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Got this press release from the folks at Trail Runner Magazine. You can also go here to see the full results and here to see the full race calendar (now sortable by state). Maybe Ken and Shirley Sorois will be the first husband/wife couple to duke it out for a title in the Non-ultra Category! - SD

APRIL 10, 2007, Carbondale, Colorado—The fourth annual Trail Runner Trophy Series, the world's biggest off-road running series kicked off last month. With a total of 115 races on this year’s Trophy Series calendar, 20,000 trail runners from coast-to-coast will have plenty of opportunities to participate in events ranging from 5K to 100 miles.

So far, we have tabulated results from seven races: The Foot Pursuit 5K, Old Pueblo 50-miler, Carl Touchstone Memorial Mississippi 50, Land Between the Lakes, Trout Creek, Crown King Scramble and Prickly Pear trail runs.

Full points standings and more Trophy Series information—including race schedule, rules, prize information and registration for the La Sportiva shoe promotion—is available at www.trailrunnermag.com.

Non-Ultra Division

New to this year’s Trophy Series was the Foot Pursuit 5K in Valparaiso, Indiana, sponsored by the Porter County Sheriff’s Department. On the morning of March 3^rd, 250 trail runners, many of them police and fire representatives from Lake and Porter counties and Chicago, braved freezing temperatures and snow squalls to pound the often ice-covered dirt. Overall winners were Jeffrey Day, 31, from Walkerton, Indiana, in a time of 19:04, and 27-year-old Sommer Watts, from Chesterton, Indiana in 23:42.

The Land Between the Lakes Trail Runs, in Grand Rivers, Kentucky, enjoyed a record 330 participants this year across four race distances, 23K, 26.2K, 60K and 50M. In the marathon, four men and four women each enough age-group points to tie for top position in the Trophy Series’ non-ultra division.

Top 8 Trophy Series Marathon & Shorter Points Standings
(with 104.8 points each)

Stephen Smith, 26, Soddy Daisy, Tennessee
Brian Beckort, 34, Tell City, Indiana
Brian Parker, 40, Morrison, Illinois
Kenneth Sirois, 60, Clinton, Tennessee
Lynn Minter, 27, Symsonia, Kentucky
Belinda Young, 37, Chatsworth, Georgia
Dana Hakman, 41, Mason, Illinois
Shirley Sirois, 59, Clinton, Tennessee

Ultramarathon Division

While runners in the northern states battled icy courses and below-freezing race day temperatures, trail racers in Arizona and Mississippi enjoyed warm (in the case of the Carl Touchstone Memorial race, almost too hot) conditions and fast, dry courses.

One hundred and thirty runners departed Kentucky Camp at the start of the Old Pueblo 50-Mile Endurance Run in Sonoita, Arizona, on March 3^rd. Hal Koerner, 31, from Ashland, Oregon, topped the men’s field in a blazing 7:15:58, followed by John Anderson, 28, from Colorado in 7:29:10, and Californian David Goggins, 32, in 7:44:49. Leading the ladies at Old Pueblo was Jane Larkindale, 31, who finished first in 9:40:17, followed by Jody Chase, 38, in 10:05:09, and Michelle Schwartz, 38, in 10:13:12.

The only ultrarunner to complete two Trophy Series races so far this season is Anita Fromm, 35, from Manitou Springs, Colorado, who finished 11^th woman at Old Pueblo, but at the Carl Touchstone Memorial Mississippi 50-Mile Trail Race was second only to Ann Heaslett, posting an impressive time of 8:33:48.

The Carl Touchstone race was back this year after being “Katrina’d” in 2006, boasting its biggest turnout ever. Joel Sather, a forest ranger from Montana working in Mississippi's Desoto National Forest, took the early lead and by lap three began to feel the heat, but hung on to win in 7:02:22.

Top 7 Trophy Series Ultra Distance Points Standings
(with 200 points each)

Hal Koerner, 31, Ashland, Oregon
Joel Sather, 35, Noxon, Montana
Paul Zani, 39, Franklin, Tennessee
Anita Fromm, 35, Manitou Springs, Colorado
Cynthia Heady, 45, Finchville, Kentucky
Ann Heaslett, 43, Madison, Wisconsin
Jane Larkindale, 31, Tuscon, Arizona

Trail Runner is the country’s leading magazine for off-road running enthusiasts and athletes. In-depth editorial and compelling photography informs, entertains and inspires readers of all ages and abilities to enjoy the outdoors and to improve their health and fitness through the sport of trail running. To subscribe, go to www.trailrunnermag.com

For nearly 80 years, La Sportiva has been leading in technical outdoor-footwear innovation and design. We do this because we believe. We believe your trail-running shoes should never come between you and the planet—they should ground you to it. La Sportiva is always inventing, always rethinking, always dreaming. Trail runners ourselves, we recognize the thin line between dream and belief. And then we erase it by designing the best shoes on the planet. www.sportiva.com