Ferries, hornets and sweat at Vashon Ultramarathon & Trail Run

The Vashon Island Ultramarathon & Trail Run welcomed back runners on June 8 from as far away as Belgium and Lebanon, with sunny weather and dry trails, 14 years after the introduction of trail racing on the island.

Runners had to battle the usual ferry problems (with only one boat on the Triangle Route in operation for much of the day) and a nest of ground hornets in addition to the athletic challenges of endurance and footwork involved in trail racing.

In the signature 50k race, and fresh off a 100k win two weeks prior at the Pigtails 100k Challenge, 26-year-old Cruz Ortiz-Ramirez, currently in the Army at JBLM, won with a time of 3:58:59. Also winning, and shaving four minutes off her time from last year, was Kristi Williams from Seattle. She won with a time of 4:11:08, completing a two-year sweep as women’s champion and securing the second fastest woman’s time on the course ever.

The first islanders across the line were Timothy Cose at 4:13:11, followed by Rusty Knowler and John Payne. The biggest smile came from, and biggest fan club was for Seattle’s Rebecca Brookes, finishing second for the women at 4:27:37.

First-year race director Nick Keenan introduced a new 20-mile distance this year to add to the usual 10-mile and 50k races.

The inaugural 20-mile race was marked by the thoughtfulness of island runner Tory Hayes, who took time out of her own race to help and accompany an injured runner who had fallen — helping that runner get to a roadway to catch a ride back to race headquarters at the Gateway Trail entrance. (Hayes herself was rescued by fellow islander Debbie Banner during a training run in Island Center Forest years ago.)

Keenan also credited the race to volunteers who make the Ultramarathon & Trail Run a success, and mentioned the trail marking crew led by Casey Lawrence, “Heavy Metal” aid station captains Dave Woelki and Nick Wiggins, and HQ aid station captains Megan Minier and Kelly Keenan. Timing was a team effort by brothers Bruce and Tom Cyra, Joe Yarkin, David Waterworth and Keller Cyra.

Nineteen-year-old Seattleite Isla Chadsey returned after setting the 10-mile record last year to set a new course record — 2:48:58 — in the inaugural 20-mile race, winning by ten minutes.

Winning the men’s race and setting the inaugural course record at 2:36:35 was Paul Young from Seattle, a familiar face in island trail races. Young holds top ten times in the 10-mile and 50k distances here on Vashon. Young only had a few minutes to prepare for the race on Saturday after the north-end ferry fiasco delayed his arrival.

The first islander across the line for the 20-mile race was James Ianelli at 3:25:00.

The furthest traveler award went to Lebanese native Bachir Gemayel, who lives in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Gemayel was in Washington to take part in a mountain climbing class and made a short detour to the island to race, coming in sixth overall with a time of 3:03:31.

Also showing up five minutes before race time, due to the ferry fiasco, was 10-mile winner Keith Laverty of Bainbridge Island, accompanied by his family fan club to cheer him on. He came in at 1:03:51, just shy of his time in 2019. Laverty owns the second and third fastest times on the 10-mile course.

The women’s 10-mile champion was islander Julia Mark, running a time of 1:16:22 and moving up to fourth all-time fastest in the top 10 chart. Mark was part of the large Pop Pop Bottle Shop Racing Team, which also included Wyatt Golding, the first islander in the 10-mile, who finished with a time of 1:15:57.

The 10-mile field was rounded out by 86-year-old Bob Norton and 71-year-old Sue Rudolph from Huntington Beach, California. Norton, who was born on Vashon Island, is a repeat returnee, competing nine times since 2012. The duo finished with a time of 4:11:50. Rudolph has been racing ultramarathons for 32 years; Norton, 42 years.

Two runners had to drop from the races due to allergic reactions to stings from a nest of hornets at the three mile mark, and while both were tended to at the Fire Station in uptown Vashon, one had to be transported to Tacoma General for observation. Both recovered and look forward to returning next year.

The course was “swept” after the races by island cross country runners and supporters, led by past captain Madeline Yarkin and incoming captain Josh Healey.

The annual races are nonprofit charity events, whose purpose is to raise funds for island youth and introduce islanders and visitors to the amazing trails this island has to offer, including Island Center Forest and the serene trails surrounding Fisher Pond.

Work crews from Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust and King County Parks Department groomed the trails into perfect condition, and thanks go out to those crews, whose work was repeatedly mentioned by the trail runners.

Results can be found on vashonultra.com.

Bruce Cyra is a volunteer for the Vashon Island Ultramarathon & Trail Run.

Bachir Gemayel, who lives in the United Arab Emirates, was in Washington for a mountain climbing class and visited the island to race in the 20-mile event. Courtesy photo.