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Magnificent Mendenhall Mudpuddle Meet
| Auke Lake, Juneau | The ninth Magnificent Mendenhall Mudpuddle Meet, ten miles on Saturday 27 April 1985, starting and finishing at the University of Alaska-Juneau parking lot at Auke Lake at 10 a.m.
Rick Thibodeau won in 54:12. Alan Graves, the defending champion, led for the first six and a half miles and took a 50-metre advantage as far as the Montana Creek Road intersection, where he, Thibodeau and Glenn Frick opened a gap on the rest of the field. Thibodeau surged at the Mendenhall River bridge and led by 50 to 100 metres before a steady uphill after the 7-mile mark. Graves finished second in 54:51 and Frick third in 56:29 - third here in 1984 too, and 51 seconds faster than he ran it then. Michelle Ramsey was the overall women's winner in 1:08:23. Sandra Knapp won the women 40-and-over division and Ethel Smith the women 27-39.
The course circled the university lot twice, then followed the Glacier Highway south and the Loop Road past Floyd Dryden, across the Mendenhall River bridge and past DeHarts before the final stretch back to the campus. Graves called the weather the worst in the race's nine years and said it was the only time he had met a headwind all the way around the loop.
The meet was run for the ninth year by Juneau Parks and Recreation, Juneau Special Olympics and the University of Alaska-Juneau, as a fund-raiser for Special Olympics. Entry was $1 and every entrant carried sponsors at a minimum pledge of 50 cents a mile; a $50 cash prize went to the runner earning the most in pledges. Registration ran from 9 a.m. and closed 15 minutes before the start. T-shirts went to the first 40 men and first 40 women, with awards to the top three in each age group. Entries went through Diane Watson, recreation supervisor at Juneau Parks and Recreation.
SOURCES: a Parks and Recreation advertisement in the Juneau Empire of Friday 19 April 1985, page 17, giving the date, course, divisions and fees; the report "Thibodeau wins windy Mudpuddle" by Richard F. Schmitz in the Empire of Monday 29 April 1985, page 6; the divisional finish list published the same day; and an undated preview, "Mudpuddle 10-miler raises funds for Special Olympics".
NOTE ON THE FIELD: the report calls it a field of 54 finishers and the published list numbers 1 to 54, but 55 runners are named - Judy Murphy appears without a place number. Her time is recorded here as printed. The list also places Jack Hodges 14th in 1:04:21 behind a 13th-place 1:04:39; that is as printed and has not been corrected. | DefaultRaceDirector Unassigned | 1985-04-27 10:00:00 | no | yes | yes | Registration Form |