White River 50

Yesterday's White River 50 miler down near Mt. Rainier was a fun preview for Cascade Crest. A number of this year's CCC entrants were out fine-tuning things on the White River trails, and we're looking forward to seeing how all that hard work will pay off.

It was great to catch up with many of the folks who've been involved with Cascade Crest in previous years as runners and volunteers, including Scott Railton, Dan Probst, Wendy Wheeler-Jacobs, Jeff Wright, Janet Rosenfeld, and Kent Holder. There isn't a bright line between who's a runner and who's a volunteer at Cascade Crest lately. So many folks have done both, and we're proud of that.

Below is Pat Ackley, an '07 finisher who volunteered in '08 and '09, assisting Jenny Uehisa, an '07 finisher and '08 volunteer, at Buck Creek aid station. Photo of start above thanks to Glenn Tachiyama.

Preview

We threw a big party for the Cascade Crest volunteers this weekend and for the festivities I put together a slide show culled from thousands of pics taken all over the course. While we work on getting posted either here or on the race website, I thought I'd put up one of my favorite pictures, of Idahoans Jodi and Dennis Aslett as they crossed the finish line.

Christmas in August

This year's Hyak aid station drew rave reviews. Hyak was organized by runner Rob Hester and Paul Morrison from Bonney Lake Fleet Feet, and staffed by members of the Puyallup Y Run Club, including George Koski, Monica & Mike Bloom, Linda & Rich Walter, Lesa & Dave Overfield, Abi Brownell, Tom Gibson, Jenny Appel, and Melissa Martin. As runner Joseph Tompkins wrote, "I sure didn't expect Christmas in August! The atmosphere was uplifting. That, with a fresh wardrobe, a double-shot of espresso and some solid fuel, I was on my way for the second half." Another commented that Hyak was just like aid stations at Western States. Terrific job by these South Sound runners! Photos by Jenny Appel.

'70s Revival Night

The photos and reports continue to come in. We especially enjoyed pics from the '70s Revival Party, a.k.a. Mineral Creek aid station. Above is Terry Sentinella, who pulled an all-nighter to staff Mineral and sweep the last 20 miles of the course, presumably in more suitable attire, along with Scotty Railton. And what's not to love about Rich White and Linda Barton, who served up potato soup in the fancy duds modeled below. Photos by Linda Barton.

Back in Easton

This morning we headed back to Easton, where it's been raining ever since the last runner crossed the finish line on Sunday. We really lucked out with good weather for race weekend! Well, the firefighters had cleaned up the station, washed all of the pots and pans, broken down the boxes and donated our leftover food to the food bank in town. So all that was left for us was to pack up the last of our gear and give a big hug to Jenny, firefighter and medic extraordinaire who takes great care of our finishers. We also presented a donation on behalf of the race to Easton fire chief Craig McKee, as has been done every year. We're just so happy to have the connection we do with these fabulous folks; it would be impossible to pull off the race without them.

Split Times

This year's split times are now posted. The splits were a collaborative effort on the part of many aid station volunteers plus Cheri Gillis, Lucy Iglesias, Baldwin Lee, Jenny Uehisa, and Jenny Smith, who did triple duty as Phil Shaw's Mom and crew. Thank you for all of your help in getting these done! Photo by Jenny Uehisa.