Voyageur 50 predictions

With a week to go, here's how the Voyageur 50 Mile looks to me (last minute entrants could throw the race wide open):



In the women's race, Rochelle Wirth will win easily, Helen Lavin will be second and third could be an interesting race between Pam Pettengill, Kathleen Yarger and Kami Holtz... I'll give the nod to Yarger, as I know she ran the course last year. I'm still looking for April Cole to sign up; she's slowing down in her old age (23! She ran a 3:01 marathon at 19) and last year's winner, Kim Holak, just ran the Hardrock 100, so she's out this year.



In the men's race, I expect Wynn Davis, Joe Ziegenfuss and Steve Schuder to lead from the start. I'll give the win to Schuder, because Davis has had problems in the heat both last year in this race and this year at Afton. Ziegenfuss, the winner at Afton, hasn't proven himself at the distance, but reports of his training suggest he's ready. I'll give second to Davis, third to Ziegenfuss, because Davis seems to want this one...badly. If going just by ability, Davis should win this one handily, but I'm hedging my bets.



I'm in horrible condition and would just like to finish better than last year's 10:50. If by some miracle, my leg's healed, I don't collapse in the heat (last year I became notorious for running the race without a water bottle), I run a smart race, my conditioning hasn't fallen off too badly during a long layoff and I don't run all 62 miles with Matt tonight, I could run just about 9 hours. Expect something closer to 10 hours, though.