2022 All Souls Race Results

All Souls Quarter Marathon Trail Race Results

Boston Hill Trails in Silver City, New Mexico

November 5, 2022

From the Race Director:

Saturday’s race, though small, was hotly contested & warmly received by a running crowd eager to rise from the pandemic sofa & hit the trails again. It was a real pleasure to see yall, & I apologize for not visiting longer with each of you, as I was in my usual pre- & post-race flurry.

A platoon of mad-fast same-day race registrants decided the weather was right & the cause was noble, & they proceeded to turn the heat up from the starting line. Local trail star Sam Schramski threw down hard & crossed the finish line in a searing 48:26. I wasn’t able to see him finish, of course, as I was some 2K behind him—but I am told he crossed the line in seemingly effortless fashion. Perennial SCAT award-winner Martha Schumann Cooper won the women’s race in 1:05:45. Perhaps the most remarkable performance of the day belonged to 13-year-old Alex Ratliff, who finished the course with the big dogs, turning in a 1:05:10—besting even his fleet-footed mom, Heidi Schroeder, who took Women’s Masters honors. Garrett Peltonen, who won the Men’s Masters Race, finished fourth overall—one of 9 runners who finished the 6.55-mile course in under an hour.

Thanks to my trusty scoring crew—Patti Bernal, Erika Burleigh, Nancy Stephens, and Chris McIntosh—we have what I consider accurate & timely results.

Incidentally, one of my students—whom I talked into racing Saturday—was bemoaning his 34^th place finish. (It was his absolute first race ever; what a baptism-by-stone!) I reminded him that plenty of runners stayed at home in bed Saturday morning. He bothered—like the rest of you—to toe the line & stay the course. Props to all yall!

Thanks also to race volunteers Ivy Stephens-Etheridge (at the Trailhead), Jim & Lillian Connelly (at the First Left Turn), Wayne Sherwood (at the Entrance to & Exit from the Blue Loop), Matt Gruszka & Serena Murillo (at the Water Station), Steve & Denise Blake as Crossing Guards & Traffic Controllers (with a little help from the Silver City Police Department’s Officer MacDonald), Rita & Johnny Montenegro (at the Food Station), & the Lovely Ladies of Registration: Chris Jepson, Bridget O’Leary, & Chris McIntosh, along with Special Guest Star Harry Browne.

Toting up race registration fees, sponsorships, & a little money left in the till from last year, we were able to write a $1000 check to The Commons Center for Food Security. That makes me happy. What a lovely way to honor Alex Olsen, who has fed so many from its kitchen.

If any of you are dizzy from the Miles 1-3 spaghetti, you have Martyn Pearson to thank for that. Frankly, I had a blast in the pasta lane. Gracias, mi amigo.

As for the future of such SCAT races, I’m remaining vague about their nature but will insist that some sort of race needs to go down on Saturday, May 27, 2023, on that Cobrecito course at Bataan Memorial Park. It’s just too fine a trail to leave untraveled.

Best to yall—I appreciate you—

Jim Mc