By Sharon Evans
Thank you to everyone for coming out to enjoy the day at Big Basin, after our 9-year hiatus! The weather was excellent, and the folks jubilant.
About the terrain: Did someone say "steep"? With a side order of "technically challenging"? Well, Big Basin was made to order, and Nick Corsano and Nick Giori cooked up some good courses just for the day! The map is quite out of date, and the Nick's did their best to make corrections and updates in pertinent places. However, that didn't suffice for many on the intermediate and advanced courses, who unfortunately succumbed to the maps flaws, and DNF'd. Fortunately, there was enough accuracy on the map, and careful placement of checkpoints, so that, on the Beginner courses (White and Yellow), only one starter fell prey to the harsh condition of the map.
On the White course, Boy Scout Troop 273 did well, coming in first and second, followed by Alison Weber from GCO in third. On Yellow, Ann Drevo eked out first place, just ahead of Boy Scout Troop 80 in second, followed by William Murphy in third.
On the Orange course, Fillian Swift and COOL member Johanna Karras battled it out for first and second, respectively, followed by Denis Kourakin in 3rd. Dennis Wildfogel showed that he's a native of the area, acing first place on Brown by 10 minutes! Trevor Pering and Gary Carpenter came in second and third.
On Green, Tapio Karras was the clear winner, Eric Stoutenburg came in second, followed by Nadja Rutz in third place. On Red, Mikkel Conradi dusted the field for first place, with François Léonard and Deron van Hoff coming in second and third, respectively.
Thank you to everyone who pitched in and volunteered to make this event run smoothly and successfully! Hopefully I haven't missed anyone in the list below.
Nick Corsano – Event Director and Course Setter
Sharon Evans – Co-Event Director
Nick Giori – Assistant Course Setter
Mark Prior – Pre-runner/vetter
Marina Keating – Insurance
Bob Cooley – Map printing
Steve Haas – Registration
Esther Heller – Registration
Rosemary Johnson – E-Punch
Jeff Lanam – E-Punch
Mikkel Conradi – E-Punch
Peter Graube – Beginner Clinics
Deron van Hoff – Beginner Clinics & driving to Redwood City to transfer event supplies
Judy Kohler – Beginner Clinics
Stephanie Maclean – Beginner Clinics
Vickie Woolworth – Beginner Clinics & control pickup
Anna Prang – Starts
Chico Hernandez – Starts
Ray Kemp – Taking the Start banner to the Start
Gary Carpenter – First runner & finishes
Matthias Kohler – Finishes
Meggan Wenbourne – Finishes
Susan & Natalie Kim – Control pickup
Misha Krevlaski – Control Pickup
Frederick Lee – Control Pickup
Matej Sebo – Control Pickup
Greg Ehrinsing – Control Pickup
Matthias Vangbo – Control Pickup
Natalia Konkov – Control Pickup
Dan Vannatter – Husband extraordinaire, refreshments, control placement, and all around support/assistance!
Derek & Stephanie Maclean – Taking all the equipment to Calero
Cornelia Coolen – Taking all the remaining refreshments
Didn't catch the name – Good Samaritan Volunteer—helped carry things back from the Starts when Starts closed
Ranger Luke Ware – Ranger Monitor
Ranger Emily Bertram – Head Park Ranger
Judy Hill – State Parks Special Events Coordinator
If there are names above that you don't recognize, it might be because they are my family and friends who very generously responded to requests for help.
RouteGadget