Crater
Lake Rim Runs Recap
Oregonlive.com
Portland, Oregon
August 13, 2007
By JOE DUDMAN
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photo by Barbara Dudman. A view
of Llao Rock from near the start. The course climbs a big hill
to the left of this formation in the third mile. |
Last Thursday I headed south for my
annual trip to Crater Lake National Park. Nine of the past 10 years,
beginning in 1998, I've spent the second weekend of August at Crater
Lake to enjoy the spectacular views, do a little hiking with my parents,
and run the Crater Lake Rim Run 6.7-miler along the rim road early on
Saturday morning. At around 7000 ft. elevation, and with some serious
hills, this race, along with the 13-miler and marathon, is a real
challenge. It is also one of the most scenic races you'll ever
experience.
The race begins at 7:30a at a
viewpoint overlooking Wizard Island and the deep blue waters of the
lake. Runners are shuttled to the start, and I was assigned one of the
earliest busses, leaving the campground at 6:00. Probably the hardest
part of this race is getting dressed in the dark in your tent at 5:00
a.m. It's an act of contortion that Harry Houdini would have been proud
of!
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photo by Barbara Dudman. Trevor
Hanlin and Damian Baldovino lead all runners as they approach
the 6.7-mile mark. They finished first and second, respectively,
in the 13-miler. |
The course begins with a gently rolling
first mile, followed by a screaming downhill for mile two. The third
mile is all uphill and quite steep as the road climbs past Llao Rock,
and if you survive that you're rewarded with three miles of downhill and
then a half-mile uphill to the finish at the Cleetwood Cove parking area
to keep you honest. (The longer races continue up that hill and have
many more hills to come, which is the main reason I have yet to deviate
from the short race).
Most years the combination of the
third-mile hill and the altitude pretty much wipe me out, and I spend
the rest of the race trying unsuccessfully to recover and catch my
breath. But I felt much better this year. I got up the hill in one piece
and had something left for the downhill. Maybe it was the 6.5-mile hike
up Crater Peak the day before, or the uncharacteristically mild
temperature at 7:00 that allowed me to get in a 3-mile warmup, but for
whatever reason I felt much stronger, and finished with my fastest time
in at least six years.
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photo by Barbara
Dudman. Joe Dudman climbs the final hill at the finish
of the 6.7-miler. |
There were two runners ahead of me, but
they were running the 13-miler! Those two and another pair running the
marathon had close duels for the lead in their respective races, with
Trevor Hanlin, a senior at the University of Puget Sound, winning the
13-miler in 1:18:21, and Jeff Caba of Bend taking the marathon in
2:59:40. Becky Kirschenmann of Klamath Falls was the top woman in the
marathon in 3:53:16. Other results are not yet available.
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photo by Jack Dudman. A view of Crater Lake from
near the finish at the Cleetwood Cove trail head. |
