Mario Raymond takes in the view from Reddish Knob at the 2013 Martha Moats Baker.

Mike Bur

2018 Report

August 11, 2018  •  Stokesville, VA

56 starters, 49 finishers

Report

We had a great day in the mountains for the 11th running of the Martha Moats Baker Memorial 50k. The weather for this year’s run, held on August 11, 2018, was all over the map. Cooler than normal in the morning, with bright sunshine and high humidity - this gave way at lunch time to clouds, and then rain and finally a full-throated thunderstorm. The storm lasted long enough to cause some interesting trail flooding conditions for the runners, and then gave way to a sunny and pleasant end to the day.

The runners seemed to thrive under these conditions. A record 56 starters took off from the TWOT lot at 7:01 AM and headed up Little Bald. 49 of them ultimately finished the entire “50k” distance (actually considered closer to 33 miles). This made for a finishing percentage of 87.5% (see below for the percentage who covered the entire distance in the 10 previous iterations of the MMB 50k.

A 50th runner, Carole Williamson, attempted to finish, but made a wrong turn that led to her dropping after about 40 miles of running on the day. Carole ended up at Camp Todd, on the opposite side of the Little Bald peak from the finish line area in the TWOT lot. Two runners - and only two this year, which is amazing! - chose the Party Route at the final aid station, and logged roughly 26 miles by running down Tilghman Road from that Grooms Ridge trailhead. Lisa Sidel ended up completing her first “trail marathon” as a result; her time of 8:00 is an approximation, as she finished roughly 20 minutes ahead of the other marathoner on this day, Chris Melvin.

Lance Dockery was the overall winner of MMB 2018. His time of 5:26 now makes him the second fastest person to run this run. Dave Frazier’s event record time from both 2013 and 2014 is 5:18. Dave also holds the second fastest time, with a 5:24 in 2015. Congratulations, Lance, on your win and on this spectacular time! Lance held off 2012 MMB winner, Neal Gorman. Neal has returned to racing this year after taking several years off to focus on starting a family. There was a three-way tie for third: George Sefzik, Enrique Rubio and Chris Pabian.

Sixth overall saw the first woman across the finish line: Kelly MacDonald. Kelly’s time of 6:53 makes her the 2nd fastest woman to negotiate the course at MMB, topped only by Amy Sproston in 2013. Mary Beth Strickler was the second woman to finish this year; Emily Clay and Daisy Weill tied for third (their second tie in three weeks, after a similar tie at Catherine’s Furnace in July). Daisy was the defending champ at MMB, and her time at this year’s run was nearly a half hour faster than her winning time last year.

Congratulations to all the run participants! And a big Thank You to ALL of this year’s coterie of volunteers:

  • Course Markings - Vince Bowman and Jack Broaddus
  • Reddish Knob A.S. at mile 12.5 and Finish Line - Guy Towler, his sister Jan, and Dennis Herr
  • SLAB A.S. at mile 19.5 - Bill Gentry and Lydia Durant
  • Grooms Ridge A.S. at mile 25 - The Family Matheson (Adam, Andrew and Will)
  • Finish Line - Natalie Kennedy
  • Equipment Manager - Dan Aghdam
  • Statistical Engineer - Carol Cohen

As has been the case for years, the course markings have been minimal, but have received strongly positive reviews. So added kudos to Vince and Jack for their help again in 2018. The unsettled weather forecast did lead to some rain and stormy conditions, so added kudos to Dan and Guy for bringing enough shelters to keep the aid stations (including at the finish line) covered.

Here is the statistical breakdown on the finishing rate over the years at MMB:
2008 5/11 (45.5%)
2009 9/28 (32.1%)
2010 18/32 (56.3%)
2011 6/25 (24.0%)
2012 11/32 (34.4%)
2013 29/46 (63.0%)
2014 33/48 (68.8%)
2015 32/41 (78.0%)
2016 22/41 (53.7%)
2017 38/51 (74.5%)
2018 49/56 (87.5%)

Come on down to Stokesville in western Virginia for the 12th running of the Martha Moats Baker Memorial 50k, which will be held on Saturday August 10, 2019.

Results

PlaceNameAgeStateSexBib #ReddishSLABGroomsFinish
1Lance Dockery27MDM772:033:003:515:26
2Neal Gorman41VAM1002:123:134:035:46
3Chris Pabian42PAM1262:343:464:496:42
3Enrique Rubio36DCM1322:373:484:496:42
3George Sefzik43VAM1332:373:484:476:42
6Kelly MacDonald29VAF1192:403:534:526:53
7Mario Raymond46MDM1292:313:404:386:54
8Christopher Flint35VAM962:293:454:496:57
9Matt Christovich39VAM242:373:484:517:02
9Ryan Kidwiler24WVM1142:353:484:557:02
11Rick Henry33VAM1082:453:564:557:13
12Jesse Fuller34VAM982:514:095:117:17
13Jeff Shetler46PAM1362:504:005:117:20
14Mike Zinn36VAM1472:514:145:227:29
15Mary Beth Strickler43MDF1382:564:145:227:36
15Erick Kuhlmann31VAM1162:564:145:227:36
17Vivien Deparday34DCM752:474:045:167:37
17Marc Griffin42VAM1042:474:035:167:37
19Emily Clay29MDF342:534:175:287:39
19Daisy Weill30DCF1443:014:255:357:39
21Charlene Howard46MDF1092:534:185:287:41
22Sarah Hodder28WVF1072:474:175:347:43
23Todd Ellick35VAM832:524:145:247:52
24Levi Mason37VAM1202:514:145:247:53
25Lokesh Kumar Meena30MDM1232:534:185:268:11
26Jack Anderson35DCM1493:244:445:488:13
27Erik Price35VAM1283:054:385:538:20
28Josh Howe39VAM1102:594:305:518:24
29Eric Harris45MDM1052:514:346:008:28
30Scott Lee47VAM1173:244:576:108:34
31Dan Aghdam50VAM3523:304:576:208:48
32Daniel Gracias37VAM1023:114:466:108:49
33Bruce Tweedie56VAM1403:235:006:188:50
34Rob Tidwell48VAM1393:215:006:238:58
35Paul Valenzuela52VAM1413:244:576:119:12
36Sarah Capostagno27MDF233:175:016:269:20
37Elsa Araujo40VAF43:283:166:419:46
37Andy Peterson61VAM1273:305:156:419:46
39Jamie Greenawalt50PAF1033:465:276:579:56
39Larry Huffman57VAM1113:465:226:599:56
41Helen MacDermott39VAF1183:315:226:5910:00
42Jaret Seiberg49MDM1343:546:007:3810:10
43Jeffrey Klemm67VAM1153:465:427:1610:16
44Judith Weber58MDF1433:465:417:2310:33
45Shelly Cable48VAF203:556:017:3810:48
45Tracy Cooley46VAF483:556:017:3810:48
45Sirisha Golla43VAF993:555:537:3210:48
45Jacqueline Ong57VAF1253:555:537:3210:48
49Sam Coyner51VAM583:586:028:0511:59
NopeCarole Williamson57MDF1464:116:187:5613:29
NopeLisa Sidel49MDF1374:016:007:388:00
NopeChris Melvin43VAM1243:466:077:548:20
NopeConnor Murphy28VAM1013:365:23xxxDNF
NopeKari Anderson57VAF1514:056:42xxxDNF
NopeCaroline Williams56VAF1454:116:42xxxDNF
NopeFarouk Elkassed68VAM804:056:42xxxDNF

Initial results and report posted on 8/13/2018 replaced with corrected results 8/14/2018. Please contact RD Q with any additional needed edits.

Definitions of Splits above:
Reddish (Knob Aid Station - 12.5 Miles)
SLAB (Aid Station (aka The G-Spot) - 19.5 Miles)
Grooms (Ridge Aid Station - 25 Miles)
Finish (TWOT Lot - 33 Miles)

Carole Williamson went off course in the final section and logged about 40 miles before arranging for pickup at Camp Todd, further up the Wild Oak Trail.

Lisa Sidel and Chris Melvin completed their trail marathons (aka The Party Route); each completing 26 miles by running the Tilghman Road back to the finish from the Grooms Ridge aid station.

Last updated December 16, 2019