Mark Tombrink wins the Tallahassee Ultra-Distance Classic 50 mile

"What's up with this?" said Charlie Johnson. "This isn't like a marathon. It's five miles farther!"


That's a fair description of a 50K run, like the 50K Johnson was in the middle of on Saturday morning, 12 December 2015. He was in the last few minutes of that race, finishing up the fifth and final lap around a ten-kilometer loop at Wakulla Springs State Park, south of Tallahassee, Florida. When it was over Johnson had won the 35th annual Tallahassee Ultra-Distance Classic 50K in 3:25:21, completing the 31-mile event nearly four miles ahead of the next runner. Compared to that margin, the race for second place looks like a dead heat. Tallahassee athlete Charn McAllister took that runner-up spot in 3:53:45, just a quarter mile ahead of third-place finisher Jack McDermott. McDermott, also from Tallahassee, was the top master runner in the 50K, finishing in 3:55:46. McDermott was the defending champion in the race and had also won it in 2008. Johnson, on the other hand, had never run the Tallahassee Ultra-Distance Classic before, although he had been one of the many volunteers that work to produce the race.


Tallahassee schoolteacher Laura McDermott took the women's title in the 50K, finishing seventh overall in 4:28:51. Placing sixteenth overall in 5:08:36, Kelly Garland edged Tsige Tadesse for top woman master and second female finisher. Tadesse was seventeenth in 5:08:44.


The 50K wasn't the only race at the 2015 Tallahassee Ultra-Distance Classic, nor was it the longest. While Charlie Johnson was leading the field through the 50K, a smaller group of athletes was attempting the 50-mile race, eight laps around the ten-kilometer loop. Gainesville, Florida's Ferit Toska had won the longer race each of the last three years and was looking to make it four in a row. He made a good start of it, leading through the first half of the race. While Toska worked to defend his title, Tallahassee runner Mark Tombrink labored in second. Tombrink was eventually joined by Trevor Sununu, a second-year student at Florida State University.


Trevor caught me about the third lap," said Tombrink. "We ran together for a few laps, but it was the sixth lap when I got away from him."


As Tombrink and Sununu dueled, Ferit Toska was running into trouble. The races had started at 7:00 AM, but as the miles added up so did the hours. The morning ended, the afternoon started, and it became clear that this was an unseasonably warm December day. Several runners left the race with leg cramps. Toska was one of them.


"I saw Ferit stopped with one leg up," recalled Tombrink. "I thought there was a good chance I could catch him."


Toska never finished the 50-mile. Tombrink did. Wearing a long-sleeved black shirt in spite of the conditions, he won the race in 6:50:50. Tombrink had finished the 50-miler each of the two previous years, but this was by far his fastest run. Orlando's Tyler Booth was second in 7:30:40, and master runner Rich Flint of Astatula, Florida, was third in 8:04:31. Trevor Sununu finished the 50-mile fourth in 8:04:31. Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, master runner Holly Bohensky was the top woman, placing fifth overall in 8:29:05.


2015 Tallahassee Ultradistance Classic 50 Mile

1. 6:50:50 ~ Mark Tombrink (M, 28) Tallahassee, FL
2. 7:30:40 ~ Tyler Booth (M, 22) Orlando, FL
3. 7:50:41 ~ Rich Flint (M, 55) Astatula, FL
4. 8:04:31 ~ Trevor Sununu (M, 20) Tallahassee, FL
5. 8:29:05 ~ Holly Bohensky (F, 41) Hummelstown, PA
6. 8:41:16 ~ Zackery Scharlepp (M, 33) Tallahassee, FL
7. 8:49:46 ~ Jimmy Sauls (M, 36) Tallahassee, FL
8. 8:53:19 ~ Emma Spencer (F, 34) Tallahassee, FL
9. 8:55:56 ~ Joel Piotrowski (M, 46) Tallahassee, FL
10. 9:04:03 ~ George Maxwell (M, 65) Indialantic, FL
11. 9:41:03 ~ Juli Aistars (F, 57) Palatine, IL
12. 9:53:38 ~ Patrick Garner (M, 39) Albany, GA

2015 Tallahassee Ultradistance Classic 50K

1. 3:25:21 ~ Charlie Johnson (M, 36) Tallahassee, FL
2. 3:53:45 ~ Charn McAllister (M, 32) Tallahassee, FL
3. 3:55:47 ~ Jack McDermott (M, 46) Tallahassee, FL
4. 4:07:39 ~ Ferit Toska (M, 36) Gainesville, FL *
5. 4:18:15 ~ David Horn (M, 42) Jacksonville, FL
6. 4:19:04 ~ Paul Guyas (M, 38) Tallahassee, FL
7. 4:28:51 ~ Laura McDermott (F, 36) Talahassee, FL
8. 4:35:24 ~ Travis Parks (M, 19) Crawfordville, FL
9. 4:37:14 ~ Ettore Aldrovandi (M, 54) Tallahassee, FL
10. 4:54:51 ~ Timothy Fraser (M, 38) Tallahassee, FL
11. 4:56:05 ~ Gary Griffin (M, 66) Tallahassee, FL
12. 4:57:59 ~ George Lockhart (M, 53) Sugar Hill, GA
13. 5:02:04 ~ Dylan Lennon (M, 25) Gainesville, FL
14. 5:07:08 ~ Buddy Levins (M, 62) Tallahassee, FL
15. 5:08:05 ~ David Knauf (M, 51) Tallahassee, FL
16. 5:08:36 ~ Kelly Garland (F, 44) Tallahassee, FL
17. 5:08:44 ~ Tsige Tadesse (F, 43) Tallahassee, FL
18. 5:27:08 ~ Joseph Berrones (M, 29) Sunrise, FL *
19. 5:27:40 ~ Bill Hillison (M, 71) Tallahassee, FL
20. 5:28:15 ~ Gina Tran (F, 45) Tallahassee, FL
21. 5:27:10 ~ Amy Costa (F, 51) Jacksonville, FL *
22. 5:29:06 ~ Bud Fennema (M, 60) Tallahassee, FL
23. 5:33:00 ~ Lauren Herzog (F, 28) Sunrise, FL
24. 5:38:34 ~ Thomas Carney (M, 56) Tallahassee, FL
25. 5:39:56 ~ Philip Sura (M, 45) Tallahassee, FL
    
26. 5:43:53 ~ Sam Ornelas (M, 40) Tallahassee, FL
27. 5:52:46 ~ Matt Minno (M, 56) Tallahassee, FL
28. 5:53:40 ~ Jeff Picker (M, 53) Tallahassee, FL
29. 5:57:29 ~ Worth Corn (M, 33) Tallahassee, FL
30. 5:58:16 ~ Lorna Castellanos (F, 55) Miami, FL
31. 6:03:36 ~ Sonya Dudley (F, 47) Tallahassee, FL
32. 6:05:34 ~ Vince Lanh (M, 54) Tallahassee, FL *
33. 6:10:09 ~ Patrick Bateman (M, 28) Tallahassee, FL
34. 6:10:35 ~ Jessica Donnelly (F, 26) Charleston AFB, SC
35. 6:11:54 ~ Duane Evans (M, 48) Crawfordville, FL
36. 6:15:52 ~ Chassidy Stanley (F, 40) Suwanee, GA
37. 6:16:29 ~ Jeeheon Ryu (M, 46) Tallahassee, FL
38. 6:19:27 ~ Bekah Rundall (F, 33) Lemoyne, PA
39. 6:23:18 ~ Leigh Ceci (F, 51) Tallahassee, FL
40. 8:23:18 ~ Beth Miller (F, 51) Mobile, AL
41. 6:24:34 ~ Rachel Scharlepp (F, 32) Tallahassee, FL
42. 6:28:48 ~ Keith Kettrey (M, 59) Nolensville, TN *
43. 6:29:10 ~ Ludmila De Faria (F, 47) Tallahassee, FL
44. 6:30:11 ~ Keith Berry (M, 59) Tallahassee, FL *
45. 6:33:10 ~ Caroline Noble (F, 50) Tallahassee, FL
46. 6:33:36 ~ Maria Matheu (F, 36) Tallahassee, FL *
    
47. 6:35:57 ~ Carlos Zapata (M, 70) Tallahassee, FL
48. 6:36:14 ~ Becky Bush (F, 46) Tallahassee, FL
49. 6:36:22 ~ Milagros Lockhart (F, 50) Sugar Hill, GA
50. 6:36:47 ~ Heather Fuselier (F, 39) Tallahassee, FL
51. 6:38:02 ~ Mark Fuller (M, 51) Tallahassee, FL
52. 6:44:07 ~ Ithel Jones (M, 61) Tallahassee, FL
53. 6:45:03 ~ Kathleen Wheeler (F, 54) Saint Petersburg, FL
54. 6:47:57 ~ Donald Vanoteghem (M, 61) Leesburg, GA
55. 6:53:55 ~ Heather Duey (F, 47) Tallahassee, FL
56. 7:06:21 ~ Deborah Ansley (F, 59) Cairo, GA
57. 7:13:58 ~ Mike Johnson (M, 43) Daphne, AL
58. 7:15:42 ~ Vicki Sue Merry (F, 58) Cantonment, FL
59. 7:17:25 ~ Arthur (Buddy) Crosby (M, 63) Gordon, AL
60. 7:28:21 ~ Scott Kish (M, 42) Lake City, FL
61. 7:35:45 ~ Cheryl Urbas (F, 41) Tallahassee, FL
62. 7:38:44 ~ Michelle Costello (F, 42) Tallahassee, FL
63. 7:46:01 ~ Marsha White (F, 68) Tallahassee, FL
64. 8:10:07 ~ Morris Davis (M, 59) Havana, FL
65. 8:25:41 ~ Heather Shoemaker (F, 30) Tucker, GA
66. 8:29:38 ~ Mellody Hughes (F, 52) Defuniak Springs, FL
67. 8:49:35 ~ Carol Earles (F, 46) Ravenden Springs, AR
68. 8:49:35 ~ Teal Clark (F, 48) Jonesboro, AR
69. 9:16:38 ~ Chris Gohlke (M, 42) Tallahassee, FL
70. 9:45:16 ~ Deborah Ingram (F, 61) Gainesville, FL

* indicates an athlete who completed 50K before dropping out of the 50 mile

Tallahassee Ultra-Distance Classic winners, 1980 - 2015
Date	Distance	Men	Women	Finishers
13 December 1980	50 Mile	6:27:05, Dave Sheffield	No female finishers	9
9 January 1982	100 km	8:57:57, John Hesselbart	No female finishers	2
	50 Mile	5:39:43, Kenneth Lord	8:15:45, Rosemary Desloge	9
11 December 1982	50 Mile	5:14:40, Frank Bozanich	10:47:54, Lydi Pallares	16
	50 km	2:51:53, Barney Klecker	3:56:13, Kathe Brookover	18
10 December 1983	100 km	7:31:01, Rick Alderfer	10:34:29, Melissa Uchitelle	21
	50 km	2:53:45, Barney Klecker	3:13:51, Janis Klecker	48
15 December 1984	100 km	7:19:53, Steve Warshawer	9:43:03, Vicki Johnson	18
	50 km	3:25:29, John Cantwell	3:53:05, Donna Miller	40
14 December 1985	100 Mile	14:57:26, Ray Krolewicz	15:12:54, Sandra Kiddy	2
	100 km	7:29:05, Richard Westbrook	10:58:31, Joan Baker	16
	50 km	3:21:04, Ron L. Crawford	4:15:13, Mae Cleveland	42
13 December 1986	100 km	7:47:00, Steve Warshawer	No female finishers	12
	50 km	3:09:25, Mark Dorion	4:19:28, Mae Cleveland	54
12 December 1987	100 km	8:19:20, Richard Schick	9:02:52, Sue Ellen Trapp	15
	50 km	3:06:52, John Devine	4:19:23, Mary Hanudel	38
10 December 1988	100 km	7:58:03, Richard Schick	11:55:07, Pam Duke	24
	50 km	3:21:46, Tom Burr	4:06:39, Shelley Tyler	60
9 December 1989	100 km	7:21:20, Rick Clark	No female finishers	13
	50 km	3:24:30, Joe Burgasser	3:44:21 28, Paula Johnson	37
1990	No Race Held
14 December 1991	100 km	9:01:14, Gordy Hawkins	No female finishers	4
	50 km	3:40:25, Thomas Buchanan	3:57:11, Paula Johnson	14
12 December 1992	100 km	9:09:00, Gordy Hawkins	No female finishers	4
	50 km	3:43:38, Bill Hillison	11:27:08, Peggy Lanier	9
11 December 1993	50 Mile	6:22:08, Richard Schick	8:59:19, Peggy Lanier	12
	50 km	3:44:12, Bill Hillison	5:22:17, Delia Brewster	12
10 December 1994	50 Mile	6:55:40, Gordy Hawkins	No female finishers	11
	50 km	2:54:11, John Viltanen	3:50:00, Paula Johnson	31
9 December 1995	50 Mile	7:19:35, Gordy Hawkins	No female finishers	5
	50 km	3:36:48, David Yon	3:57:21, Carrie Weyant	21
14 December 1996	80 km	6:54:01, Ray Krolewicz	No female finishers	8
	50 km	3:42:29, Bill Hillison	4:04:17, Paula Johnson	16
13 December 1997	50 Mile	7:33:37, Gordy Hawkins	9:03:46, Kathleen Wheeler	9
	50 km	3:54:00, Bill Hillison	4:10:55, Kari Larsen	14
12 December 1998	50 Mile	6:28:19, David Allison	9:22:57, Peggy Lanier	13
	50 km	3:44:58, Scott Ludwig	3:46:25, Jane Johnson	36
11 December 1999	50 Mile	5:57:32, Michael Peck	6:38:02, Nancy Drach	20
	50 km	3:49:06, Bill Hillison	4:51:00, Kathleen Daumer	9
9 December 2000	50 Mile	8:06:14, Gary Griffin	7:07:11, Nancy Drach	8
	50 km	3:52:44, Dave Drach	4:29:56, Kristen Hooper	15
8 December 2001	50 Mile	7:35:27, Dana Stetson	7:41:24, Linda Mason	8
	50 km	3:35:11, Tim Lee	3:57:03, Kelly Murzynsky	26
14 December 2002	50 Mile	6:54:21, Pete Hendrickson	No female finishers	8
	50 km	3:51:46, Bill Hillison	4:30:57, Sandy Powell	30
13 December 2003	50 Mile	7:11:53, Fred Johnson	9:56:26, Kathleen Wheeler	15
	50 km	3:51:58, Bill Hillison	7:11:58, Susan Boardman	15
11 December 2004	50 Mile	5:24:45, Chad Ricklefs	8:41:40, Ann Burke	11
	50 km	3:50:10, Bill Hillison	4:03:10, Kelly Murzynsky	21
10 December 2005	50 Mile	7:41:53, Mitsuhito Tsuchida	7:23:14, Linda Mason	9
	50 km	3:55:07, Fred Johnson	4:38:07, Joan Messick	25
9 December 2006	50 Mile	7:17:49, Blaine Broadbridge	7:30:37, Amy Costa	12
	50 km	3:18:55, Colin Deasy	4:43:14, Susan Lance	18
8 December 2007	50 Mile	6:41:23, Jack McDermott	7:21:47, Amy Costa	13
	50 km	3:30:25, Thierry Asselin	4:44:39, Olivia Swedberg	29
13 December 2008	50 Mile	6:48:14, Dann Fisher	8:50:31, Ann Burke	17
	50 km	3:36:01, Jack McDermott	4:52:44, Kirsten Baggett	33
12 December 2009	50 Mile	6:48:43, Dann Fisher	7:58:10, Susan Lance	7
	50 km	3:43:22, Jon Williams	4:05:40, Jane Johnson	53
11 December 2010	50 Mile	6:26:07, Dann Fisher	7:33:52, Amy Costa	15
	50 km	3:28:17, Cameron Wheeler	3:39:53, Allison Eagen	48
10 December 2011	50 Mile	6:18:45, Sung Ho Choi	7:39:09, Amy Costa	17
	50 km	3:39:47, Pete Kaplan	4:14:19, Kristien Cox	66
8 December 2012	50 Mile	6:34:53, Ferit Toska	8:16:09, Chrissy Coutts	18
	50 km	3:44:50, John Robida	4:09:08, Ruth Levy	66
14 December 2013	50 Mile	6:45:12, Ferit Toska	7:03:01, Madeleine Zolfo	14
	50 km	3:41:28, Daniel Nix	4:19:43, Katie Sherron	66
13 December 2014	50 Mile	6:52:08, Ferit Toska	7:17:59, Madeleine Zolfo	11
	50 km	3:52:56, Jack McDermott	4:45:54, Jennifer Shafer	59
12 December 2015	50 Mile	6:50:50, Mark Tombrink	8:29:05, Holly Bohensky	12
	50 km	3:25:21, Charlie Johnson	4:28:51, Laura McDermott	70

Links

• Complete results of the 2015 Tallahassee Ultra-Distance Classic at gulfwinds.org
  http://gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2015/TUDC%202015.asp
  
  
• More photos of the 2015 Tallahassee Ultra-Distance Classic
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10106990185548973.1073742159.5215641&l=61879213be
  
  
• Dale Pearson's photos of the 2015 Tallahassee Ultra-Distance Classic
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10206822281467539.1073741848.1591214617&l=927144419f
  
  
• 2014 story, “Ferit Toska makes it three in the 50 at the Tallahassee Ultradistance Classic”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/12/tudc-2014.html
  
  
• 2012 story, “A nifty fifty for Toska and Coutts at the Tallahassee Ultra”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/12/tudc-2012.html
  
  
• 2011 story, “Testing limits at the 2011 Tallahassee Ultra-Distance Classic”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/12/tudc-2011.html
  
  
• 2010 story, “The tradition of the long run goes on at the Tallahassee Ultra-Distance Classic”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/12/tudc-2010.html
  
  
• Tallahassee Ultra-Distance Classic
  http://www.tallahasseeultra.com/
  
  
• Find upcoming races at more civilized distances in the Tallahassee region
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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