Trail runners rumble on Peterson Ridge

More than 200 runners took to the trails around Sisters on Sunday for the fourth annual Peterson Ridge Rumble 60 kilometer and 30 kilometer trail runs.

Race coordinator Sean Meissner was all smiles as finishers began making it to the middle school track, relieved that people had found their way through the many twists and turns of the course, some of which was new this year.

Michael Wedemeyer of Wilsonville took first overall in the 60 kilometer course in 4 hours, 10 minutes and 51 seconds. Beverly Anderson of Red Bluff, California was first among females in 4:30:29.

The 60 kilometer course was actually short by about three miles in Meissner’s estimation.

“We made a change in course due to snow and as things worked out it turned out to be about 34 miles,” he said.

The new section of the course was well received by participants, who especially enjoyed the single-track section that included four or five miles on the Metolius-Windigo trail southwest of Sisters.

Greg “Cougarbait” Eyerly was the top local finisher in the 60 kilometer race, finishing ninth in 4:37:50.

In the 30 kilometer race, which traversed the Peterson Ridge Trail, Timothy Vandervlug of Albany topped the field in 2 hours, 7 minutes and 57 seconds. Amanda Bullat of Bend led all women in 2:29:47.

The Nugget’s Nikki Lewis placed third among women (15th overall) in 2:36:17. For Lewis, the race was a final tune-up before leaving next week to run the Boston Marathon.

Casey Glick placed first among local finishers in seventh with a time of 2:19:10.

Don Hildebrand, 74, made it through for the fourth consecutive year, with a time of 4:02:43, while youngsters Garrett Trahern and Mason Calmettes, both 11, came through in 4:33:52, accompanied by Eugene Trahern.

Meissner called the event “another great success.”

“We had a very competitive field and the runners really enjoyed the beauty of the course,” he said.

He plans to take input from participants to decide whether to go back to the 60 kilometer course that was used last year or stick with the Metolius-Windigo section. “If we have a lot of snow again, this will definitely be the way to go, but I’d like to see what people think.”

Members of Sisters High School’s cross country team and parents manned aid stations, directed traffic, and helped with the post race barbecue.

In return, Meissner plans to donate all proceeds of the race to help support the team, which is only partially funded by the school district.

Complete results of the Peterson Ridge Rumble are available on the Web at http://www.time2race.com.