2006 PATCH SPRINT RACE PREDICTIONS
For the 11th consecutive year, USA Today oddsmaker Danny Sheridan makes his picks for the Patch Sprint. In 2005, Sheridan hit on only three of the six division winners.  Sheridan says, "Last year was so tough!  The warm weather on race day really shook things up.  This year will be tough to call as well with plenty of past champions, talented newcomers, and others who have trained hard to be 2006 champs!  It's going to warm, and the trails will be wet from plenty of rain this month.  The course record will not fall."
Place	Race #	MEN'S OPEN	Age	Finish Time	The Skinny
1	75	Curt Schreiner	39	2:16:33	Very close race until he "opens it up" on Pok-O
2	1	Jason Fiegl	32	2:18:30	Attempts to open up big lead taxes energy for end of race
3	32	Jim Kobak, III	37	2:21:01	Contests for lead until he cramps up in twice in 2nd Half
4	3	Ben Stanley	24	2:25:45	Well trained, Personal best- Still not enough to win
5	5	Jason Metakis	29	2:29:08	Attains goal of a sub-2:30; Another Top-5 finish
6	74	Thomas Moffett	31	2:36:51	Experience endurance athlete not race-tested in this format
7	2	Mike Daley	30	2:39:42	Another huge time improvement yet falls in standings
8t	4	Marc Metakis	29	2:41:12	Twists his knee coming down Rattlesnake but continues
8t	50	Q	29	2:41:12	Could be faster; stays with Metakis for course security
10	43	Mark Corell	28	2:51:01	Former Champion in great shape, but hampered by heat
11	8	Chris Durlacher	24	2:55:56	Last minute training leads to fair, not great condition/result
12	10	David Durant	25	3:12:17	Consistently finishes with about the same time each year
13	20	Mike Ryba	17	3:16:22	Huge improvement following struggle in '05
14	63	Andrew Joelson	18	3:18:57	Strong racer pays price for Friday night out on the town
15	31	Greg Henderson	33	3:21:05	Strong finish after slowing down mid-race
16	17	Matt Leto	33	3:29:17	Starts quickly but decides to drop back and run socially
17	57	Jacob Gittler	14	3:47:02	Inspiring performance by youngest all-out racer
18
Place	Race #	MEN'S MASTERS	Age	Finish Time	The Skinny
1	21	SATO	41	2:46:41	Great comeback after 2005 injury & lost debacle
2	14	Tom Lynch	44	2:50:29	Almost entirely back from years of illness and injury
3	9	Tim Singer	47	2:52:45	Fights off asthma attack for record 12th Patch finish
4	24	John Rayburn	41	4:19:20	Keeps getting faster; Top division finish yet
5	27	Dave Mason	41	4:37:00	Mixes in a bit of jogging and walking for his best finish
6	37	David Joelson	51	5:19:22	Walks with the trekkers; still good enough for Top-6
7
		George Disney	53	dns	Projected division winner pulls out due to bad ankle
Place	Race #	WOMEN'S OPEN	Age	Finish Time	The Skinny
1	76	Deborah Nordyke	44	2:43:23	Obliterates the Women's Course Record
2	11	Kate Durlacher	21	3:05:49	Failure to refuel prevents her from going under 3 hours
3	7	Elizabeth Disney	18	3:07:50	Pulls away from sisters but cannot catch Durlacher
4t	13	Cecilia Disney	21	3:10:03	Runs even splits all 12 miles
4t	6	Alexandra Disney	18	3:10:03	Temporary setback when whacked by a branch on Sugarloaf
6	67	Lily Ladd	24	3:19:05	Falls behind Disneys; negotiates course on her own
7t	45	Stephanie Lylis	33	3:34:13	Five minutes faster than her debut effort in 2004
7t	83	Jessica Anderson	27	3:34:13	First time on course; will improve radically in '07
9	48	Carrie Howard Canning	35	4:06:37	By not getting lost she shaves nearly 45 minutes off her PR
10	91	Cynthia Mercado	32	4:31:20	Top 10 in division despite covering course with trekkers
Place	Race #	WOMEN'S MASTERS	Age	Finish Time	The Skinny
1t	69	Eileen Sofield	40	3:29:17	Marathon veteran struggles only with the climbing
1t	70	Barbara Timblin	41	3:29:17	Captures a share of the title in first visit to Adirondacks
Place (Net)	Race #	CLYDESDALE	Age	Finish Time	The Skinny  (total time - pounds exceeding 200 = Net Time)
1	16	Ken Ryba	49	3:56:55	Will "net" close to 2:30; Captures division easily
2	56	Brian Wells	32	3:21:05	First time through course a test for former volunteer
3	78	Tom Sullivan	44	3:48:12	Not sure of his weight, but close on finishing time
4	19	Ken Herz	46	3:41:20	2nd Fastest racer in division but not enough extra weight
5	90	Rob Mercado	35	4:41:20	Cruises at a nice relaxed pace with a group of trekkers
6	23	Mike Taptick	24	4:07:49	If he qualifies for Clydesdale, it will be right at 200lbs.
7
		Josh Bornt	26	dns	Fell to 197 pounds: Withdrew from the event
Place	Race #	TREKKER	Age	Finish Time	The Skinny
*** TREKKERS do not compete for placing
-	44	Ed Bunk	53	3:19:36	Race-walking style impressive but not suited for faster time
-	15	Byron Haynes	49	3:30:07	Abandons Clydesdale division and a sure Top-3 finish
-	18	Erik Zimmerman	38	3:51:51	Betters 2005 time but needs surgery on injured toe
-	49	Don Stauffer	37	3:51:51	Treks under four hours then shoots a 78 at Willsboro
-	12	Matt Moscato	31	4:01:06	Carries daughter on back; then chaperones her for Kindersprint
-	93	Jim Kobak, Jr.	62	4:03:28	Has climbed Porter over 100 times; Patch should be a pushover
-	22	Chris Bell	48	4:07:49	Despite a lack of training is in better shape than 2005
-	25	Bob Heins	66	4:13:03	66 Years old and training for an Ironman.  Incredible!
-	28	Fiona Dubuss	23	4:34:23	For the second straight year regrets she's didn't run
-	89	Ilva Neumann	30	4:37:00	Childhood training in the Alps proves vital for final push
-	77	Leah Grossman	32	4:41:20	No problem trekking; out-drinks husband at party
-	84	Deb Haynes	49	4:41:20	1st Patch Sprint; will next join rest of family as 46ers
-	59	Joe Mattimore	34	4:41:20	"Buffalo Joe" mixes audio and plays a mean bass guitar
-	60	Jen Mattimore	30	4:41:20	Insufficient data- Most unknown commodity in the field
-	62	Dana Beck	23	4:47:40	Going strong until developing blister two miles from finish
-	64	Mimi Petrovich	23	4:47:40	Decides not to trek Friday night; talked back in Saturday
-	86	Isa Kriegskotte	23	4:47:40	Jogs early before falling back to meet friends
-	26	Phil Corell	60	4:48:10	Leaves the boat tied up at the dock and treks entire way
-	72	Alex Radmonovich	57	4:48:12	Joins up with a large group of steady-to-fast hikers
-	71	Christine Bourjade	54	4:48:12	Regales the masses with stories about climbing the winter 46
-	73	Angela Alphonso		4:48:12	Age not known, therefore time could be +/- an hour
-	29	Augusta Wilson	39	4:51:23	In peak condition but injuries ankle in final training run
-	47	Doc Browning	50	4:53:33	Celebrates 20th Anniversary of 1st Patch-in-a-Day
-	51	Jody Edwards	48	4:53:33	20 years later does Patch again; does not get poison ivy
-	53	Karen Lounsbury	40	4:53:33	Looks like a runner; competitive; will race in '07
-	36	Andrew Spaulding	14	4:58:11	Betters 2005 time and wins duel with Joelson
-	33	Peter Joelson	14	4:59:28	Betters 2005 time but loses duel with Spaulding
-	58	Pam Gittler	42	5:05:20	Thinks she's not in shape but handles trek easily
-	61	Stephanie Konowitz	35	5:05:20	Trek triumph thanks to new insoles and kind encouragment
-	52	Chris Konowitz	36	5:05:20	3rd biggest calves in field behind Ryba and Corell
	68	Peter Stein	25	5:05:20	Health issues prevent him from debuting in Men's Open
-	30	Kelly Zimmerman	36	5:05:20	Acts as course guide for large group of same-time trekkers
-	65	Brad Spaulding	44	5:05:20	Not enough hills in Stamford to seriously train for Sprint
-	66	Nora Elton	25	5:05:20	If Joey can do Denali twice, Nora can trek the Patch Sprint
-	34	Bonnie Coberly	26	5:17:36	Experience on course good enough to edge Greenlee by :04
-	35	Travis Greenlee	26	5:17:40	After "awesome" time, is "stoked" to run Intermediate section
-	87	Brandi Bornt	28	5:17:40	Delivers child and completes trek within the same 8 months
-	88	Kathleen O'Brien	32	5:17:40	1st trip to camp; HAS to visit North End; suffers as a result
-	55	Pete Henderson	61	5:19:22	Stays with other trekkers until running out of gas late
Place	Race #	KINDER SPRINT	Age	Finish Time	The Skinny
1	38	Andrew Lounsbury	8	0:37:12	A Close 2nd in 2005; Will win this year
2	82	Jon Schreiner	7	0:42:18	Supposed to stay with brother but shakes free towards finish
3	40	Joe Zimmerman	8	0:50:19	Late competitive charge earns him second
4t	39	Chad Canning	6	0:50:26	Time keeps improving for division's most experienced racer
4t	81	Erik Schreiner	5	0:50:26	Impressive pace; makes friends with Chad and Joe
4t	54	Kylie Edwards	8	0:50:26	Debut competition for former assistant starter
7	94	Sierra Moscatto	5	1:01:06	A bit fatigued after going over Bare, Rattlesnake and Sugarloaf
8t	79	Liam Sullivan	7	1:03:12	Stops to try a few 5.12 rock climbing routes
8t	80	Fiona Sullivan	4	1:03:12	Sprints, then runs, then jogs, then walks; 1st girl to the top
10	41	Jenna Zimmerman	6	1:21:01	Reaches top at exact same time as Uncle Jim (Men's Open)
11	42	Nora Canning	4	1:24:59	Slowed by too much pasta at carbo-loading supper
12t	85	Sam Anderson	3	1:27:43	Has trained hard to successfully finish under 1:30
12t	92	Sean Tarala	3	1:27:43	Overtired from waking up at 4:42am
		Above list based on entrants and projected entrants through May 23
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