Pine Mountain Hill Climb Results and Report

Pine Mountain Hill Climb, 10.7 miles, 2,500' of climbing
Sept. 14, 2008

1. Patrick Widmer, 47, Bend 1:28:38 2. Kami Semick (1F), 42, Bend 1:30:22 3. Jace Ives, 24, Bend 1:31:30 4. Kurt Eisele, 29, Eugene 1:32:31 5. Glenn Miller, 48, Bend 1:38:11 6. Owen Sutton, 39, Bend 1:42:53 7. Scott Abrams, 52, La Pine 1:43:42 8. Scott Mercer, 40, Bend 1:44:14 9. Stephanie Hackbarth (2F), 23, Bend 1:46:08 10. Steve Morse & Chloe the dog, 51, Bend 1:46:49 11. Andy Schob, 60, Bend 1:47:14 12. Darla Brader (3F), 35, Bend 1:47:44 13. Jane Cleavenger (4F), 50, Bend 1:49:20 14. Laura Nice (5F), 27, Bend 1:50:52 15. Paul Stevenson, 33, Bend 1:55:37 16. Roger Daniels, 72, Bend 2:01:30 17. Bob Reininger, 42, Bend 2:08:13 18. Tim Zook, 53, Powell Butte 2:10:34 19. Stephen Waite, 25, Bend 2:10:58 20. Todd Chester, 34, Bend 2:14:54 21. Ron Kastberg, 55, Powell Butte 2:17:11 22. Roy Reisinger, 67, Bend 2:17:20 23. Steve Greening, 60, Bend 2:24:35 24. Tyson Pardue, 43, Bend 2:25:02 25. Tonya Olson (sweeper), almost 40, Bend 2:36:45

Thank you very much to everyone who came out and played on Pine Mountain for the day or weekend. I had a complete blast out there. We started off the festivities with camping out on Saturday night, and as we all know, crazy things can happen while camping. A good size group of us roasted weenies over the fire, gorged on Tonya's famous s'mores delux, enjoyed some tasty beverages, saw Jupiter through a really big telescope, and watched the always-popular sci-fi thriller The Man Who Changed His Mind. Definite pre-race evening good times!

Race morning was beautiful. Sunny, no wind, not hot...pretty perfect conditions for running up a mountain. Shortly after 9 a.m., 25 runners and 2 dogs began their ascent in the inaugural Pine Mtn. Hill Climb. About one hour and 15 minutes later, the finish line crew extraordinaires Gina and Chris, and I, spotted the first runner on the road really far away. Who was it?? Soon enough, Patrick Widmer was powering up the final steep 200 meters to the finish, establing a mighty-fine course record of 1:28:38 (and getting his first-ever win in a race...yay, Pat!). Less than 2 minutes later, Kami Semick trotted up the last painful climb, smiling her way across the line in 1:30:22, for 2nd overall and the women's course record. After the master's 1-2 punch, finally some of the young bucks finished. Rounding out the top-3 for the boys, Jace Ives was 2nd in 1:31:30, and Kurt Eisele was 3rd in 1:32:31. For the girls, Stephanie Hackbarth finished 2nd in 1:46:08, and Darla Brader was 3rd in 1:47:44.

After finishing, everyone made their way back down to the campground for a bbq, lots of refreshing beverages, tasty Nancy P's treats, and to swap war stories of the day.

I think everyone enjoyed the course. It really is beautiful, and it's not easy. Runnable? Yes...well, for the most part, anyway. But it does take some effort to run uphill for over 7 miles and 2,500' vertical, with only two little downhills that weren't easy, either. Everyone agreed that the highlight of the race (besides finishing) was the out-and-back section where volunteer-chick Whitney was stationed. The view from up there is the best!

My original thought to having this race was because I loved the area the first time I ran out there (just May of this year), and I love hill climbs. I knew immediately during that first run out there, I would have a race on Pine Mtn. I wanted it to be challenging, as hill climbs are by nature, but I wanted it more runnable than the uber-challenging Sunrise to Summit, and I wanted it longer than the Pilot Butte Challenge. I love both of those races, but thought we needed something different. Pine Mountain Hill Climb is different.

A special thank you to the following people for volunteering their time: Owen, Chris, Darla, Tonya, Tate, Gina, Gary, Jeannie, Whitney, Rob's truck (that pulled Whitney's Jeep out from being stuck), Judy, Chad, and the random guy who hauled the finish line water up the hill for us. The runners and I all really appreciate your help!

I'm look forward to next year's hill climb already. I believe it has the makings to be a long-term classic.