Record number of entries at Black Mountain race

by Richard Lamb– Advance Editor

A mixture of bright sun and cool shade made for a challenging racecourse Saturday at the Seventh Annual Black Mountain Nordic Classic. The cross-country ski race drew a record number of participants to the event. Starting off on small Trout Lake, located below the Black Mountain Resort, racers began the long haul in sunny and relatively warm conditions. That all changed as they entered the wooded trails.

Race organizer Denny Paull of Cheboygan said the varied temperatures made for another challenge, besides the obvious ones of completing the hilly course. ?The biggest challenge was there was a 20-degree temperature differential from the start of the race to the finish. It was 25 degrees at the start and 45 degrees at the finish. In a sport where 3-to-4 temperature degree changes call for a different type of wax, one can imagine the challenges of skiing with the same wax over a 20-degree change,? Paull said.

?Most, including me found the first half of the course to be extremely fast with the second half very slow with extreme difficulty engaging the kick to climb hills.? Two races were featured as participants could choose from the 10 kilometer (km) or 31 km race. Overall winner of the 31 km was David MacLean of Ludington who traversed the course in 1:45:47. MacLean is a four-time national master champion and current leader of the Michigan Cup. Paull was second in 1:49:56 and Steve Smigiel of Cedar Springs took third at 1:50:11. The overall top female finishers in the 31 km were Tracy Hardin of Cheboygan with a time of 2:16:11. Hardin is the current women’s Michigan Cup Leader and defending Black Mountain Champion

Ann Wager of Gaylord in 2:24:06 was second and Catarina Gulledge of Roscommon who finished in 2:36:03, took third place. Nicolas Johnson of Rogers City won the 10 km in 36:10, Steve VanDam of Boyne City finished second in 37:28 and Matt Dunkel of Ossineke was third at 40:33. Top female finishers in the 10 km were Jean VanDam of Boyne City at 44:47 and Renee Bancroft of Mount Pleasant at 1:17:10. (Only two women had officially recorded times in the 10 km). In spite of the changing conditions, the course was in excellent shape. ?The quality of the grooming on the course is the best it has ever been. Jim Meyer was able to take our new equipment and grind the hard packed snow overnight to create a non-icy, very smooth trail. All of the racers were very impressed by the quality of the trail,? Paull said. ?No treacherous icy conditions were present…even on the hills.? Paull said he was surprised to have 108 participants, which broke the old record of 104.

?With the warmer temperatures, we had many cancel because they were afraid the cours

e would be icy. It will take a year or two for word to spread about the new grooming equipment and its capabilities,? Paull said.

?We had an incredible group of volunteers this year. The aid stations, snowmobile crossings and road crossing were well manned by cheering volunteers. Joan Rogers made a beautiful quilt with a picture of the groomer which was presented to chief volunteer groomer Jim Meyer at the awards. The lunch was the best on the Michigan Cup Circuit. Chef Dennis Durkin of The Black Mountain Lodge used a menu similar to one downloaded from the lunch menu at the Vancouver Winter Olympics,? Paull said.

(Complete results are in this week’s printed editions)

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