by John Welch

Click here for complete Sunmart Texas Trail Endurance Run results

The ladies took center stage over Mother Nature's fury at the 12th annual Sunmart Texas Trail Endurance Runs at Huntsville State Park on Dec. 8. The steady rain and gusty winds that blasted the park were nothing compared to the record onslaught that the first three womens finishers found themselves embroiled in during the 50- kilometer race.

First-time ultra marathoner Albina Gallyamova of Austin won her first trail race in a big way, obliterating Luanne Park's 1999 50K record of 3 hours, 54 minutes, 14 seconds by over 12 minutes in 3:41:40. The next two finishers also bested the old mark. Liza Hunter-Galvan, a middle school science teacher from San Antonio, finished second in 3:42:39, followed by Houstonian Kathryn Scarborough, who closed in 3:50:24.

"Running in my first 50K felt more like running in a 20K," said Gallyamova, who is a native of St. Petersburg, Russia. "In Russia we have to run in lots of rain, so this was nothing new to me."

Fellow Russian Sergey Karasev, also an Austin resident, finished first in the mens 50K with a time that nearly broke Rich Hanna's 1994 course standard of 3:12:25. Karasev splashed and slogged his way through the scenic park in a still speedy time of 3:13:11. Jim Harrington, 36, of Marquette, Mich., finished second in 3:27:44, followed by Austinite Sebastian Villava, who crossed the line in 3:28:27.

Mark Godale of Staeekboro, Ohio, knows the joys of finishing in the top three at Sunmart. Godale was third last year, and second in 1999. But this time around, Godale was not to be denied, as he cruised to an easy win in 6:03:52. Hal Koerner, 25, of Parker, Colo., was second at 6:13:19. Dink Taylor, 36, of Huntsville, Ala., was third in 6:19:32.

The womens 50-mile winner was Tania Pacev, 42, of Littleton, Colo., in 7:07:13. Sally Brooking, 45, of Marietta, Ga., was second in 7:45:53, followed in third by Chrissy Ferguson, 41, Conway, Ark., who finished at 7:55:46.