OD 100 Times - This year's OD Time in Comparison

[guest@endurance.net]

Stagg Newman staggandcheryl@earthlink.net
I believe Jayel Super's time this year at the OD 100 (12:36) is the
fastest on the course that basically has been used since 1996.

This year I was very fortunate in that
1) the weather was superb for June in the Va. mountains - low humidity -
high probably less than 80 degrees.
2) Super had other very good horses to ride with much of the way
including Ann Stuart's horse for the first 40 miles and
then Cathy Shenk's horse who finished second and
Jeannie Waldron's great horse Rambow, who holds the all time record for OD
(see below) but who unfortunately had to
withdraw at 80 miles (turned out to be a hot nail from
a reshoeing at 70 miles).
3) The course was riding a bit easier than normal.
4) My horse had a very good day.

More details follow.

The fastest time at the OD since it moved to it's location
in the Blue Ridge and Masanutten Mountains in the 'late '70s
was set by Dr. Jeannie Waldron on Rambow in '94 and was right
around 12 hours. Rambow won in both '93 and '94 in record setting
time.

In 1995 a new course, developed by Valerie Kanavy, was used only once.
Then in 1996, the current course, which replaced quite a few miles of road
on the old course with mountain trail was
developled.  This trail combined new trail developed by Valerie
with more of the old trail.  However
even this course has changed a bit each year.  Most
people believe that this new trail was probably riding about an hour
slower than the pre-1995 trail.  Jayel Super set the record for this trail
in 1999 in about 13:45. He won by over an hour
and thus was not pressed at all during the last part of the ride.
The weather that day was qutie mild weather for the OD altho
humid by Western U.S. standards.

This year Super broke that record by over an hour.  I believe
the course was riding about 1/2 hour faster this year because
the trail was probably 1/2 mile to a mile shorter (the OD
had probably become about 103 miles) and because the National
Forest Service had bulldozed about a 6 mile track to remove
rocks from an ATV trail that had lost all its top soil.  So what
had been very rocky 6 miles was now quite trottable. This year
the weather was superb and I was being pressed by the another
horse (Cathy Shenk - rider), who also looked quite strong.  We rode
together from 50 to about 88 miles which of course helped both horses.  I
left the 88 mile check point (McCoy's Ford) and with just a couple minute
lead and finished just 15 minutes
ahead of Cathy.

For those not familiar with the OD, I believe it is the toughest
course that I have ridden.  It's the rocks, single track
mounatin trail (footing) and humidity
that make the OD tough.  The climbs are quite comparable to
a lot of other rides.  Note that I did live out in CA from '90 to '93 and
did many of the 100s out West.  I did not get a chance to do Tevis (and of
course some year have to do that!).  For calibration, my horse Drubin set
the course record for the Virginia City 100 (which I believe still
stands). CA friends who have done both Tevis and OD say the OD rides
slower.
Both are great tought rides.