UPS&DOWNS
N E W S L I N E
Sports
Ups
What did you do last weekend?
Don’t you love it when a holiday like Independence Day makes a 3-day weekend?
Downs
Do we miss the old community fireworks at Schoellkopf Field?
HEARD&SEEN
She ran 100 miles in 21 hours
I
Heard
The Commons Concert got great weather and a large crowd for an outdoor concert the way it is supposed to be. After COVID and many weather uncertainties, it was a nice new normal.
By St ev e L aw r e nc e
have been to a number of “watch parties” for various sporting events over the years. I recall a large gathering of friends pooled money in the 1970s for a pay-per-view event to watch a highly anticipated boxing match, and 1 minute and 38 seconds into the bout, one guy knocked out the other and we were tasked with figuring out what to do with 2 hours worth of food and beer while listening to the announcers rehash the fight two dozen times. Saturday's watch party at the Finger Lakes Running Company would not face such a challenge, as the event was the Western States 100 ultra-marathon, and the fastest runner would finish in 15 hours, 13 minutes and 48 seconds. The winner – Adam Peterman – has now won all five of the ultras he has entered (though this was his first 100-miler) but those gathered at the Ithaca store were not there to watch Mr. Peterman. They were there to watch one of their own – Ithaca's Ellie Pell – who drew a big burst of cheers when she reached the top of the escarpment at the 3.5 mile mark in second place, hot on the heels of world record holder Camille Herron. By Mile 10, Ellie ( I love the fact that her Twitter handle is @gazellie) had slipped to seventh place, and she would ultimately finish in 14th place among women (39th overall), finishing with an impressive time of 21 hours, 37 minutes and 12 seconds. She started the race around 5 am on Saturday and finished at 2:37 am on Sunday. It was an incredible effort on a day the race's website called “a scorcher.” According to the race's website, “The Western States ® 100-Mile Endurance Run is the world’s oldest 100 mile trail race. The Run starts in Olympic Valley, California, near the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, and ends 100.2 miles later in Auburn, California. In the decades since its inception in 1974, Western States has come to represent one of the ultimate endurance
Seen
Police are seeking a man who damaged several vehicles last Friday from the Commons to the 300 block of South Cayuga. He is described as a Hispanic Male in his 30s in blue genes and a grey t-shirt with “salt and pepper” hair.
IF YOU CARE TO RESPOND to something in this column, or suggest your own praise or blame, write news@ithacatimes. com, with a subject head “U&D.”
QUESTION OF THE WEEK Ithaca’s Ellie Pell braved the elements racing up and down California mountains for 100 miles to compete in the Western States 100+ Ultra-marathon
tests in the world.” The race was canceled in 2020, and travel restrictions limited the turnout last year, but this year, 380 competitors from 32 countries showed up to celebrate its return. If Pell's name is a familiar one, it might be because we have been covering the 30 year-old's various running endeavors for several years. My former colleague ,Cassandra Negley, wrote about Ellie's performance at the Buffalo Marathon in 2016, and I have covered her numerous times, from a story about runners training during the pandemic to her participation in the Olympic Trials. To see a local runner climb the ranks to become an elite ultra runner and enter – and finish – her first Western States 100 is indeed a real treat. Knowing that this was her first 100-miler, I asked Ellie what distance had been her previous longest, and she said, “I had run a 100-K (62 miles), and my goal here was to finish and not walk it in, to keep running throughout.” Asked to share to most unexpected development in the 21-plus hour endeavor, she said,
“Starting around Mile 60, I was in so much pain I didn't think I could keep going. My left calf hurt so much – especially on the downhills – I thought it would snap in half.” Ian Golden (who is the owner of the Finger Lakes Running Company and has arguably done more for the local distance running community than anyone) was one of Ellie's support crew members, and he said, “The runners descend into a valley, and then ran along a spine. The terrain was such that two of the areas we wanted to get to were 25 miles apart, but took 3 hours to drive to.” He added, “The Western States is the oldest 100-mile race, and it really is a well-oiled machine, so some runners don't really need a crew, but others (like Ellie's team) utilize four crew members and two vehicles.” It was a great learning experience for Team Pell, and Golden said, “One of the veterans said, 'You really need to first run 100 miles to be able to race 100 miles,' and for Ellie's first 100-mile race, she really did an incredible job.”
Do you miss the Lime Bikes? 28.0%
Yeah, they were a good option to get around town.
68.0%
No, I’m glad I don’t have to trip over them on the sidewalks anymore.
4.0%
The what bikes? Didn’t even notice.
N EXT WEEK ’S Q UESTION :
What’s your favorite popsicle flavor? Visit ithaca.com to submit your response.
JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2022
/ THE ITHACA TIMES
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