Winners have no trouble with hills at end of race
Herald and News
Klamath Falls, Oregon
August 11, 2003
By STEVE MATTHIES
CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK – More than one runner has cursed the long, steep, windy hill that culminates at the finish line of the 13-mile run of the Crater Lake Rim Runs and Marathon.
Saturday, in the 28th annual running of the event, neither winner complained.
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Both, in fact, rather enjoyed the hills on a clear, comfortable day for a run in the only competitive race held in a U.S. national park.
“I’m a hill runner,” 17-year-old Trevor Hanlin said after he won the 13-mile race in one hour, 22 minutes and 24 seconds, a major improvement over his finish of a year ago.
He was second in his first Crater Lake Rim Runs and Marathon effort a year ago, in 1:26:25.
The long, almost three-mile climb that completes the 13-mile event is not as difficult as many of the hills he trains on, the Grants Pass High School senior to be said.
A year ago, he qualified for the U.S. mountain running team, but did not compete in the world championships in Austria because of conflicts with the high school cross country season.
He looks forward to more hills when he travels, at least twice, to Klamath Falls this fall for the high school cross country season.
He also relished Saturday’s race.
“There was a whole lot less smoke,” Hanlin said.
“I did much better on the first half of the race. With three miles left, I didn’t push myself that hard. I think I could have gone under (one hour and 20 minutes).
“But,” he said with a grin, “I can’t argue with first place.”
Hanlin was slightly more than a minute of runnerup Tony Hawkes of Klamath Falls in what was the largest of the three races Saturday, with more than 100 runners finishing the race.
Among them was Jamie Tuchscherer, who was the first female runner to finish and placed sixth overall in 1:38:20.
A Lakeview High grad who now works as a dietician at Merle West Medical Center, ran her first Crater Lake race.
“It was something I always wanted to do, but was in college,” Tuchscherer said. “Now, I’m in the area, but I had no idea of what the course was like.
“I took it easy and tried to run relaxed. I had no idea how many hills there were.”
She said her race was “great.”
Both likely will return.
Hanlin said he definitely plans to return.
“I want to try to improve on what I did this year,” Hanlin said, but noted that he has started to place his emphasis on his final year of high school competition.
“I’m hoping to be more prepared. It will definitely be a more focused season,” he said.
Among the individuals Hanlin beat this year was his high school coach, Carl Sniffen, who was 16th overall in 1:47:39.
Oregon Tech’s Jimmy Addison, a Klamath Union grad, was fifth in 1:37:58, while Lisa Husaby of Bend, who was eighth, was the second female runner to finish.
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