2004 Report
All Hail The Knights of Flat Rock
The 10th Anniversary Flat Rock 50/25K
Elk City Reservoir / Independence, KS
September 25, 2004
By: Warren Bushey
We would like to give all of the 93 runners a great big thank you for coming
out to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Flat Rock 50K and the 8th year
of the 25K. This year´s field was made up of runners from ten different
states (KS, MO, OK, IL, CO, NE, TX, NM, IA, AR) and one country, which of
course would be our friends to the northOntario, Canada. Everyone was
blessed with some of the best weather a runner could ask for. This year´s
race day was made up of early morning temps in the mid 50´s and afternoon
temps of low 80´s with a nice little breeze to keep the bugs under control.
Our 50K race consisted of 38 runners, some of which are the real veterans.
You can pick them out easy because they have that rock solid, far away
stare, which says I´m taking the rock this year...I´m gonna make her mine.
Then you look around a little closer at some other runners and see what they
call a deer in the headlights or that sheer panic stricken look one gets
when they just come over the top of a roller coaster and know they should of
stayed at the bottom holding all of the toys. Our 25K race drew the biggest
field ever with 45 runners while 23 of them had never run this great race. I
think they were coming out to "test the rocks of the Rock and see how good
it tastes in Kansas. The rest of our field of runners had run this course
anywhere from one to four times and keep coming back to chew up more
rocks…just to keep them flat for all the new smiling faces that want to get
their own piece of "the Rock."
At the Outlet Channel Shelter House on Friday evening the energy level was
as powerful as a lighting storm in Kansas on a hot summers evening. Every
one of the dedicated volunteers were running around like banshees ensuring
that all tasks was done to perfection while runners were checking in with
their family and friends sporting huge smiles on their chops and tons of
anticipation toward the next days adventure. Many were happy to see the
friends they have made over the past ten years and were ready to do as much
damage to the pasta and meatballs as possible. At times, there was so much
laughter in the air, one might think they were at a comedy club. You could
hear the deals coming together for this years new addition of team
competition as to who was going to be their states representatives and
possibly pocket a quick $500. The RD was doing what he does best by
"recruiting some last minute members for the KUS Dream Team and by the end
of the evening we had three teams (MO, OK, IL) that wanted to take on the
KUS´s Finest. Indeed, the webs were being spun to see how to take down the
newly birthed giant with a sling and a rock. Everyone had more than enough
to eat by then and were ready to be rolled into their cars, tents, and hotel
rooms to await the coming of "the Rock."
Saturday was to be a day in Flat Rock history that will not be forgotten for
many years to come. It was early morning around 5am when the shelter house
started to come alive. Volunteers were working together like Santa´s little
helpers the day before Christmas. Trucks and cars were being loaded with aid
station supplies and volunteers to run them. Runners were pinning on their
numbers and looking over the days competition to see who was going to be
eating who´s rocks. The pre-race info was being belted out in a serious yet
flippant manner by the RD to all of the runners, while the electricity was
growing every second, as the race was just minutes away. Participants
started finding their way to the starting line while trying to remain
calm…yeah, like that was going to happen. With the trail being in its best
shape ever, thanks to the almost 1400 hours dedicated by our volunteers, it
was sure to be a great race with some very fast times and possibly a new
course record. The team competition added an even further element of
surprise and team MO was out to show us what they were made of, while team
OK was sure to show they were more than "okay, especially with a last
minute recruit like Jack Christian. Not to be out done by any of them, team
IL had Honest Abe working them over sub-consciously all day long.
This year was really special because three of our competitors were going to
see if they had the right stuff to complete their tenth consecutive finish
and become the first ever inductees of the Flat Rock Hall of Pain. They were
David Dinkel, Dave Noltensmeyer, and Dennis Haig. Three other familiar vets
of "the Rock (two of them past champions and one hopeful) were seen casting
spells on one another and I´m sure one of them had a rooster claw in hand.
These guys meant business, as always, in case you don´t know them; they are
Jess McNeely, David Wakefield, and Paul Schoenlaub. Other runners in the
team competition were seen packing things into their daypacks to try and
ensure their victory. What I don´t understand is why you need things on a
trail run like shovels and blasting caps? To each his own… right. This
morning was also a special day because one of the founding fathers of KUS
(Marc Friesen) was celebrating his 30th birthday and the race was not going
to be started unless everyone sang happy birthday loud enough so that the
people in Independence could hear it. In case you didn´t know, at Flat Rock
it´s a great thing to be loud and thankfully everyone was the first time.
So, after a count down of ten the race was on.
Things started off very fast and set the pace for the day when Marc Friesen
jumped out quick and was at the trailhead in no time. Maybe it was the song,
or that he was a "Dream Team member for KUS and wanted to represent the
team well. No, it´s because the RD told him if the "Dream Team lost he
would have to use his birthday money to pay the winning team…Run Marc Run!!
Unfortunately, one thing Marc forgot about was that "the Rock spares
nobody…even if it is your birthday or you´re a KUS founder. He found that
out later when the trail started tearing into him like a shark on a feeding
frenzy. Jess, David and Paul, however, were determined not to let Marc out
of their cross hairs. When David hit the turnaround point he was eleven
minutes in front of Jess and Paul, sporting a look of wonderment as he
pondered the thought of a sub-five winning finish or maybe the third year of
a second place finish. One thing for sure, he knew the rock would be letting
him know soon. Jess and Paul reached the turn around at the same time.
However, on the return trip Jess was running like he just got fired out of a
cannon, while Paul moved along effortlessly with a confident smile on his
face knowing that a win here would only be more icing on his massive
achievement of completing his first Grand Slam only a few weeks earlier. I
wonder why he kept trying to take the wings off his trophy and stick them on
his back?
The five-hour mark was closing in fast and the finish line greeters were
amped and ready to let the lead runner know it was almost Miller Time. Who
would it be this year? Did somebody out there get some of "Mr. P or was the
defending champing going to keep his crown? No, Jess McNeely did get some of
him and proved it was his turn again to wear the "Champion´s Crown as the
little firecracker busted through the finish line with a time of 4:59:17 to
become only the fifth runner, in the 10 year history of our race, to achieve
a sub-five hour finish. David Wakefield came cranking in with a superb time
of 5:03:40 only to be jested by the RD that he had to come back again next
year because he still hadn´t broken 5 hours and his great time still hadn´t
earned him an overall victory. We´ll be looking for your entry soon David!
Paul was just minutes behind and finished with a very respectable time of
5:07:45 to claim third place and Masters Male Champ. As always, in all-ways,
all of the runners were greeted with loud cheers, ringing cowbells, a train
whistle, an electric bass guitar and of course, that "God Damned Blue Horn!"
All I can say is, you take it away from the RD because I´m sure as the hell
not going to.
Let us not forget the women of "the Rock who always come through with
flying colors! Mindy Wilson came back to defend her title for the third year
in a row with a time of 6:18:07. She bested her finishing time last year by
exactly eleven minutes and now has four wins here…twice as many as any other
competitor here at "the Rock. Shortly thereafter came our second place
finisher and most likely our first future female inductee into the Flat Rock
Hall of Pain, Theresa Wheeler, with a time of 6:42:52. Our third place
finisher, who claims she is returning indefinitely to compete in this race
and totally smashed her debut time of last year´s event, is Danielle
Rideout. She had a great finishing time of 7:18:50 to claim the third place
spot for the women. Nancy Davis wrapped up the Female Masters Honor again,
with a time of 7:42:16. All of the women who compete at "the Rock are very
tough contenders and know how to put their mettle on the line. Every year we
enjoy seeing them come back to show us how they sure can kick some rock!
In the team competition the RD´s last minute recruiting proved very valuable
as the "KUS Dream Team scored the overall winning time of 15:19:59. The
team consisted of Jess McNeely, David Wakefield, Randy Albrecht, Theresa
Wheeler, Dennis Haig, and Marc Friesen, who by the way looked like a rag toy
some dog had been playing with for years and then buried in the backyard. He
still had a good finish all things considered and was able to keep his
birthday money. Team MO posted a time of 16:02:22 for a second place finish,
while Team OK had a time of 19:10:44 that thanks to Jack Christian they were
okay with. Team IL rounded out the competition with a finishing time of
20:21:27 that even made "Old Abe proud. Thanks to all of the runners who
participated in the team competition, we are considering doing it again next
year, even though this was the only year we were offering a $500 cash prize
maybe we´ll come up with a traveling trophy for next year. As always, we
are open to suggestions.
This year we drew our largest field of 25K runners with 45 starters and 23
newbies to the race. We were all excited with 23 new runners out there to
see who the jack rabbits were going to be and knew this was going to be a
good race today because it was truly up for grabs. One thing for sure is,
here at "the Rock even most 25K runners are out for what ends up seeming
like a full day of adventure. One jack-rabbit, I mean runner, Lullel Hickman
decided this was his year to beat "the Rock into submission and set a new
course record with a screaming time of 2:03:37. I think his time is going to
stand for a while and we sure hopes he comes back next year to defend his
title and prove this wasn´t just a hit and run. Actually, we think he has
got what it takes to set a new course record in the 50K, as well. We can
hardly wait to see…train hard Lullel, train hard! The women´s overall winner
was Tiffany Francis who´s big smile could only be bested by a fantastic
finishing time of 2:48:18 and we were told she kept her pretty smile through
out the entire course. You see how much runners love this trail! The RD´s
sister came back to run the 25K this year and not only improved her time
from last year by over thirty minutes, but also recruited several of her
friends to run this year, as well. Way to go Linda! Hopefully, many of the
25K runners from this year´s event will decide to double their pleasure and
double their fun next year by stepping up to the 50K, while recruiting new
running friends to get a taste of some 25K rock.
We cheered in all of the runners and it was time to feast on bowls and bowls
of chili, clean off the battle wounds, and start telling the tall tails of
our beloved trail. It´s great to see how big the "Flat Rock Family has
become and the true caring shown towards one another. The awards ceremony
started shortly thereafter and smiles could be seen from ear to ear on
nearly everyone. There were so many runners with their friends and family
members present this year that many people had to sit or stand outside of
the shelter house. Special awards were given out this year for most unique
noise makers and recruitment to Flat Rock. Then the time came for the first
three runners that finished ten times in a row to get knighted into the
"Flat Rock Hall of Pain and how do you think that was going to be done? No
other way then to bring in the king. Who, you ask could the king be? None
other than our Race Director and KUS Founder, Mr. Eric Steele, who had been
over heard to say, "It´s Damn Good to be King! He entered the shelter house
with a long flowing royal red & purple robe and a crown fit only for a king.
It had to be for a king because it said so on the crown. Everyone was
wondering if a sword was to be used as they did in the mid-evil days. Those
questions were quickly answered when he opened up his royal robe to reveal a
very large and very real, two-handed broadsword with a bone handled grip.
Once this was shown to the crowd of runners and their families an overall
nervousness and awe rushed over them as the inductees started to think they
might get beheaded instead of knighted. Remember, this is the crazy guy with
the damn blue horn. King "Big E called them up to the front to be sworn
into the Flat Rock Hall of Pain.
David Dinkel, Dave Noltensmeyer, and Dennis Haig were asked to take the
"Oath of Flat Rock before they could be knighted. After they recited the
oath a beautiful large pillow was placed before them so they could kneel
before the mighty and noble king. David Dinkel was the first to be knighted
and was given race bib number one. These race bibs were embroidered on gold
cloth and then hand stitched by Eric´s mom Virginia Steele, because only the
very best can do for an honor of this magnitude. David was knighted as Sir
Blue Flame and will have free entry to Flat Rock for the rest of his life.
Dave Noltensmeyer was knighted Sir Very Steady and received race bib number
two and will also have free entry for life. Dennis Haig was given the Sir
name of Last Minute and received the same lifetime reward. All of their
race bib numbers will be retired perpetually at "the Rock as well. These
new knights were presented to the crowd and a mighty three cheer´s were
given to these three great and courageous knights who are the first to make
the Flat Rock Hall of Pain. Then, Eric called all of the race volunteers
upfront and presented them to the crowd for a big thank you and standing
ovation. Shortly thereafter, these volunteers broke down the shelter house
quicker than a charging bull through a china shop. One would think that
things were going to settle down after all of this, sorry…wrong…it´s
campfire time!
Over the years the campfire has become the event after the event. The best
stories and tales of our beloved trail are told at this time. Many of the
runners tend to loosen up after a few cold drinks and by this time the
volunteers are ready to…let´s just say unwind and let there hair down. You
can always count on Sir Blue Flame´s tasty open fire popcorn, roasting of
marshmallows, and sometimes making smores. In years past occasionally there
has been some debate as to how this fire should be built and tended to.
Well, this year´s fire was taken over by a real pro, I wish I could remember
his name, but I can´t, so I´ll just call him "Quest for Fire Dude. He was
on it, all the time the fire never once waned, not even when we were all
ready to go to bed at 3am, all though at times it may have been just a
little high, or was that me? Our campfire of course wouldn´t be possible if
it wasn´t for Bud and Delores Baker who happily donate a pick-up truckload
of wood each year that we greatly appreciate. Many runners and their
families stayed around for the campfire this year and now have even more
great memories of the "Flat Rock Experience! As always, we sincerely thank
all of the runners, their families and friends, for the great support you
give to our race and the perpetuation of our Flat Rock Family. We look
forward to seeing you next year. And of course, to our outstanding
volunteers; we thank you all very much because if it weren´t for all of you
this race would never be able to happen. Again, thank you! We wish you, your
families and friends, all the best for the upcoming holidays and we look
forward to seeing you all again next year at "the Rock!"
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