 What went down in August?Since we don’t have any of our events to cover for August, we’ll be talking about other races, local news, and other random things that comes to mind. This coming in late with the long Labor Day weekend (FYI: that discount code will still up working all week) and with the Pinellas Trail Challenge that took place at the end of the month. But man, people were all over the place running! So many cool events and races went down in August! So, let's dive in!  Strava!The Skunk Ape Trail Runners Strava Club was ACTIVE! Now, most of y'all were running some type of ultra... but, for the final week of August JD McGee lead the way with 103.9 miles, he was followed by Nicole Ambruster and Doug Mayle! Nick Urena wrapped the Top Four for the final week. I was dead last with running a solid 0.3 miles last week lol. The Strava group is nice, usually I'll pop early updates and discounts in there before all the other social media accounts.  The Wild Boar Night Run is coming soon!The Wild Boar Night Run is slowly approaching! This year is once again SOLD OUT with runners from Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Serbia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Germany! In the past, we typically see that near 50-50 percent male to female ratio, how it's looking more like 62 - 38 male to female for the ratio. What city are most people from? Well, Tampa has 12 runners and Orlando has 11 runners! They're followed up by Lutz with 8 and New Port Richey, Lakeland, and Brooksville with 7! The 30-39 Age Group is looking to be the biggest age group with 61 runners! But we've also got one runner under 20 and two runners over 70! 40-49 is the second largest age group with 48 runners. So, with the course in mind, let's remember this is an out and back half-marathon on single track trail! Yes, yes, yes... it's a trail running party with a potluck at thee end! BUT: Just remember trail curtesy when you see folks coming back from the turn around point. Where Has Everyone Been Running!? Florida Runners take on H9!The Ole H9! This is an amazing event out on by Perry Sebastian and his Hardass Events. We had a great little Florida crew out at this year’s H9 out at Vogel State Park in North Georgia. While Gregg Lawson was volunteering at Firepit; Luke Vidal, Andrea Tilley, Craig Betz, and I took on the course. This was year three for me and this time the course took the victory giving me a dnf around 32 miles after Fish Gap! Although most people thought the weather was great, I struggled this year with the heat and humidity constantly getting lightheaded and eventually locking up! Andrea also fell the same fate as I. BUT! I tell ya what, even though Gregg and I talked Luke and Craig into coming out, they however finished! Let's goooo! It’s always a great time at H9. It’s hard, it’s gritty, and it breaks you down. Thats fun part about it! This course will test you to your core. I'll be back out there next year! Join us!  JD McGee's Labor of Love 100!JD McGee took on his dubbed Labor of Love 100 in part with the Herron Project! 100-miles with no crew, no aid stations, no drop bags…just a few friends, some public parks, and a few Publix’s along the way. He took off from Hobe Sound Beach at 5am on Saturday August 31st. 47 people donated $2390 to bring us to 95% of the fundraising goal (you can still donate here: https://theherrenproject.networkforgood.com/projects/229144-labor-of-love-100-journey-run 3 runners ran the entire 100-mile distance too! JD, Brian Schuyler, and Nicole Ambruster. They each ran over 100-miles, through 3 major metropolitan areas, without crews, in 33-hours or less. (Brian "won" by several hours; Nicole and JD finished together). 11 Runners joined for various portions of the full distance: Dave Goldstein, Renzo Vega, Mark Montgomery, Naomi Kamasawa, Eric Winter (and friends) and Pete Horan including three who ran over 40 miles: Amy Colombo, Adriana Finol, and Laura Bradley. There were three “Road Angel” stops set up at miles 30, 50, and 68-ish. I'd like to thank Pete Horan, Lisa DeVona, Scott DeVona, Tricia McFadden, Mikey Bee and Ashley Heclo.  Anchor Down UltraThis one takes place at the Colt State Park in Bristol, Rhode Island. It’s a 2.45 mile loop, the course starts at sea level and the highest point on the course is roughly 26 feet above sea level, with just about 56 feet of gain on every loop. Nikki Martel came out and crushed it in the 24-Hour knocking out 76 Miles! Jonathan Paul was also out there in the 12-Hour, knocked out 39.2 Miles.  The Badger 100(k)The Where’s the Finish Podcast crew went up to Wisconsin to take on the Badger 100k put on by Ten Junk Miles! Shae Merrit and Kevin Caudill placed 19th knocking the 100k out with a time of 15:53:00! Susan Knudsen, another one those Marion County Runners, placed 38th with a time of 20:13:44. The man with the best calves in Florida, Joe Miller - He placed 44th with a time of 24:25:43!  DURTY B-EE-RR-UN!DBR! The Durty Beer Run! This is one of those little grand gatherings here in Florida, 6 hours for a fun time running out and about from the Flora Wylie Park to the St. Pete Pier and back. Needless to say, there was A LOT of Skunk Ape Trail Runenrs out there! From Vince Carter and Jeff Iosa snagging those 36 Miles in 6 Hours (shoot, two dudes even went 39.6 miles!) to everyone else from 32.4 miles, 28.8 miles, 25.2 miles, 21.6 miles, 18 miles, 14.4 miles, 10.8 miles, 7.2 miles, to even 3.6 miles - it’s always a blast at the DBR!  Bob's Big Timber Backyard Ultra!Up in Glenmont, Ohio! This is the last of the seven Silver Ticket races held to earn a spot on the 15 member Team USA. Andy Sholly from Indian Rocks Beach, Florida placed 7th Overall racking in 150 Miles. Matt Clapper placed 12th Overall bringing in 116.66 Miles, and Jordan Englund snagged 58.39 Miles.  Cartecay River 20k Trail Race!This is a trail race up in Ellijay, GA in the Rich Mountain Wildlife Management Area at the Cartecay River Loop Trailhead. This was the events inaugural year put on by the Appalachia Trail Race Company! Rusty Smith placed 10th Overall with a time of 2:51:00!  San Juan Softie 100 MileAll the way out in southwest Colorado through the San Juan mountains. This race has an average elevation of nearly 10,000ft and with over 20,000ft of vert! Our favorite barefoot running cowboy C Sawyer took it in and placed 22nd with a time of 36:37:00! He took home the DFL for the inaugural year of this event. Even Karl Meltzer took a DNF out there!  The Marquette 50 Mile!This race takes place up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula! The course is mostly single-track, climbing the 4 peaks with Lake Superior views: Sugarloaf, Top-of-the-World, Bareback, and Hogback. Jordan Englund placed 42nd out of 101 runners with a time of 13:26:46! Elevation Gain : 5,520 ft  Hot August Night Run!This event by A1 Ultra’s had its inaugural year up in the Citrus Tract of the Withlacoochee Forest. The race starts and ends in Holder Mine, Inverness, FL! They have a 20 Miler, 10 Miler, and a 5 Miler! There were a bunch of Skunk Ape Trail Runners out there like Andy Dunn who placed 4th Overall in the 20 Mile with a time of 3:23:22! Kris Mehrling - 8th, Walter Watts - 12th, David Shiner - 26th! Amanda Richmond took 2nd Overall for the women in the 20 Mile with a time of 3:41:49! She was followed by Brandy Krisher with a time of 3:44:00. Tori Larsen - 14th Overall, Stephanie Miller - 17th Overall, Tatjana Stojkovic - 18th Overall, and Brittany Smith - 24th Overall! In the 10 Mile, we saw Ben Power and Missy Smith lead the way for the Skunk Ape Trail Runners with a time of 1:47:30 to place 7th/8th Overall! They were followed by Tim Purol with a time of 2:10:47 placing 15th Overall. Lawton Cox - 17th, Donna Morris 20th, Karen Alexeev - 22nd, Bill Zulas - 23rd, John Wood - 24th, Jessee Mikell - 29th, Joe Miller - 30th, Josh Mikell - 31st, Susanne White - 34th!  TransRockies!This is a cool one! In 6 Days runners will run 120 miles with a cumulative elevation gain of about 20,000 feet (6,100 meters). The daily stages vary in length, ranging from about 13 to 24 miles. This year, Marty Gardner (Host of the Miles with Marty Podcast) took on the challenge! Marty did awesome! Now, he didn’t make it all the way… however, this dude is slapped down roughly 88ish miles with roughly 15,000 feet of climbing and descending! It’s like a summer camp for big kids!  Lindsay Raley and UTMB!Lindsay Raley is a CCC Finisher! From right out of the gate you start your first climb of 4500’ over 5.5 miles. From there it’s a series six climbs and descents to the finish line. The climbs are steep and the descents became steeper. There was only one section from the Grand Col Ferret to the base of the climb to Champex-Lac that you could get into groove and actually run along at a reasonable pace.  The Pinellas Trail ChallengeAlways a great time at the finish line of the Pinellas Trail Challenge at Weaver Park in Dunedin! Great be to back flipping burgers and seeing everyone. Like the DBR, this one is another one of those little grand gathering of Florida trial and ultra!!  Skunk Ape in Washington!Skunk Ape in Washington! I took a trip out to Washington for my sister wedding in the mountains. We stayed in Glacier, Washington and phone service was nearly non-existent unless you had wifi and an iPhone. This was my first time seeing views of Artist Point, Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan, as well as the North Cascades. Very neat seeing the trails around the Nooksack River and Nootsack Falls… very cool seeing these valley systems. Took the Kingston Edmonds Ferry from Edmonds to Kingston and headed out to Port Townsend for lunch at Sirens Pub just off the Port Townsend Bay. We then went over to check Fort Wolden and the Point Wilson Lighthouse.  Withlacoochee State Trail has begun replacing sections of trail!Inverness, FL – A $1.3 million project to resurface portions of the Withlacoochee State Trail in Citrus County is scheduled to begin Wednesday, August 14, 2024. The construction will take place in segments, with one segment area of the trail closed at a time. Each segment area will be closed around-the-clock for up to several weeks, beginning with Segment 1 closing on August 14th. Segment 1 is from mile marker 27 to mile marker 28.58 (approximately south of the Fort Cooper Trailhead to Eden Drive). The segment is anticipated to reopen to trail users within the first two weeks of September, weather permitting. For safety, the public is asked to stay off the closed segment at all times until it reopens. For more information about the project and the segments to be resurfaced, please visit the project webpage at https://www.fdottampabay.com/project/1056/443358-2-52-01.  Support Our Coaches! Support our local coaches! The middle, high school, and college cross country season has begun! Let’s cheer on our Skunk Ape fam who take the time to coach the future of the sport! Scott Hoover - Bok Academy JD McGee - Palm Beach Gardens HS Megan Robinson - International Community School in Winter Park Lindsey Smith - Kathleen High School Anthony DeLeva - Saint Leo University  Skunk Ape Trail Series!Ayo, jackets have been ordered up and I’m excited to handing them out on September 14th at the Wild Boar Night Run. Y’all have worked hard for it! For some, it was a wild ride of fun! For others, this was something new and definitely a challenge. It’s awesome seeing y’all get there every time. This year we have 17 runners remaining in the trail series! John Salem, Robert Blackmon, Luke Vidal, Devin Bass, Justin Joseph, Salina Messman, Ryan Beniot, Melanie Galvin, Jessica Sohngen, Greg Burnham, Zach Lozano, Kimberly Pasienza, Todd Holender, Michelle Conrad, Hannah Messman, Audri Zanatta, and Nicole Kay.  Whether you're racing or volunteering, it's going to be lit. Wild Boar Night Run! September 14th, 2024 Green Swamp, Dade City, Florida Sold Out, Waitlist! UltraSignUp: Wild Boar Night Run - September 14, 2024 (ultrasignup.com) Tampa Bay 100 Mile Tampa, Florida November 2nd, 2024 Sold Out, Waitlist! UltraSignUp: Tampa Bay 100 - November 2, 2024 (ultrasignup.com) Skunk Ape’s Revenge Green Swamp, Dade City, Florida 60k, 30k, 30k Ruck February 15th, 2025 Registration is open! UltraSignUp: Skunk Apes Revenge 60K - February 15, 2025 (ultrasignup.com) Skunk Ape 100 Mile Endurance Run Santos Trailhead, Ocala, Florida 100 mile, 50 mile April 26th, 2025 Registration is open! UltraSignUp: Skunk Ape 100 Mile Endurance Run - April 26, 2025 (ultrasignup.com) 2025’s Skunk Ape Night Run and Wild Boar Night Run TBD!  Skunk Ape Gear!Skunk Ape Events | Get the Gear! | Bonfire All your events, races, and goofy shit in between!  
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 Big things going down in July!Hey Skunk Ape Trail Runners! We're thrilled to announce our new monthly newsletter, packed with all the rad happenings you won't want to miss. Probably will post these up at the end of the month... kinda just wrap things up with a little bow and like George Lucus says, "it's like poetry, they rhyme." In this, we'll be covering race wrap ups, upcoming events, trail series stuff, spotlighting your amazing achievements and sharing random fun tidbits, whatever really comes to mind.  The Summer Slam!Every year a handful of runners take on the challenge of the Vero Beach Octopus Ultra, the Skunk Ape Night Run, and the Trident for three back-to-back-to-back weekends of racing! This year 11 runners signed up to take on the challenge. With the Trident finishing up last weekend, five runners officially finished the Summer Slam! Michel Musso finished the 100 mile at the Octopus placing 4th overall with a time of 22:46:38! He then placed first overall at the Skunk Ape Night Run with a time of 2:25:28. He wrapped it up at the Trident placing 7th overall with a time of 17:33:22. Luke Vidal finished the 100 mile at the Octopus placing 3rd overall with a time of 22:21:30! He then went on to place 9th overall at the Skunk Ape Night Run with a time of 2:59:43. He wrapped up the Trident placing 4th overall with a time of 17:00:38. Kay Trager finished the 50k at the Octopus placing 10th overall with a time of 9:17:52! She went on to run the Skunk Ape Night Run with a time of 4:45:38 and finished the Trident Half-Marathon going 2:37:54. Brian Mulrooney finished the 50k at the Octopus placing 11th overall with a time of 9:17:56. He then went on to finish the Skunk Ape Night Run with a time of 4:24:34 and the Trident Half-Marathon with a time of 3:12:43! Greg Burnham also finished the 50k at the Octopus placing 18th overall with a time of 11:35:27. He then finished the Skunk Ape Night Run with a time of 4:47:22 and the Trident Half-Marathon with a time of 3:44:08. Skunk Ape Trail SeriesThis year we have 16 runners remaining in the trail series! John Salem, Robert Blackmon, Luke Vidal, Devin Bass, Justin Joseph, Salina Messman, Ryan Beniot, Melanie Galvin, Jessica Sohngen, Greg Burnham, Zach Lozano, Kimberly Pasienza, Todd Holender, Michelle Conrad, Hannah Messman, and Nicole Kay. The Trail Series ties together all the Skunk Ape trail races starting with the Skunk Ape’s Revenge (60k, 30k, or the 30k Ruck), the Skunk Ape 100 Mile Endurance Run (100 and 50 mile), the Skunk Ape Night Run, and the Wild Boar Night Run!  The 2024 Skunk Ape Night Run!From first to final, we had 129 runners cross that finish line. Amazing! The times ranged from 2:25:28 to 7:07:25. Also Amazing! Between the 2 and 3 hours mark we had 53 finishers! 4 to 5 Hours we had 60 finishers! Between 5 to 6 Hours - 12, and between 6 to 7 Hours we had 4 finishers! This year there were so many volunteers from all over! I did do a Facebook post on that, so many great individuals! But we also had groups from TUSH, RunFluent, Ultra Ultras, Marion County Runs, and Where's the Finish Podcast! Your Top Four Men at the 2024 Skunk Ape Night Run! 1. Michael Musso with a time of 2:25:28. This is also coming off 100 Miles at the Vero Beach Octopus Ultra last weekend. This is now the 4th Fastest time on the Night Run Course. 2. John Salem with a time of 2:32:07. This is now the 6th fastest time on the Night Run course. 3. Scott Hoover with a time of 2:38:00. This is now the 10th fastest time on the course. Scott now holds the 9th and 10th fastest times (2:38:50 in 2022). 4. Aryan Rochon, perhaps some might remember him as Skunk Ape himself, with a time of 2:38:58. Your Top Four Woman for the 2024 Skunk Ape Night Run! 1. Laura Walker with a time of 2:58:10! This is her 2nd big win! She previously won the Night Run 2022 with a time of 2:43:12. This is also now the 7th fastest time on the course for the women. 2. Karen Stukes with a time of 3:07:58. This is now the 9th fastest time on the course for the women. 3. Liset Parry with a time of 3:08:05. 4. Salina Messman with a time of 3:10:54. Final Finishers With 7:07:25 on the clock, our final runner crossed the finish line! Shoutout to Jesse Schultz, at 73 years old, for taking home the Skunk Ape Gnome trophy at the 2024 Skunk Ape Night Run! Megan Robinson was also out final runner for the women! I always have an admiration for all those hours spent out there on the course!  Chris Malette Becomes the FIRST Five-Time Finisher!like From the OG race in 2019 at the Skunk Ape Night Run, Chris Malette has run every iteration since! It's been a blessing to see Chris run year after year. At the OG race in 2019, that my first time Race Directing and needless to say... it was a massive learning curve on not only putting on a race, but also having a race at night in the dark! People got lost, mostly everyone, and I even lost the official results! Back then we were also writing down the finishing times by hand on notebook paper. It's been such a change over the years and Chris has been there to see it all! As I have no clue of what time he ran in 2019, in 2021 he ran a time of 4:06:00! Moving into 2022, he ran a time of 4:16:41 with his 2023 time going down to 3:55:30. Coming into 2024, Chris ran a time of 4:20:21! The course conditions change every year at the Skunk Ape Night Run, it might be dry, it might be flooded, it might be clean and easy, but it also might be completely overgrown. The Berm might be sandy, the Berm might be compact, or the Berm will feel like bushwhacking. You never know what the course or each section will be like year after year.  Western States 100 Mile Endurance RunAt the Western States 100, there were three Skunk Ape Trail Runners taking on the course this year; Craig Betz, Andrew Barrett, and John Baughman. Craig crossed the finish line with a time of 28:46:03 to place 213th, with Barrett crossing the finish line with a time of 27:26:59 to place 161st. John Baughman, who got off the waitlist shortly before race weekend, made it 30+ miles on the course. To kick off the first 4 1/2 miles, these guys had to climb 2,550 feet to Emigrant Pass. Overall, the course has an elevation gain of over 18,000 with the decent being more then 23,000 feet. This course is a true testament and challenge for us in the Sunshine State. It was also great to see folks like Joe Miller and Gregg Lawson join Tonya Olson at the Michigan Bluff Aid Station fixing up feet! There were so many Skunk Ape Runners out volunteering and crewing!  Badwater 135This year at Badwater, Mark Cudak was one of the many Floridians taking on the legendary course. From the start line in Death Valley to the finish line high on Mt. Whitney, Mark crossed the finish line with a time of 38:41:38! He was joined by his crew of Sandy VI-Burruss, Mac Jackson, and Katie Tibbetts. Mark had come out and ran the 2023 Skunk Ape Night Run and ran a time of 4:05:17! Before heading into the Badwater 135, he had also run the Badwater Salton Sea and the Badwater Cape Fear. He is also the Lead Course Marshall for the Keys 100!  Vol StateFor roughly 314 miles Vol State begins with a ferry ride across the Mississippi River, from Missouri to Kentucky, and finishes at “the Rock,” high atop Sand Mountain in Northeast Georgia. Success is not guaranteed, there are no aid stations. However, the route is teeming with volunteers waiting to tend to the runners every need and encouraging them to continue. There are just miles and miles of empty road. This year Vol State had 81 finishers of the 121 runners to took off on the route for a 67% finisher rate. We saw several Skunk Ape Trail Runners take on Vol State! Salt Shack (one of the very few to have 10 finishes), Martha Mayer, and Bernadette Dubois! Salt Shack led the way for the Skunk Ape crew finishing with 6:16:59:38. He was followed by Bernadette going 7:01:02:12 and Martha going 9:15:18:12.  Burning RiverThis year was the 18th year for the Burning River 100 up in Northeast Ohio! Several Skunk Ape Trail Runners took on the 50 Mile on the course that takes them through several of the region’s most scenic areas, including the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Summit Metro Parks. Raymond Hinch, whose signed up for the Tampa Bay 100, finished the 50 Mile with a time of 12:20:43. Ryan Rylott, who had just ran at the Skunk Ape night Run prior, finished the 50 Mile with a time of 13:04:57.  Cool stuff in the Media and Stuff!Jon Reid, one of the Sweepers at the Skunk Ape Night Run, made an awesome video on YouTube! YouTube Link: Skunk Ape Night Run AS1 & Sweep #marathontraining#ultrarunning#trailrunning (youtube.com) Great hearing from the Where's the Finish Podcast joined by super volunteer Susan Knudsen! Susan has run and volunteered at a bunch of Skunk Ape races! It’s less than a week until they all take on the Badger 100k put on by Ten Junk Miles. They discuss her running history, the Skunk Ape Night Run, and their goals for Badger! Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all that jazz! You can look back to an episode they did with Tyler Smith, he was volunteering at the Cedar Pocket Aid Station, who ran the Skunk Ape 100 Mile Endurance Run in the 50 mile! Upcoming Races!Wild Boar Night Run! September 14th, 2024 Green Swamp, Dade City, Florida Sold Out, Waitlist! UltraSignUp: Wild Boar Night Run - September 14, 2024 (ultrasignup.com) Tampa Bay 100 Mile Tampa, Florida November 2nd, 2024 Sold Out, Waitlist! UltraSignUp: Tampa Bay 100 - November 2, 2024 (ultrasignup.com) Skunk Ape’s Revenge Green Swamp, Dade City, Florida 60k, 30k, 30k Ruck February 15th, 2025 Registration is open! UltraSignUp: Skunk Apes Revenge 60K - February 15, 2025 (ultrasignup.com) Skunk Ape 100 Mile Endurance Run Santos Trailhead, Ocala, Florida 100 mile, 50 mile April 26th, 2025 Registration is open! UltraSignUp: Skunk Ape 100 Mile Endurance Run - April 26, 2025 (ultrasignup.com) 2025’s Skunk Ape Night Run and Wild Boar Night Run TBD!  VolunteeringVolunteer tabs for the Wild Boar Night Run, Tampa Bay 100, Skunk Ape's Revenge are open! August 31st: I’ll be back grilling at the finish line of the Pinellas Trail Challenge! Feel free to come hangout and join me! UltraSignUp: https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=108207 November 23rd: Colt 45 Aid Station, I’ll be back again having an aid station at the Colt 45! If you don’t plan on running, feel free to join me all morning into the night! Or, you can sign up to run, volunteer for a shift, or both! Just add Fullers aid station in the notes! (You can also just text me and let me know you plan to come out)! UltraSignUp: https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=113323 Thanks for reading! Thats all I got for this go around! Let's how August goes down! Skunk Ape Events @SkunkApeEvents Joseph Fuller [email protected] 937-710-2573 Add your own story! Have a story you want to share? Hit me up! Our Partners!Race Bibs brought to you by...  Pickle Juice brought to you by...  Race Timing by... Justin with Trailhead Ultras  Awards by... Brie with Wicked Skins  Aways Supporting...     Following the Standards of...      |
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