The three-man team of Deep Six Racing was the first relay team to finish the Tussey Mountainback 50 Mile Relay and Ultramarathon on Oct. 28. The team, comprised of Greg Lackey, Brian Beachler and Matthew Kisenwether, completed the 12 relay legs of the course in 5 hours, 24 minutes, 43 seconds. Each ran 4 legs of varying length and difficulty in a rotation order.

Deep Six Racing was one of two relay teams to finish faster than the first ultramarathoner, Zach Bitter, who covered the entire course in 5:35:51. The other was Speed Kills in 5:31:39. Speed Kills was a 6-person mixed team comprised of Megan Hutchinson, Tanya Rissmiller, Joe Schuchert, Seth Senior, Wilhelm Kogelmann, and Joshua Cone.

The oldest team on the course was George Etzweiler’s The Old Men of the Mountains, an 8-man team whose runners are all 65 years and older. Etzweiler has put together a team of senior citizens every year since 2007. At 91 years old, he ran the difficult first leg of the relay and the ninth leg. The Old Men finished in 11:03:26.

In its 13th year, the Mountainback saw a record field of 168 ultramarathoners registered, and a maxed out relay field of 120 teams varying in size from 2 to 8 runners.

Cali wins age group

Tom Cali of State College was first in the men’s 55-59 age group at the Steamtown Marathon in Scranton Oct. 7. Cali finished in 2 hours, 54 minutes, 3 seconds. Cali beat all but one man in the men’s 45-49 age group and all the men in the 50-54 age group. He was 32nd overall in a field of nearly 2,000 finishers.

Local race results

Alan Effrig won the 22nd annual Knights of Columbus State College Adventure 5K on Oct. 7 in 19 minutes, 4 seconds. Colleen Danz was the first woman and fourth overall in 20:05.

Penns Valley senior Kyle Houser won the Aaronsburg Dutch Fall Festival HOPE Fund 5K on Oct. 13 in 19:48. Erin Glasgow of Reston, Va. was the first woman and second overall in 20:09.

Andrew Maguire outran Effrig to win the Steps to Safety 5K on Oct. 14 in 18:15. Jaimie Wright was the first woman in 20:14.

Daniel Craighead and Matt Herring battled it out over the Give ‘Em 5! Run For Veterans 5 mile course in Bellefonte on Oct. 28, with Craighead finally pulling ahead for the win in 26:35. Herring was 2 seconds back in 26:37. Jodie Villegas was the first woman in 37:19.

Race calendar

Run for Shelter 5K, Nov. 10, 9 a.m., Centre House, 217 E. Nittany Ave., State College. Registration fees: $20 by Oct. 31, $25 thereafter and on race day, $15 children 12 and under. Website: housingtransitions.com.

Girls on the Run of Happy Valley 5K Run/Walk, Nov. 11, 1 p.m., Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Registration fee: $20. Website: gotrhappyvalley.com.

A Run To Remember 5K, Nov. 17, 9 a.m., State College Area High School track. Registration fees: $20 adults, $15 students, $25 day of event. Website: tidesprogram.org.

Third Annual Turkey Trot 5K Run/Walk, Nov. 22, 9 a.m., Old Gregg School, Spring Mills. Registration fee: $15. Website: tinyurl.com/turkeytrot12.

Nittany Valley Half Marathon, Dec. 2, 10 a.m., Penn State Ag Arena. Registration fee: $25. Website: nvrun.com.

Tara Murray writes a monthly running column for the Centre Daily Times.