New course records set in 100-mile trail race

Submitted photo MILE RUN WINNERS: Winners of the LOViT 100 trail race, Paul Schoenlaub, left, Dale Humphrey, second from left, and Hunter Dodds, are joined by Dustin Speer, one of the race directors.
Submitted photo MILE RUN WINNERS: Winners of the LOViT 100 trail race, Paul Schoenlaub, left, Dale Humphrey, second from left, and Hunter Dodds, are joined by Dustin Speer, one of the race directors.

Two new course records for the grueling second annual Lake Ouachita Vista Trail 100-mile endurance run were set last weekend by Hunter Dodds, of Bilgola Plateau, Australia, and Susan Donnelly, of Oak Ridge, Tenn., in the women's division.

With 34 hours to complete the rugged 100-mile trail course that traverses the ridge line south of Lake Ouachita with elevation changes totaling 40,000 feet, Dodds completed the run in 21 hours, 52 minutes, 34 seconds. Donnelly finished her run in 27:28.20 and finished seventh overall.

Rachel Speer, one of the race directors, said Dodds "was flying" to finish in less than 22 hours.

"The trail is very difficult, so that was quite a feat," she said, adding that Donnelly is also a "very strong runner."

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Submitted photo 100K RUNNERS: The LOViT 100K overall winners, Carmen Cheadle, left, Andrea Hutchins, second from left, and Chris Ho, right, are joined by Dustin Speer, one of the race directors.

Speer said 25 participants toed the start line of the 100-mile race at 5 p.m. on Feb. 26 at the east cove pavilion at Mountain Harbor Resort & Spa. Two of the runners were women, but Donnelly was the only one to finish the race.

The third annual LOViT 100K, which covers 62 miles, began at 6 a.m. Feb. 27 with 37 participants from 15 states and Puerto Rico. Runners had 21 hours to complete the race, running from Mountain Harbor Resort & Spa to the eastern end of the trail just below Blakely Mountain Dam and back to Mountain Harbor.

The men's winner was Chris Ho, of North Little Rock, who pushed ahead from third place late in the race to claim the men's overall award, and set a new course record of 10:24:47 for the 100K. Carmen Cheadle, of Fayetteville, won the women's division with a fourth overall finish in 11:30:42.

"These races are pretty tough," Speer said. "Most of the runners are seasoned trail runners, but we have a few first timers. They do a lot of long distance back-to-back runs throughout their training schedule.

"During the race we have 12 aid stations set up across the course and a lot of them are visited multiple times. These are fully stocked with lots of different foods -- cookies, and soup and different kinds of snacks. Runners may sit down for a few minutes to rest or change shoes or clothes, but they are constantly moving," she said.

Speer said a good finish time is a 24-hour pace or 14-minute miles over a "very technical, very difficult trail."

Speer said in a news release that the LOViT 100 is one of two 100 mile races in Arkansas, the other being the long standing Arkansas Traveler 100 in October. The LOViT 100K, which is run in memory of Brent Morrison who died last summer, is the only race of its distance in the state.

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Submitted photo RECORD SETTER: Susan Donnelly, of Oak Ridge, Tenn, with race director Dustin Speer, set a new course record in the women’s division of the LOViT 100 on Feb. 26 with a time of 27 hours, 28 minutes, 20 seconds.

Other winners in the LOViT 100 men's division were Dale Humphrey, second in 23:37:55, and Paul Schoenlaub, third in 23:44:24. The LOViT 100K men's division overall winners included Ho, Mike Soltys second in 10:30:46, and Justin Franklin, third in 10:50:10, The LOViT 100K women's division winners were Cheadle, Andrea Hutchins, second in 13:17:18, and Holly Huston in 14:04:48.

Hot Springs area runners in the 100-mile race included Randy Windle, Bill James and Jason Armitage. George Perterka competed in the 100K.

Sponsors of the races include Mountain Harbor Resort & Spa, Go!Running, of Little Rock, and Tailwind Nutrition, of Durango, Colo.

Local on 03/07/2016

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