Run It Fast®

The Black Diamond 40 Miler

Castilian Springs native Greg Armstrong won the Black Diamond 40 Miler on November 28, 2014 finishing with a time of 5:46:21. He was able to hold off Joshua Holmes who finished in second place with a time of 5:53:15.

Third place went to ultramarathon newbie Randy Broadway with a time of 6:38:20.

The win for Armstrong was his second run of the course as he arrived at midnight, in freezing temperatures, and ran the course by himself for a warmup as part of his training for the Desert Solstice 24 Hour on December 14th.

Christy Scott was the first female across the line in 6:41:48, fourth overall. Second place went to Kendra Schoffstall in 7:26:31 and third place was held down by Beiyi Zheng in 8:36:46.

2014 Black Diamond 40 Miler Results
1. Greg Armstrong – 5:46:21
2. Joshua Holmes – 5:53:15
3. Randy Broadway – 6:38:20
4. Christy Scott (1st Female) – 6:41:48
5. Anthony Ohrey – 6:54:13
6. Danny Staggs – 7:22:25
7. Kendra Schoffstall (2nd Female) – 7:26:31
8. Kevin Gerteisen – 7:26:31
9. Rob Philip – 7:28:10
10. Beiyi Zheng (3rd Female) – 8:36:46
11. Amanda Staggs – 8:55:53
12. Sandy Staggs – 8:55:53
13. David Oglesby – 8:58:10
14. Daniel Wilson – 9:21:35
15. Diane Taylor – 10:35:21
DNF – Chris Estes (mi31)
DNS – David Wingard, Bill Wells, Israel Chaffin, James Barnard, Sulaiman Seriki

The Black Diamond 40 Miler Relay Race

The Black Diamond 40 Miler Relay was won by the team Just a Blur III, consisting of Steven Reagan, Shayne Fawcett, Klyne Fawcett, and Cody Whitehead, with a blitzkrieg time of 4:30:11 which easily set a new course record.

2014 Black Diamond 40 Mile Relay Results
1. Just a Blur III – 4:30:15 (CR)
2. Asphalt Runners – 5:37:08
3. Black Diamond Over 40’s – 5:38:55
4. Lenahan Learning (2 person) – 5:47:38
5. The Fab 40’s – 6:09:56

The Double Black Diamond 40 Miler

Nashville’s Francesca Muccini won the Double Black Diamond 40 Miler on November 29, 2014 with a time of 6:30:43.  Joshua Holmes finished second once again with a time of 6:41:36 on his second day of running the 40 Mile race. Third place went to Illinois native Heather Zeigler in 6:45:33.

2014 Double Black Diamond 40 Miler Results
1. Francesca Muccini – 6:30:43 (1st female)
2. Joshua Holmes – 6:41:36 (1st male, Day 2 B2B 40s)
3. Heather Zeigler – 6:45:33 (2nd female)
4. John Leighton – 8:02:35 (2nd male)
5. Kevin Gerteisen – 8:11:53 (3rd male, Day 2 B2B 40s)
6. Kendra Schoffstall – 8:11:53 (3rd female, Day 2 B2B 40s)
7. Joseph Nance – 8:23:24
8. Diane Bolton – 9:18:38
9. Rob Apple – 9:18:38
10. Terri Durbin – 9:52:28
11. Steve Durbin – 9:52:28
12. Mary ‘Vickie’ McDonald – 10:40:28
13. Diane Taylor – 12:25:17 (Day 2, B2B 40s)

DNS – Bill Baker, Anthony Ohrey, David Wingard, Bill Wells, Israel Chaffin

Four runners ran both the Black Diamond 40 Miler and Double Black Diamond 40 Miler including Holmes, Kendra Schoffstall, Kevin Gerteisen, and Diane Taylor.

We are down to two months left in 2014. It is crazy how fast time goes by. Especially when you’re having fun! And what’s more fun than racing, right?

I love watching the race points accrue each month and seeing how the lineup changes. We have had a bit of a shake-up in the top male leaderboard. Holding on to first place, of course, is RIF #121 Ed Ettinghausen. Ed “The Jester”, after updating his points and tacking on an extra almost 1000 points, comes in at 3463.8 points for the year through October. Holding on to second place is RIF #1 Joshua Holmes with 1305.3 points. However, RIF #190 John Kent Leighton has taken over third place with 1182.9 points. Way to go, John!

The ladies are all holding on to their spots, for the time being. In first place with 1212.56 points is RIF #159 Diane Bolton. Coming in at  a close second is RIF #323 Jennifer Hatcher with 1026.9 points. Also close behind in third place is RIF #287 Carol Earles with 867.3 points. I will be interested to see where each of these ladies stand at the end of November.

Here are the standings through October:

Extreme Racer Top 10 Leaderboard

1. Ed Ettinghausen – 3463.8 (RIF #121)
2. Joshua Holmes – 1305.3 (RIF #1)
3. Diane Bolton – 1212.56 (RIF #159)
4. John Kent Leighton – 1182.9 (RIF #190)
5. George Southgate – 1063.63 (RIF #279)
6. Jennifer Hatcher – 1026.9 (RIF #323)
7. Carol Earles – 867.3 (RIF #287)
8. Shane Tucker – 802.66 (RIF #337)
9. Hideki Kinoshita – 751.8 (RIF #88)
10. Heather Zeigler – 745.2 (RIF #246)

Extreme Racer Male Leaderboard

1. Ed Ettinghausen – 3463.8 (RIF #121)
2. Joshua Holmes – 1305.3 (RIF #1)
3. John Kent Leighton – 1182.9 (RIF #190)
4. George Southgate – 1063.63 (RIF #279)
5. Shane Tucker – 802.66 (RIF #337)
6. Hideki Kinoshita – 751.8 (RIF #88)
7. Denis McCarthy – 638.12 (RIF #263)
8. Bill Wells – 607.4 (RIF #327)
9. Jeff Le – 547.6 (RIF #248)
10. Danny Staggs – 468.7 (RIF #186)
11. Jeff Liu – 454.4 (RIF #275)
12. Rob Distante – 255.81 (RIF #259)
13. Arland Blanton – 243.7 (RIF #290)
14. Ben Pennington – 207.6 (RIF #315)
15. Bill Baker – 160.6 (RIF 196)
16. Eric Waterman – 133.33 (RIF #289)
17. Jeff Van Demark – 130.8 (RIF #322)
18. Eric Spencer – 121.23 (RIF #320)
19. Nathan Bass – 106.8 (RIF #174)
20. Stephen Griffin – 88.9 (RIF #48)
21. Robin Robbins – 85.6 (RIF #33)
22. Alex Barrientos – 41.7 (RIF #258)
23. Dennis Arriaga – 39.3 (RIF #140)
24. Brennan Thompson – 37.4 (RIF #274)
25. Jason Scott – 26.2 (RIF #265)
26. Steven Reagan – 16.2 (RIF #157)

Extreme Racer Female Leaderboard

1. Diane Bolton – 1212.56 (RIF #159)
2. Jennifer Hatcher – 1026.9 (RIF #323)
3. Carol Earles – 867.3 (RIF #287)
4. Heather Zeigler – 745.2 (RIF #246)
5. Robin Mancinelli – 613 (RIF #134)
6. Suzanne Michelson – 610.4 (RIF #280)
7. Belinda Young – 589.7 (RIF #358)
8. Christy Scott – 422.2 (RIF #231)
9. Kim Crowe – 371.8 (RIF #245)
10. Donna England – 370.63 (RIF #277)
11. Amanda Staggs – 367.4 (RIF #210)
12. Alicia Eno – 319.1 (RIF #126)
13. Christy Bowers – 253.97 (RIF #60)
14. Marj Mitchell – 248 (RIF #4)
15. Julia Beavers – 233.1 (RIF #339)
16. Tiffani Glass – 189.1 (RIF #328)
17. Amber Goetz-Bouchard – 172.8 (RIF #15)
18. Shannon Miller – 153.3 (RIF #338)
19. Sue Stephens-Wright – 133.99 (RIF #321)
20. Michelle Lenahan – 114.8 (RIF #283)
21. Lisa Gonzales – 48 (RIF #5)
22. Kristen Love – 26.2 (RIF #238)
23. Natalie Torres – 13.1 (RIF #72)
24. Deb Palmer-Distante – 13.1 (RIF #351)

Even though there are only two months left in the year, there are still a lot of great races where you can rack up on points. I know several RIF members dominated at Tunnel Hill 100/50 miler this weekend, and other races coming up like Run It Fast’s own Black Diamond, Double Black Diamond, and Sequoyah at the end of this month. Anything can happen.

Whatever you do, keep running, keep racing and keep inspiring others.

[Extreme Racer points are rewarded per each racing mile completed. Example: marathon = 26.2 points, half marathon 13.1 points, etc.]

Tabatha Hamilton was the female winner of the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon on Saturday finishing in 2:55:39 seconds. A very fast time for a female finisher of any marathon. And even more impressive is the way she closed in posting one of the biggest negative splits in marathon history by running the last 13.1 miles in 49 minutes, after she had, in comparison, slowly ran the first half in 2 hours 6 minutes and 51 seconds.

Red flags were flown immediately upon analysis of the numbers and the race officials of the race disqualified Hamilton for finishing too fast aka cheating.

Race officials determined that it was impossible for Hamilton to cover the last half of the marathon in 49 minutes after finishing the first 13.1 miles in 2:06:51, according to the Chattanooga Track Club.

The 31-year-old Trenton, Ga., resident told at least one person, when asked if she did the full marathon, that she ran all 26.2 miles, crossed the final timing mat at 2 hours, 55 minutes, 39 seconds.

She was removed from the official results Sunday night.

Contacted early this afternoon, Hamilton told the Times Free Press that no one had told her she had been disqualified, and she insisted again that she completed the full marathon. She disputed the reported time for her first 13.1 miles, saying that her husband was looking at his watch as she ran by and called out to her then that she was at 1:36:51. [Chattanooga Times Free Press

Nashville’s Lillian Gilmer, from Nashville, finished a distance second in 3:21:28 to Hamilton but having actually ran all 26.2 miles. Gilmer has now been named the rightful winner of the 2014 Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon. Congratulations to Lillian!

More and more stories of cheating are starting to pop up at marathons and ultramarathons across the country. There is also probably a good bit of doping going on as well by those looking for a competitive edge to be the king or queen of the amateurs.

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Anthem Wicked 10K that took place on October 25, 2014 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[medal photo submitted by Darius – @dzoid11]

Kenya’s Wilson Kipsang won the 2014 New York City Marathon this morning in a time of 2:10:59 with a final kick to best Ethiopia’s L. Desisa Benti who finished just 7 seconds back in 2:11:06.

Third place went to Gebre Gebremariam (Ethiopia) in 2:12:13.

Reigning Boston Marathon Champion, Meb Keflezighi (USA) finished in 4th place, first American, in 2:13:17. Fellow American’s Ryan Vail, 2:15:07, and Nick Arciniaga, 2:15:38, finished 9th and 10th to round out the top ten.

The women’s winner of the 2014 New York City Marathon was Kenya’s Mary Keitany in 2:25:04 just holding off fellow countrywoman Jemima Sumgong in 2:25:06

Portugal’s Sara Moreira made the podium with a third place finish of 2:25:59.

Desiree Linden was the first American woman to finish, 5th overall, in 2:28:10. The other Top 10 USA finisher was Annie Bersagel who finished in 2:33:01 for 10th place.

2014 New York City Marathon Elite Top 10 Results

Congrats to all the finishers of the 2014 New York City Marathon. #NYCMarathon

Happy October! Autumn, my favorite season, is now in full swing and this is one of the best racing months of the year. The Extreme Racer competition is getting very exciting and there are only 3 months left in the year. However, this time of year hosts some of the best races in the world of running.

Continuing to lead the way on the male leaderboard and set the standard for all things awesome is RIF #121 Ed Ettinghausen with 2,584.8 points. Next is RIF #1 Joshua Holmes with 1,205.3 points. Not far behind Joshua in third place is RIF #270 George Southgate with 999.53 points.

On the female leaderboard, RIF #159 Diane Bolton holds the lead with 1,083.96 points and is closely followed by RIF #323 Jennifer Hatcher with 935.2 points. RIF #287 Carol Earles is in third place with 768.4 points.

Extreme Racer Top 10 Leaderboard

1. Ed Ettinghausen – 2584.8 (RIF #121)
2. Joshua Holmes – 1205.3 (RIF #1)
3. Diane Bolton – 1083.96 (RIF #159)
4. George Southgate – 999.53 (RIF#279)
5. John Kent Leighton – 985.1 (RIF #190)
6. Jennifer Hatcher – 935.2 (RIF #323)
7. Carol Earles – 768.4 (RIF #287)
8. Heather Zeigler – 692.8 (RIF #246)
9. Hideki Kinoshita – 673.2 (RIF #88)
10. Shane Tucker – 637.16 (RIF #337)

Extreme Racer Male Leaderboard

1. Ed Ettinghausen – 2584.8 (RIF #121)
2. Joshua Holmes – 1205.3 (RIF #1)
3. George Southgate – 999.53 (RIF #279)
4. John Kent Leighton – 985.1 (RIF #190)
5. Shane Tucker – 768.16 (RIF #337)
6. Hideki Kinoshita – 673.2 (RIF #88)
7. Bill Wells – 568.1 (RIF #327)
8. Denis McCarthy – 533.32 (RIF #263)
9. Jeff Le – 516.6 (RIF #248)
10. Danny Staggs – 468.7 (RIF #186)
11. Jeff Liu – 454.4 (RIF #275)
12. Rob Distante – 255.8 (RIF #259)
13. Ben Pennington – 207.6 (RIF #315)
14. Bill Baker – 160.6 (RIF #196)
15. Arland Blanton – 160.3 (RIF #290)
16. Eric Waterman – 133.33 (RIF #289)
17. Eric Spencer – 121.23 (RIF #320)
18. Jeff Van Demark – 111.5 (RIF #322)
19. Nathan Bass – 106.8 (RIF #174)
20. Stephen Griffin – 88.9 (RIF #48)
21. Robin Robbins – 85.6 (RIF #33)
22. Alex Barrientos – 41.7 (RIF #258)
23. Dennis Arriaga – 39.3 (RIF #140)
24. Brennan Thompson – 37.4 (RIF #274)
25. Jason Scott – 26.2 (RIF #265)
26. Steven Reagan – 16.2 (RIF #157)

Extreme Racer Female Leaderboard

1. Diane Bolton – 1083.96 (RIF #159)
2. Jennifer Hatcher – 935.2 (RIF #323)
3. Carol Earles – 768.4 (RIF #287)
4. Heather Zeigler – 692.8 (RIF #246)
5. Robin Mancinelli – 555.6 (RIF #134)
6. Suzanne Michelson – 545.6 (RIF #280)
7. Belinda Young – 532.5 (RIF #358)
8. Kim Crowe – 340.8 (RIF #245)
9. Donna England – 339.9 (RIF #277)
10. Christy Scott – 326.2 (RIF #231)
11. Amanda Staggs – 288.8 (RIF #210)
12. Alicia Eno – 272 (RIF #126)
13. Julia Beavers – 233.1 (RIF #339)
14. Marj Mitchell – 218.7 (RIF #4)
15. Christy Bowers – 210.57 (RIF #60)
16. Tiffani Glass – 172.9 (RIF #328)
17. Amber Goetz-Bouchard – 172.8 (RIF #15)
18. Sue Stephens-Wright – 133.99 (RIF #321)
19. Shannon Miller – 127.1 (RIF #338)
20. Michelle Lenahan – 114.8 (RIF #283)
21. Kristen Love – 26.2 (RIF #238)
22. Lisa Gonzales – 22.5 (RIF #5)
23. Natalie Torres – 13.1 (RIF #72)
24. Deb Palmer-Distante – 13.1 (RIF #351)

The points are all so close together, and there are plenty of great races coming up where you can get in your extra race miles. Everyone just be sure to play it safe, and have fun!

The winner of the random drawing this month is RIF #186 Danny Staggs!

[Extreme Racer points are rewarded per each racing mile completed. Example: marathon = 26.2 points, half marathon 13.1 points, etc.]

Extreme Racer is open to members of Run It Fast – The Club. You can read more about and join The Club HERE.

Here is the finisher’s medal from the 65th Annual Classique du Parc La Fontaine 10K that took place on October 19, 2014 in Montreal, Quebec (Canada).

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[medal photo submitted by Alana Bonner – @AlanaDBonner]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Newry Oktoberfest 5K that took place on October 19, 2014 in Newry, Northern Ireland.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[medal photo submitted by Mark Ramsey – @AMarkRamsey]

Here is the finisher’s medal from The Sheffield Ten 10 Ten that took place on October 19, 2014 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England (United Kingdom).

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[medal photo submitted by John Armitage – @ArmitageJohn]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Texas 10 Series – Fort Worth that took place on October 12, 2014 in Forth Worth, Texas.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[medal photo submitted by Stephen G – @stepheng73]