Local wins 52-mile race

SANDPOINT — It was billed as the Deep Water 50 Mile Race, drawing ultramarathon runners from around the region to Farragut State Park last weekend.

Before the race, organizers told the 13 brave souls about to conquer five grueling 10 mile loops that the distance was actually more than 52 miles, which was just as well as the new number amounted to exactly two full marathons.

Sandpoint runner Steven Tyson, a 32 year-old personal trainer, had no problem with the added distance, finishing the race in seven hours and 33 minutes, more than 45 minutes ahead of the next runner. It was the first time Tyson has ever raced in an event longer than a 26 mile marathon, and was pleasantly surprised by how things went.

“You don’t know what is going to happen. It’s not like you go out for a 52 mile run to train for it,” said Tyson, noting his training was key. “I tapered right and when it came time to race everything worked out all right.”

Tyson averaged eight minutes and 44 seconds per mile on the trail course around Farragut, and said he was pretty sore and beat up the following couple of days. To prepare for the race, he logged a 32 mile run and then another 36 miler around Bottle Bay.

The second place finisher was Kjell Schioberg, who recently won the Coeur d’Alene Marathon, but was unable to match Tyson’s pace during the much longer distance. Tyson is also a strong marathon runner, having finished 40th out of more than 12,000 runners in the most recent Portland Marathon, and hopes to compete in the Western States 100 mile race next summer, doubling up on an already hard to fathom distance.