Mario Raymond takes in the view from Reddish Knob at the 2013 Martha Moats Baker.
Mike Bur
2017 Report
August 12, 2017 • Stokesville, VA
51 starters, 38 finishers
Report
On the whole, it was a good weather day for MMB. Particularly for the volunteers, as the temps ranged from 60 degrees mid-morning on Reddish Knob to the low 70s in the afternoon along the Tilghman Road. Threatened thunderstorms finally revealed themselves mid-afternoon, and after another dry spell, more drizzle made way for more rain to finish the run off. The conditions had been quite humid for the runners, and most still on the course when the rains came were grateful for its cooling effect.
Congrats to Matt Thompson on his overall win, and to Daisy Weill, first to the finish among the women. Matt had opened up a solid lead by the first aid station at 12.5 miles over Leif Van Acker and Adam Watkins. Adam cut into the lead in during the downhill miles to aid station #2, but by the time he reached the final aid station, with 8 miles to go, Matt had once again opened up a 15+ minute gap. His finish in 5:26 was just 8 minutes off the event record, set by Dave Frazier in 2013 and then again in 2014. Daisy Weill held off Amy Brockey-Rogers by a minute to take the women’s win, with the run splits, and on-course photographic and video evidence, indicates that they were running in the vicinity of each other much of the day. Amy Sproston’s course record of 6:15, set in 2013, remains intact.
Other little factoids … The finishing percentage this year was over 75%. This stands in stark contrast to many of the MMB finishing rates in years’ past. For example, 2016 was just over 50%; and 2012 was just over 33%. The starting field of 51 runners set a new record for MMB. And a big congrats to all the runners for dodging the Sand Springs Trail Rattler(s). Most runners commented on seeing one or two during the final stages of their big descent from Reddish Knob to Tilghman Road in the middle of the run. There were no reported bear encounters during the run (two were seen on Grooms Ridge during Friday afternoon trail marking), but plenty of bear dogs, as per usual in this area. Sadly, yellow jackets impacted one runner’s run: Jayme Dubinsky had to skip the final section of the run after experiencing five stings during the Narrowback Trail section of the course.
Once again, a number of runners took advantage of being in the area of these trails to package a Sunday run with their Saturday run. Several groups staged TWOT loops, while others hit other trails in the Massanuttens. MMB weekend provides not only an outstanding run experience on some very underutilized trails, but also a valuable chance to get in a double, particularly for those gearing for fall 100s.
Big thanks to Run Founder and RD Emeritus Dennis Herr for all his work helping to pull this run off. Also thanks to the other volunteers: Mundy Hackett, Natalie Escobar, Mike Hannon, Robin Watkins and Josh Howe. Good times, as always, on these fantastic trails - see you all Saturday August 11, 2018, and we will do it all again. Only this time with more timber rattlers!
Results
Below are the results of the 10th annual running of the Martha Moats Baker 50k, held on the trails in the George Washington National Forest west of Staunton and southwest of Harrisonburg, on the Virginia/West Virginia border.
| Place | MMB Entrant - 2017 | Age | Sex | State | Reddish Knob (12.2) | SLAB (19.3) | Grooms Ridge (24.4) | Finish | Total Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Thompson | 37 | Male | VA | 1:59 | 3:11 | 3:55 | 5:26 | 50k |
| 2 | Adam Watkins | 37 | Male | DC | 2:19 | 3:24 | 4:12 | 6:02 | 50k |
| 3 | Leif Van Acker | 22 | Male | VA | 2:17 | 3:39 | 4:36 | 6:24 | 50k |
| 4 | Vivien Deparday | 33 | Male | DC | 2:55 | 4:18 | 5:28 | 7:50 | 50k |
| 5 | Marc Griffin | 41 | Male | VA | 2:56 | 4:24 | 5:38 | 7:58 | 50k |
| 5 | Jack Anderson | 34 | Male | DC | 2:56 | 4:26 | 5:38 | 7:58 | 50k |
| 5 | Matt Christovich | 38 | Male | VA | 2:56 | 4:27 | 5:38 | 7:58 | 50k |
| 8 | Christian Dahlhausen | 37 | Male | VA | 2:56 | 4:25 | 5:38 | 8:00 | 50k |
| 9 | Jack Kurisky | 50 | Male | VA | 2:31 | 3:46 | 5:31 | 8:03 | 50k |
| 10 | Daisy Weill | 29 | Female | DC | 3:04 | 4:37 | 5:45 | 8:08 | 50k |
| 11 | Scott Berkley | 23 | Male | VT | 3:04 | 4:35 | 5:49 | 8:09 | 50k |
| 11 | Jason Farr | 39 | Male | VA | 3:04 | 4:38 | 5:49 | 8:09 | 50k |
| 11 | Jesse Fuller | 33 | Male | VA | 3:04 | 4:36 | 5:52 | 8:09 | 50k |
| 11 | Amy Brockey-Rogers | 36 | Female | MD | 3:04 | 4:40 | 5:52 | 8:09 | 50k |
| 15 | Eric Harris | 44 | Male | MD | 2:40 | 4:50 | 6:00 | 8:25 | 50k |
| 16 | Steve Barge | 50 | Male | VA | 3:04 | 4:40 | 5:54 | 8:31 | 50k |
| 16 | Brett Martin | 36 | Male | VA | 3:04 | 4:40 | 5:56 | 8:31 | 50k |
| 18 | Todd Ellick | 34 | Male | VA | 3:12 | 5:02 | 6:11 | 8:44 | 50k |
| 19 | Dan Aghdam | 49 | Male | VA | 3:39 | 5:29 | 6:52 | 8:46 | 50k |
| 20 | Andy Peterson | 60 | Male | VA | 3:21 | 5:11 | 6:25 | 9:27 | 50k |
| 20 | Helen MacDermott | 38 | Female | VA | 3:29 | 5:20 | 6:46 | 9:29 | 50k |
| 20 | Larry Huffman | 56 | Male | VA | 3:32 | 5:20 | 6:46 | 9:29 | 50k |
| 23 | Adeline Ntam | 37 | Female | MD | 3:32 | 5:29 | 6:46 | 9:29 | 50k |
| 24 | Samantha Pitts-Kiefer | 39 | Female | VA | 3:29 | 5:28 | 6:47 | 9:30 | 50k |
| 25 | Sarah Smith | 45 | Female | MD | 3:32 | 5:32 | 6:57 | 9:45 | 50k |
| 26 | Judith Weber | 57 | Female | MD | 3:47 | 5:33 | 6:56 | 9:50 | 50k |
| 26 | Dani Seiss | 47 | Female | MD | 3:47 | 5:34 | 6:56 | 9:50 | 50k |
| 28 | Mundy Hackett | 47 | Male | VA | 3:29 | 5:27 | 6:56 | 9:55 | 50k |
| 29 | Shawn Cisson | 31 | Male | MD | 3:29 | 5:20 | 7:02 | 9:58 | 50k |
| 29 | Jared Byrd | 33 | Male | MD | 3:29 | 5:21 | 7:02 | 9:58 | 50k |
| 29 | Sara Davidson | 34 | Female | MD | 3:46 | 5:24 | 7:02 | 9:58 | 50k |
| 32 | Bill Gentry | 56 | Male | VA | 3:29 | 5:19 | 7:02 | 10:04 | 50k |
| 32 | Cherry Grassi | 45 | Female | VA | 3:46 | 5:35 | 7:02 | 10:04 | 50k |
| 34 | Julius Garcia | 57 | Male | VA | 3:48 | 5:39 | 7:10 | 10:07 | 50k |
| 34 | Jacqueline Ong | 56 | Female | VA | 3:49 | 5:38 | 7:12 | 10:07 | 50k |
| 36 | Diane Behm | 40 | Female | VA | 4:03 | 6:06 | 8:06 | 11:03 | 50k |
| 36 | Joyce Fendley | 51 | Female | VA | 4:06 | 6:07 | 8:06 | 11:03 | 50k |
| 38 | Marwa Elsayed | 43 | Female | VA | 4:19 | 6:47 | 8:48 | 11:55 | 50k |
| Nope | Danny Rogers | 41 | Male | MD | 3:08 | 4:38 | 5:52 | 6:12 | Party Loop |
| Nope | Stephen Yurek | 55 | Male | VA | 3:08 | 4:41 | 5:57 | 6:12 | Party Loop |
| Nope | Jayme Dubinsky | 34 | Female | VA | 4:03 | 6:06 | 8:12 | 8:38 | Party Loop |
| Nope | Jon Jester | 58 | Male | VA | 4:19 | 6:47 | 8:40 | 9:12 | Party Loop |
| Nope | Christopher Moore | 31 | Male | VA | 3:04 | 4:31 | 5:18 | 5:26 | Big Party Loop |
| Nope | Rick Bennett | 37 | Male | VA | 3:04 | 4:39 | 5:18 | 5:26 | Big Party Loop |
| Nope | Jim Smucker | 56 | Male | VA | 3:12 | 5:12 | 5:45 | 5:58 | Big Party Loop |
| Nope | Chris Pabian | 41 | Male | PA | 3:39 | 5:42 | xx | xx | DNF |
| Nope | Sophie Speidel | 54 | Female | VA | 2:49 | 4:19 | 5:26 | xxx | DNF |
| Nope | Tony Escobar | 53 | Male | CO | 3:54 | 6:05 | 8:08 | xxx | DNF |
| Nope | Rick Amernick | 46 | Male | VA | 3:32 | 5:39 | xxx | xxx | DNF |
Dan Aghdam’s time is a “chip” time, allowed on this occasion as he flew in from Stockholm, Sweden and then drove to the start, spotting the field about 35 minutes. Two other starters got out of the TWOT lot late, and then rather swiftly left the official course. They had a great time exploring the southern portion of the Wild Oak Trail, and made some nice lemonade out of that navigational lemon; hence the “51” starters noted here, with only 49 names on The List above. Definitions: | |||||||||
Last updated December 16, 2019