Mark Your Calendars for the 2010 Bear Trax & Brownie Shuffle!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Visit the Race Website at BearTraxRace.com
Bear Trax & Brownie Shuffle 2009… Thank You!
The course may have been damp but not the spirits of those who participated in the first annual Bear Trax 20K and Brownie Shuffle Fun Run at Lapham Peak State Park on Sunday, April 26. The park, part of the Southern Kettle Moraine system, is on Highway C, just south of I-94.
When Nancy Sellars was killed biking last year by a drunk driver, her friends suggested various ways in which to keep her memory alive. Having a running event on one of her favorite trail systems seemed like a perfect match. Nancy XC skied and ran at Lapham Peak more than on any other trail system. “This is my FAVORITE part,” she would always yell as she ran or skied through the pines near the Butterfly Garden off the upper loops.
Slowly, the Bear Trax run took shape. Although all of the organizers were experienced athletes, few had any significant experience in putting on an event. But somehow (perhaps with help from an angel looking down from above with a Starbuck’s coffee cup in her hand) disorganization became organization and the Bear Trax 20K and Brownie Shuffle was a reality.
As race day approached, all of the pieces seemed to be falling into place. Sponsors generously gave both cash and product. The event was not only a memorial to Nancy, whose 49th birthday would have been April 27, but also a fund-raiser and awareness-builder for the Nancy Sellars Memorial Foundation, UA. The foundation is devoted to the promotion of bicycle safety and the elimination of drunk driving.
Organizers hoped that about 100 people would sign up for the event. Few people expected to make any money the first year, or at least nothing more than what would be needed to cover the costs of the run.
Slowly, entries trickled in. A few weeks prior to race day, organizers discussed tee-shirts. How many should be ordered? Could leftovers be sold the next year if there were a lot of extras?
A week before the race the concern was “Will runners understand if we RUN OUT OF shirts?” As soon as the initial shirt order was made registration numbers jumped. Prior to race day 300 people were signed up.
And then, on a chilly, rainy, dreary Sunday morning, another 80 people came to Lapham Peak to pay full price to sign up on race day. And yes, all who showed up will get shirts. A second order was placed right after the race.
Participants seemed to take the rain and rivers of mud as just a bit of ambiance to the course.
There was no whining. There wasn’t even any real grumbling. There was a lot of slipping and sliding, but there were no injuries beyond a couple of scrapes and a few sore bums.
What there was – everywhere in Lapham Peak State Park – was a lot of laughing; a lot of smiles. People were covered in mud and they were smiling. Volunteers were soaked until their fingers turned into prunes and they were laughing.
It was simply a fun day at the park. And for some, it was an excuse to run further than they ever had before. A few did their first 20K run. Some signed up for the Brownie Shuffle Fun Run without having ever gone even five kilometers before. Of course, the 20k was a race and there were some competitive times. Aaron Nodolf, 30, of Menomonee Falls, blew threw the mud puddles to set a course record and winning time of 1:15:28. Just the day before he took third at Madison’s Crazy Legs 8-kilometer run. The rain canceled Nodolf’s golf plans so he decided to do the Bear Trax at the last minute.
Second place was Austin Johnson, 31, of Madison in 1:21:48 and third was Paul Laeseke, 30, also of Madison, in 1:22:43.
In the women’s race Stacie Scrivens, 38, of Waunakee, took top honors in 1:38:52. She had to run fast, she said, because she had to get to one of her children’s soccer games soon after. Lauren Newcomb, 30, of Madison, was second in 1:40 and Renee Schaefer, 27, of St. Paul, Minn., was third in 1:45:19.
And running in the back of the pack was Joe Kurian in a bear suit. After coming in 14thon Saturday at Crazy Legs Joe ran the full 20K Bear Trax bundled from head to toe in fake fur.
The shorter Brownie Shuffle was a non-competitive fun run and walk.
“While I wish the reason for the event didn’t exist [the death of Nancy] everything about it was wonderful,” said Jimi Sellars, Nancy’s husband. “So many of the runners and volunteers know each other because of athletics, but it’s obvious that sport was just a way for us to be introduced to each other. The friendships and concern of others present here goes way beyond sports and that is what is really special about this day.”
Although the books are still being processed, preliminary estimates show that approximately $8,000 was raised for the Nancy Sellars Memorial Foundation, UA.
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Bear Trax & Brownie Shuffle 2009 Photos
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