24 area runners compete at Siberian Express

OAKWOOD - It was 33.8º when the starter's gun signaled the start of the 36th installment of the Siberian Express trail race at Kickapoo Park on Saturday. Running across lightly snow-covered ground and through muddy ruts, 146 runners finished this 7.45 mile race.

The Sentinel's top area finisher was St. Joseph's Justin Jones. Finishing first in the 30-39 year-old division, he was the third runner out of the field to cross the finish line, turning in a sub-hour time of 51 minutes.

Justin Jones, right, and Jolee Paden, on the left, pose for a photo after receiving their awards at the 2009 St. Joseph Community Festival 5k, the name of the race before becoming the SJO 5K. Jones was the third runner to cross the finish line at Saturday's Siberian Express.

PhotoNews File Photo

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The top womens' competitor was Sarka Petrickova, from Urbana, who took first in the Womens 30 - 39 group and 29th overall. She completed the course 1 hour, six minutes, and 45 seconds.

Other area runners included Jared Chenoweth, finishing third in the Mens 40 - 49 group and 13th overall. Luke Morrison crossed the line second in the Mens 20 - 29 group and 25th overall. Scott Tess finished seventh in the Mens 40 - 49 group and 32th overall. Chenoweth finish the race at 1:01:52, Morrison at 1:05:41, and Tess clocked in 1:07:57.

Four runners from The Sentinel area competed in the Womens 30 - 39 age group. Nicole Olson finished in second place and was 35th overall. She crossed the finish line at 1:09:06. Urbana's Olga Makarova finished the course at 1:24:37, good for fifth place in the division and 70th overall. Ellen Vore, also from Urbana, finished eighth and 128th overall with a time of 1:52:23. Coming in ninth was Nikki Campbell at 1:55:57 for a 141th overall.

There were five area runners in the Womens 40 - 49 division. Kaura Owen, from Sadorus, finished 13th and 120th overall at 1:44:07. Shonda Barto finished 14th in the Womens 40 - 49 group and 134th overall. The Philo resident clocked in at 1:53:43.

Jennifer White, from Savoy, and Sidney's Brooke DiBello finished seventh and tenth, respectively. White finish the race at 1:11:19, 46th overall. DiBello was 59th overall after crossing the line at 1 hour, 19 minutes and 09 seconds. Urbana's Anne Sickles completed the run 1:33:47. She finished 101th overall and 12th.

Brian Barto, from Philo, ran the course under two hours, finishing at 1:53:46. He was 17th in the Mens 40 - 49 group and 136th overall.

Mark Dixon led the 50-59 men to the finish line, running a 1:11:12 to finish sixth in the group. He was 45th overall. Following the Urbana resident over the line almost 20 minutes later, Steve Darling, from Oakwood, finished 16th in the division and 93th overall with a time of 1:31:41. Christopher Korose finished 97th overall at 1:32:11. He carved out a 17th place in the divison.

Savoy's Nancy Roth also braved the chilly running conditions, turning in a time under the two hour mark. She finished fifth in the Womens 60 & up division and 119th overall at 1:44:06.

Robert Ogden completed the course 1:19:38. The Sidney resident finished eighth in the Mens 40 - 49 group and 61st overall.

Urbana's Brenda Straka finished first in the Womens 20 - 29 group and 73th overall. She stop the clock at 1:24:50.

Elizabeth Withers-Sickles ran the course in 1 hour, 24 minutes, and 54 seconds. She came in fourth in the Womens 19 & under and 74th overall.

Hugh Bowman rounded the list of area runners. He finished 16th in the Mens 30 - 39 group and 71th overall at 1:24:38.

The Siberian Express is the first race each year in the Kennekuk Road Runners annual race series.

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There is nothing like the Siberian Express

There is nothing like it.

That's how Deb Studniarz describes the annual Siberian Express Trail Run held at Kickapoo State Park for almost four decades. The 7.45 mile trail race, the first on this side of Illinois every calendar year, will run this Saturday at its usual location.

The 36th installment is scheduled to start at 11 am.

Last year, just over 300 runners turned out to race thanks unseasonably warm weather.

"You never know what Illinois weather will be like," said Studniarz, who is also this year's race director. "Last year we had record turnout because the weather was exceptional. The year before was record cold."

Corey Plotner, who finished 19th at last year's race, has run the Siberian Express in nearly every form of manic January weather that Mother Nature has offered.

"The challenging part is the weather. I have run it in shorts, and I have run it in 6 plus inches of snow," Plotner said. "You never know what you are going to get until you get out on the course."

Plotner, one of 11 Sentinel area runners, clocked in last January at 55:07.5.

"It’s a challenge to run trail and a greater challenge in the winter," Studniarz said referencing the years the race was ran despite knee high snow or sub-zero temperatures. "You never know what Illinois weather will be like."

Since 2012 Plotner has only missed running the annual race twice. In his opinion, having a solid game plan is key to running a good race.

"The real fun is when the course is sloppy though. It really makes for some interesting turns and strategy really comes into play then," he said. "This makes the experience so much fun because you go and run the course in the chilly temps and snow and slush, then you get to go back in the fall and run it faster on the dry course.

Another area resident and veteran runner, Mike Tankersley is intimately familiar with both the demands of the course and unpredictable race-day weather.

This course is tough when it is warm and dry," he said. Last year, the St. Joseph resident finished 29th overall with a time of 57:21.4 seconds. "When it is cold and snowing it is very challenging But, a huge accomplishment just to finish!"

Tankersley's fondest Siberian Express memory is finishing the race two years ago in 1 degree temperatures without any signs of frostbite.

Other area runners competing in last year's race included three women; Kati Seeley, Melissa Swanson and Johanna Mayer. Seeley finished the course in one hour, eight minutes and 27 seconds for 13th place in her division and 94th overall. Swanson clocked in 183th and Mayer persevered to cross the finish line after 2:03:17.4 elapsed from the time she started.

Plotner and Tankersley were not the only men from St. Joseph who competed in 2019. Cory Swanson, Bryan Johnson, John North, Scott Hendren, Levi Marriott and Jonathan Mayer all finished the 2019 running of the Siberian Express.

Haven't signed up for this year's race yet?

Race day registration opens at 9:30am. Runners signing up at the last minute should head to the Kickapoo Park Maintenance Garage.

The top 175 finishers will receive what the official race website calls a "Super Cool" medal. Participation awards will be distributed to runners finishing under the two hour mark.

For what it is worth, Saturday's forecast calls for cloudy conditions and the high hovering around 32º.