Umstead Park (US 70 entrance) November 8, 1998
Bob Smith, Meet Director

This was definitely NOT Falls Lake! The forest was wide open and very runnable. Between my first field-checking and the weekend of the meet, a lot of the leaves came down. That may have made some trails harder to see, but it really improved the overall visibility. Rain earlier in the week left the ground a little soft in places, but not really mushy, and the few sprinkles on the day of the meet didn't seem to bother anyone. The temperature was fairly chilly, after the warm spell earlier in the week, but that also worked to the advantage of those who wanted to run.

I don't have an exact count, but somewhere around 95 people showed up for the meet. Fortunately, Ray Shillito and his group of Cub Scout leaders were on hand to help run the event. Unfortunately, Ray spent so much time helping me that he had to cut his Orange course short in order to leave with his group. Peter and Joan Brock, who arrived early, also pitched in to help after completing their courses. In addition to the Cub Scout contingent, we had a large group from the Duke ROTC program and at least one Boy Scout troop.

As you would expect, given the weather and the open woods, there were some very fast times on the courses. Kyle Halloran finished the White course in 19:49. His mom Lisa and brother Greg took 29:52, which was good enough for second place. Cub Scout groups led by Joanie Ashley, Gene Johnson, and Charlie Finley took the next three places. They started out as three separate groups, but returned as a single mob!

Times weren't quite as fast on Yellow, perhaps because there weren't any Hallorans running it. Gary and Cally Wiggins and Laura DeCarlo finished first in just over 49 minutes. John Stevens was next, and Lori Huberman came in third.

The Orange course had the fewest entries, but the widest spread of times. Pam James, visiting from Nova Scotia and running her second course of the day, finished in 26:26. The group led by Zsuzsa Palotas was second, at 36:50. Third place went to Karen Hales. Interestingly, the last folks to return from the woods at this meet were on Orange. They may have planned it that way, since they got back just in time to warm up at the fireplace (thanks to park superintendant Martha Woods, who sent a load of firewood).

The Brown course had the largest number of entrants at this meet, and seems to be fast becoming a favorite. Joan Brock was first, in 47:18, and Ruth Bromer was second at just over 66 minutes. The Holt-Vandergriff team from Duke came third, finishing in slightly over 70 minutes. Several other members of the ROTC group also ran on Brown.

I tried to design the Green course to give fast runners a chance to show their stuff, and they did. Seven people finished it in under an hour. Remember Pam James, from Nova Scotia? Mike Brooks brought her to this meet, and was probably wondering why he kept seeing her in the woods. She started the Green course after Mike did, and finished it in 33:35 (beating Doug Corkhill by 4 minutes). She didn't find that to be enough of a workout, so after resting a few minutes she went out on Orange--and still managed to come back before Mike finished his Green course. Rob Stevens finished just over 2 minutes behind Doug, and took third place.

Once again, many people expressed appreciation for having pre-printed maps. There were a few kinks in the process, though not severe ones. At one point it looked as if we would run out of maps, but fortunately that didn't happen. We had pre-printed maps set aside for people who had reserved them, but some weren't picked up even though the people who requested them did attend. If you reserve a map, I suggest that you be sure to mention that to the person at registration. In the confusion which often reigns around that table, they may not recognize your name or remember to check the list.

The meet was followed by the BOK 20th Anniversary Potluck, but I'll let someone else describe that--maybe Joseph? I want to thank Ray Shillito again, for helping with setup and registration. Gene Johnson also helped with registration, and Peter and Joan Brock helped sort the results. Gary Wiggins, Joe Halloran, and Julie Randolph all helped with control pickup, as did Carlie Huberman and Ruth Bromer (who got 5 minutes credit on their White course time).