Ultra runners rumble through Peterson Ridge

Sitting in the sun on the grass of the Sisters High School football field after conquering Sunday’s Peterson Ridge Rumble 30k and 60k trail run, finishers swapped stories from the day while enjoying a barbecue lunch.

When asked to comment about the quality of the experience one group of six runners all agreed that the tough course and beautiful weather combined with the strong race organization added up to a high quality experience.

“Everything about the race was great,” said Ben Coutant, who traveled from Eugene Friday night to compete in the race. “It’s definitely one to put on the calendar for next year.”

The third edition of the Rumble started and finished at the Sisters High School track, a new venue for the race. The race is part of the Oregon Ultra marathon series which includes long distance trail runs around the state.

“We really appreciated being able to rent the school facility,” said organizer Sean Meissner. “Racers commented all day how well it worked to have plenty of room to relax on the grass afterwards, and they loved the hot showers.”

A total of 73 souls finished the monstrous 60 kilometer (37.2 miles) course that included the entire Peterson Ridge trail in addition to a very rugged stretch up higher along Squaw Creek.

Forty-eight-year-old phenom John Ticer of Eugene repeated as men’s champion of the 60k course with a time of 4 hours 32 minutes and 57 seconds and Kami Semick of Bend defended her crown as well in 5:07:49, which was seventh overall and over an hour ahead of the second female finsher.

Sisters’ own Greg “Cougarbait” Eyerly was the top local finisher in the 60k, completing the course in 5:28:24, 13th overall, and was unbothered by any large felines along the route.

Dylan Mason and Bill Raitter, training partners from Bend, finished together in the 30k and “rock, paper, scissored” just after the finish line to determine the individual champion. Raitter won the contest to dethrone Mason. Both were timed in 2:05:29.

Nancy Abraham returned from Stellacoom, Washington to win the women’s title this year in 2:32:37.

Jo Zucker represented the Sisters community well as top local placer, finishing a close third among women, just five seconds out of second place in 2:36:31. She was 22nd overall among the 118 finishers.

Sisters also boasted the oldest and youngest finishers in the 30k race. Seventy-three year old Don Hildebrand and 10-year-old Garrett Trahern were timed in 3:36:02 and 5:43:01 respectively. Garrett traversed the course with his father Gene who treated his son to a chocolate milkshake after the race.

“It was a last minute thing,” said Gene. “We talked about it beforehand and he decided to go for it on Saturday morning, so I scratched from the 60k race to have a chance to join my son.”

Gene is an experienced ultra marathoner who placed 11th in a 100-mile race this winter in Texas.

“I guess Garrett had seen me do enough of these long runs that he wanted to give it a try,” he said.

Other Sisters finishers included Pete Moss (2:38:18), Renee Perin (3:11:33) and Kelly Moen (4:03:11).

“We had racers from throughout Oregon and the northwest and even one from Montpelier, Vermont,” said Meissner, “which is great for the Sisters hotels and other businesses.”

Meissner expects the race to continue to grow in popularity and will soon reach its capacity of 300. Meissner donates most of the proceeds from the run to the Sisters High School cross country team.

He expects the amount to be about $1,500 this year.

Full results of the race are available at http://www.time2race.com.