Patterson and Halstead win Forbush Corner 17k Freestyle

Sat, Feb  15, 2014 - By Mike Muha

It was almost balmy as we arrived at Forbush Corner for the Forbush 17k Freestyle: a nice 5F with sunny skies and almost no wind. Hey, 5F is warm when when compared to the brutal -7F at the North American Vasa last week, or the Noquemonan's cold and wind. This season's race-wax-of-choice (the coldest wax in your box, with a cold powder additive to make the bases even harder) was the wax of the day.

Lead women at coming through the stadium area after the start. (All photos by Barb Wade)

The start was very wide, but marred by some hard low berms and bumps. Most of the skiers started on the left, leaving two thirds of the start area sparsely populated, probably because a few hundred yard down the course made a hard left and up a hill. The men started first, the women 5 minutes later. The men's start was a bit of chaos, with a couple crashes before the turn and a couple more into the wide climb (easy skating two across) caused by agressive skiers trying to win in the first half kilometer. Things calmed down - for the most part - as skiers spread out.

Climbing one of many, many hills....

A couple more problems popped up as certain skiers discovered that the tracks were significantly faster on the downhills than the skate lane. In fact, I tangled up with Steve Smigel Sr. as I caught and started passing him just the trail tipped back up. He'd tucked down the hill in the skate lane, and started skating just as I started to pass in the track. We tangled our tips and had to come to a complete stop to untangle (sorry Steve!). He got his revenge by beating me to the finish.

If you haven't been to Forbush Corner, then a short description of the course is warranted; You are either climbing or descending. There is very little that is flat on the race course. Not many hills are long, but they are steep! Downhills were screaming, especially if you jumped in the tracks. Heck, there were skiers doublepoling up the gentle hills and passing skaters - that's how fast the tracks were. I marathon skated in many spots on the race, hoping the tracks would give me extra fast glide.

Ryan Halstead, John O'Hearn, and Ryan Harris sprinting for the finish line

Climbing? Cold waxes don't seem to have low breakaway speed, and it was a struggle for everyone in the climb. Skis that felt fast on the flats and downs just seemed bog down on the ups.

Up front, a real race was happening. Ryan Halstead, John O'Hearn, and Ryan Harris skied in their own elite pack, minutes ahead of everyone else. At the end, only two seconds separated the three, as Halstead sprinted across the line first in 50:11, with O'Hearn and Harris in his wake.

Kaitlin Patterson takes the win

The women were moving fast as well. Kaitlin Patterson passed me first in the last 3k, having made up 5 minutes on my time. A minute or so later, Laura Web and Susan Vigland cruised by. Patterson held on to her lead, finishing exactly 10 minutes behind Ryan Halstead, in 60:10. Laura Webb and Susan Vigland sprinted together to the finish, with Webb taking it at the line in 60:50.

Laura Webb beats Susan Vigland for 2nd place at the finish

Women
Place	Bib #	Name (first last)	Time	Sex	Age	Class
1	133	Kaitlin Patterson	60:10	F	24	Seniors 20-29 (F)
2	147	Laura Webb	60:50	F	53	Masters 50-59 (F)
3	144	Susan Vigland	60:51	F	45	Masters 40-49 (F)
4	107	Rebecca Davis	62:02	F	24	Seniors 20-29 (F)
5	153	Mariah Frye	62:25	F	27	Seniors 20-29 (F)
6	109	Brenda Carlson	66:20	F	54	Masters 50-59 (F)
7	136	Amy Joss	66:21	F	48	Masters 40-49 (F)
8	161	Hilary Witbrodt	77:58	F	33	Seniors 30-39 (F)
9	112	Christine Seager	86:07	F	51	Masters 50-59 (F)
10	120	Sheila Marcus	97:37	F	56	Masters 50-59 (F)
11	132	Gwen Stevenson	105:25	F	47	Masters 40-49 (F)
12	156	Amelia Wilks	111:30	F	66	Super Masters 60-69 (F)
13	154	Savannah Port	128:23	F	20	Seniors 20-29 (F)
14	103	Linda Allen	131:32	F	61	Super Masters 60-69 (F)
15	158	Susan Joslin	138:45	F	48	Masters 40-49 (F)
16	130	Jean Murray	139:13	F	75	Super Masters 70-79 (F)
Men
Place	Bib #	Name (first last)	Time	Sex	Age	Class
1	116	Ryan Halstead	50:10	M	27	Seniors 20-29 (M)
2	160	John Ohearn	50:11	M	33	Seniors 30-39 (M)
3	101	Ryan Harris	50:12	M	23	Seniors 20-29 (M)
4	143	Clifford Onthank	55:26	M	60	Super Masters 60-69 (M)
5	125	Jim Harrington	55:30	M	48	Masters 40-49 (M)
6	141	Randal Bladel	55:49	M	58	Masters 50-59 (M)
7	135	James Beebe	55:50	M	53	Masters 50-59 (M)
8	124	Don Camp	58:21	M	62	Super Masters 60-69 (M)
9	128	Bob Smith	58:22	M	41	Masters 40-49 (M)
10	110	Josh Sheldon	58:40	M	33	Seniors 30-39 (M)
11	137	Mo Harwood	58:41	M	35	Seniors 30-39 (M)
12	113	Steve Seager	59:56	M	55	Masters 50-59 (M)
13	115	Mike Seaman	60:26	M	50	Masters 50-59 (M)
14	145	Douglas Cornell	60:37	M	54	Masters 50-59 (M)
15	150	Blair Zordell	61:05	M	54	Masters 50-59 (M)
16	162	Mike Everts	61:57	M	52	Masters 50-59 (M)
17	108	Michael Davis	62:16	M	22	Seniors 20-29 (M)
18	118	Bill Kaltz	62:32	M	67	Super Masters 60-69 (M)
19	151	Robin Luce	62:40	M	62	Super Masters 60-69 (M)
20	114	Chris Maltby	64:43	M	41	Masters 40-49 (M)
21	149	Rene Harde	64:45	M	47	Masters 40-49 (M)
22	140	Steve Smigiel	65:11	M	68	Super Masters 60-69 (M)
23	111	Joseph Brown	66:12	M	65	Super Masters 60-69 (M)
24	134	Mike Muha	66:49	M	57	Masters 50-59 (M)
25	142	Randy Kessler	67:10	M	60	Super Masters 60-69 (M)
26	127	Todd Gyulvesvi	67:31	M	52	Masters 50-59 (M)
27	126	David Austin	68:48	M	45	Masters 40-49 (M)
28	155	Ryan Darnton	69:20	M	33	Seniors 30-39 (M)
2	146	Anthony Percha	69:50	M	54	Masters 50-59 (M)
30	129	Dan Nolan	72:22	M	63	Super Masters 60-69 (M)
31	121	Lewis Tripp	72:36	M	55	Masters 50-59 (M)
32	122	Rick Neient	72:51	M	56	Masters 50-59 (M)
33	104	Peter Shambaugh	73:20	M	14	Juniors 13-19 (M)
34	131	Tom Baron	73:33	M	60	Super Masters 60-69 (M)
35	106	Michael Bourassa	74:32	M	59	Masters 50-59 (M)
36	138	Theo Vonwallmenich	77:36	M	43	Masters 40-49 (M)
37	117	Walter Johnson	80:51	M	65	Super Masters 60-69 (M)
38	105	Frank Nizio	83:32	M	65	Super Masters 60-69 (M)
39	152	Doug Moggo	84:23	M	52	Masters 50-59 (M)
40	139	Ryan Flesher	92:12	M	39	Seniors 30-39 (M)
41	119	Timothy Mervak	94:14	M	57	Masters 50-59 (M)
42	159	Greg Worrel	96:43	M	59	Masters 50-59 (M)
43	148	Philip Huyghe	102:59	M	55	Masters 50-59 (M)
44	157	Ken Shannon	134:33	M	56	Masters 50-59 (M)
45	164	Robert Pettibone	134:40	M	58	Masters 50-59 (M)
46	163	Mark Barrera	134:42	M	50	Masters 50-59 (M)