The heat stands down (and just in time): Afton recap
by Alex Kurt – Reprinted with permission from UltraMN.com
25k: Moore, Lee win state trail titles
Joe Moore, of Minneapolis, ran his way to a USATF-MN Trail Championship and a Course Record at the Afton 25k Saturday. He outpaced former record holder and three-time defending champ Ben Kampf, former Gopher harrier of Minneapolis, to win in 1:37:10. The previous record was 1:37:39. Kampf finished in 1:38:52. Former D-III NCAA cross-country champ and Team USA Minnesota runner Josh Moen finished in 1:40:20 in his trail debut for third.
Emma Lee, of St. Paul, narrowly missed the course record, winning the women’s race in 1:55:13 (eighth overall). Melissa Gacek, of White Bear Lake, finished second (11th overall) in 1:59:41 and Anna French, of Plymouth, finished third (13th overall) in 2:00:01.
300 runners finished the Afton 25k – a number that would likely have been smaller had Minnesota’s week-long heat wave not subsided – all but miraculously – the night before.
Complete results can be found HERE
50k: Tracy returns with style, Rukavina-Rembleski is king of Afton
Forrest Tracy, of St. Paul, won the Afton 50k in 3:54:57, holding off a late-charging Dimitri Drekonja, of Minneapolis, by exactly one minute (Drekonja posted a 3:55:57) despite fading late. This is Tracy’s first ultra since 2009 (when he placed third at the Superior 50 Mile behind Chris Rubesch and John Horns) and only his second ever. Mike Bialick, of Minnetonka, was third in 4:00:25, and Chippewa winner Rasmus Hoeg, of La Crosse, Wisconsin, was fourth in 4:06:36.
In the women’s race, Watertown’s Eve Rukavina-Rembleski took home yet another Afton 50k title in 4:21:29, finishing just over 12 minutes ahead of Rebecca George, of Bater, who clocked a 4:33:42. Rukavina-Rembleski was 7th overall and George was 16th. Tracy Hoeg (Rasmus’ wife), of La Crosse, finished third (28th overall) in 4:51:58.
Complete results can be found HERE
