand
prints on our butts where we had to help each other
along. We were near the back of the pack and had to
think about the cutoffs, and sliding up and down the
trails. Even though we were only 8-15 minutes ahead of
the cutoffs during the last few aid stations, we
finished nearly 45 minutes before the time limit;
seems maybe they have the cutoffs a little too meager.
        Even with the ice on top of the hill, the run
went well; definitely a to-do again. We were very
surprised at all of the gel packets, cups, and candy
bar wrappers littering the trail - worst I had ever
seen :-( Had a good time at Duffy's later eating the
white chili and mingling with others. Great way to
end the run.

Best to all,
Herb (Love'n The Hills next) Hedgecock



I'd like to second those kudos!  Dink and Suzanne do an excellent job every
year no matter what is thrown at them.  Dink really cares about the runners
and strives to provide a challenging yet fun race.  This year he told me he
could not sleep for worries over the possible icy road conditions leading up
to the race start.  My hat is off to the cadre of volunteers who performed
flawless in miserable conditions.  The temp hung just around freezing with a
mix of rain and sleet off and on.  Dink and Suzanne, thanks for a great
race!

DeWayne Satterfield



It's official, the ultrarunners of the great state of Alabama are crazy.

What an unbelievable race: up and down a mountain in footing that appeared to consist of Jello pudding strewn with jagged boulders. In the rain. Oh, and then there's the spot where the event turns from a trail race to rock climbing. Straight up.

Does the insurer *know* what actually goes on out there?!

Wow, what a race, thanks to all volunteers for 50k of, err, heck. :-)

Great event. If you live in the Southeast, you gotta try it. Forget that ... no
matter where you live, you gotta try it.

Chase
Zephyrhills, FL