Cactus Classic Oro Valley, AZ - Nov. 2, 2003

The same scenic 26.2-mile course in the foothills of the nearby mountains was three laps of a hilly 8-mile loop. From the start/finish line, skaters immediately headed up a long, but gradual hill. Slow speeds made the slightly rough pavement feel worse. After reaching the top, the course proceeded on a long, but gradual downhill, parts which were on a closed lane of a main highway. After reaching the bottom, there was a moderate uphill sprint to the finish.

New this year was the implementation of chip timing. In the past the race organizers have recorded finishers by hand with tear tags. The computerized timing system compiled results faster and allowed the organizers to offer separate Pro and Pro-Masters categories.

The Cactus Classic is different every year as competitors try different strategies. This year the pace was high from the start, even with the long uphill. Less than a mile into the race, Randy Bowman (Pyro) and Dennis Humphrey developed a short, but constant gap in front of the pack. This gap was enough to keep the pace high, which forced some skaters to drop off early.

The main pack wasn't concerned with Randy and Dennis' breakaway since there would be plenty of time to catch them. Randy and Dennis definitely had a disadvantage on the downhills versus the main pack of eight to ten skaters.

However, the chase pack never got organized due to the high pace. Skaters became strewn out rather than sticking together as a single group. Randy and Dennis' lead over the chase pack gradually increased.

On the last lap Dennis began to tire significantly, but Randy worked with him in order to stay ahead of the lead pack. In the end, Randy crossed the line uncontested at 1:16 for the victory, bettering his second-place finish last year. Dennis finished a few seconds behind to become the Pro-Masters champion. The next group of skaters did not finish until over three minutes later.

Jenni Armstrong (LASS) and Kimberly Moore (Safe) battled it out for the women's Pro-Masters title. These two ladies knew each other well, having raced against each other at recent endurance events such as the New York 100k and A2A. They stayed together as they hopped between men's packs. But Kimberly turned it on in the last lap to develop a half-minute lead for the win in 1:28. Looked like Jenni had second place secured, but Brenda Harris had caught up with her after chasing the entire race. At the line Jenni was succesfully able to keep her position.

The top two Pro women, Stacey Eldridge (Bont) and Alexandra Scott, skated in the same pack intermixed with men the entire race. For the most part the pack worked together the entire race. Alexandra did try to make things more exciting by attempting to leave the pack, but the other skaters would not permit her. The pack stuck together all the way until the very end where Stacey was able to outlast Alexandra in the uphill sprint to the finish.

SDSE had a lighter than usual showing at the Cactus Classic this year as some members were affected by the recent wildfires in San Diego. Congratulations to AJ Comer for finishing third overall in the Open division. Congratulations also to Linus Harth for winning his age division and to Carl Yee for placing third in the same division. Just missing out on the podium were Rodney Friedman and Brandon Thorsten.

This year's Cactus Classic had phenomenal attendance, a reward for the hards work the organizers put into the event over the years. The race continues to receive excellent support from the local law enforcement, fire department, and volunteers. Generous sponsors contributed to the huge raffle at the post-race expo. With excellent weather to go along, this is one of the best grass-roots events and we look forward to next year's race.

Howard
SDSE-IR