The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

A looming winter storm warning did not deter any of the nearly 400 trail runners from taking part in the 20th annual PetersonRidge Rumble 20- and 40-mile trail race.

“In fact, the weather turned out to be way better than the forecast, so finishers stuck around after the race and enjoyed good food and fellowship,” Race Director Sean Meissner told The Nugget.

Meissner did concede that runners faced strong wind the last two miles of the 20-miler, coming in on the Brooks-Scanlon Road.

A total of 294 runners completed the 20-mile race, led by Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, who held off Mike Mazzotta to win by 18 seconds in 2:19.11.

The women’s race was also close as the top three runners were all on the track at the same time, according to Meissner. “That was cool to see it be so tight after a full 20 miles,” he said.

Barrett Gray ended up taking the women’s title in 2:31:14, ahead of Marci Witczak (2:32:02) and Eliza Irish (2:32:14).

Kyle Curtin of Durango, Colorado, kept an 8:02 per mile pace to win the 40-mile race in 5:21:17, just under four minutes ahead of Eric Yan of Portland.

Emily Perttu of Silverton won the women’s by nearly an hour in a time of 6:42:20, which was nineteenth place overall.

Meissner noted that after years of adjustments to the 40- mile course, this year’s version actually measured right at 40 miles.

“We added a loop up across the road at the top of the Peterson Ridge trail and runners said they really liked the change,” he said.

A total of 72 runners completed the 40-mile race.

“We did have a few more people than normal not make the cut-off time at the 25-mile mark, but with the cold weather and the longer course, that was not surprising,” Meissner said.

Though the Rumble drew a larger crowd than last year’s pandemic event, Meissner said that his overall numbers were down a bit from “normal.”

“The organizers of the Bend Marathon event decided to move their race to the same date, which was unfortunate,” he said. “Also, there was a big trail run in the Columbia Gorge just last week as well.”

Racers received commemorative socks at the finish and dined on well-earned food from Longboard Louie’s following the race.

Meissner acknowledged the many volunteers who helped out on the course and at the finish line. “We had members of the high school and middle school cross-country teams, as well as a variety of friends and family helping to make the race run smoothly and safely.”

Some proceeds of the race are given to the cross-country teams to help cover costs of entry fees, purchases, and events.

“It was another great day to rumble,” said Meissner. “We’ll be back next year for year 21!”

Complete results can be found at the Run Wild Adventures website at https://www.runwildadventures.com.