2023 Report

Chelsea’s RD Notes

The 2023 edition of Catherine’s Fat Ass was held on Saturday July 22, and other some poor copperhead with the absolute worst luck, a great time was had by all. There were unseasonably cool conditions for the runners this year, with temperatures in the upper 60’s for the brief run director’s pre-race comments, and the 7 AM run start. Previous RD and event founder Jeff Reed commented, “second coolest Catherine’s ever!” He clearly was referencing the thermometer reading, but may have been commenting on the vibe of this year’s CFA.

Cooler temps brought a large crowd this year. And those conditions led to some thoughts that the course records were in jeopardy. That was not to be; current course record holder Lance Dockery’s fast 4:30 finish time stands strong for yet another year.

Congratulations to Blair Petrilli! Blair ran strong all day, and took 1st place finish for the women in a time of 5:56. Blair has been rocking runs this year and will be fun to watch in her upcoming 100 in November! Martha Nelson wasn’t far behind, finishing in 5:58, making this one of the most enjoyable ultras she’s completed since the birth of her amazing son Bjorn, because she didn’t empty the contents of her stomach at all during the run. Afterwards was a different story, but Martha was pleased at this breakthrough regardless. Despite a sore ankle/knee and well, just 100 mile training right off another 100 miler, Heather Dougherty came in 3rd place with a time of 6:02.

The men’s field had a tight run all day. Anthony Wolosik and Steven Hanson battle for 1st for the beginning half of the course. Anthony eventually took the lead and finished in 5:09 for the first place finish. Bradley Hawley snuck up on Steven right at the very end of the course and they crossed the finish line together for a 2nd place tie in 5:35. Less than 1 minute later, Caleb Fowler crossed the finish in 5:35 (and 58 seconds).

Honorable mention: “Frozen” Ed Furtaw, a successful competitor during the early days of the Barkley Marathons, joined us for this event and kicked those mountains and rocks butt, finishing in 10:31! Ed is 75 years young and is now the most senior finisher of this course. Ed was one of FOUR runners in the 70-79 age group to finish this year’s run. An additional five runners in their sixties also got it done. The range of age for the 70 finishers ran from Ed’s 75 years down to Joshua Binder’s 24. Joshua was one of four runners in their twenties to finish, as that age group managed to match the 70-year-olds in the number of finishers.

The afterparty was a blast, while we celebrated multiple July birthdays (as the plethora of party hats in the following photos can attest). Those cool temps and yummy burgers kept everyone hanging around post run. I enjoyed catching up with friends and meeting new people. This is by far my favorite event the club puts on. Thank you to VHTRC for continuing to support these fun events.

Keep scrolling beyond the photo gallery below to find your results from this year’s CFA 50k!

As always, it’s the volunteers that make this run so amazing and run so smoothly. Please acknowledge the volunteer list below and thank them for their time spent making this summer run a success.

Special thanks to the following volunteers:
Adalyn “Adi” Smith - Co-Director
Elias “Eli” Smith - Co-Co-Director
Dan Aghdam – course marking, set up/break down, hauling stuff, course clearing, solver of all problems.
Katie Keier – course marker, the hostess with the most-est; finish line captain; queen of the group selfies.
Brian McNeil - course marking captain
Bruce Tweedie - course marking
Carrie Drummond - course marker, Pitt Springs Aid Station Captain
Quinn McGlinchey - Pitt Springs AS
Critter McGlinchey - Pitt Springs AS
Larry Tumblin - course marking, Morgan Run Aid Station Captain, remover of fallen trees from the course
Quatro Hubbard - Catherine’s Furnace Aid Station Captain
Cara and Theo Mason - CF AS
Mitch Goldman - CF AS
Jeff Reed - Bird Knob Aid Station Captain
Emma Reed - BK AS
Jose Cardenas - BK AS
Tracy Cooley - BK AS
Alexandra Stone - Sweep
Ivory Lira - Sweep
Samantha Neakrase - Sweep
Deb Cawthorn - Sweep
Faith Hengesbaugh - Sweep
Todd Folmsbee - Grill Master
Jeni Dwyer - finish line
Pete Josendale - finish line
Isabel Josendale - finish line
Vivian Josendale - finish line
Finlee Josendale - finish line
Jayme Dubinsky - finish line
Sara Davidson - finish line
Larry Huffman - finish line

Photos

Results