2008 PATCH SPRINT RACE PREDICTIONS
For the 13th consecutive year, USA Today oddsmaker Danny Sheridan makes his picks for the Patch Sprint. In 2007, Sheridan hit on five of the six division winners.  Sheridan says, "I've got a good read on this year's races.  Once again, the 'Janny' will come from the men's open; the women's open will be a cliffhanger, and there will be a couple of surprises in the other classes.  Despite all of the hype surrounding the Clydesdale division, the finish time differential between competitors will be too wide for the weight handicap to even matter.  As always, the weather conditions will greatly determine the final times for everyone."
Place	Race #	MEN'S OPEN	Age	Finish Time	The Skinny
1	1	Jim Kobak	39	2:18:57	Continues his mastery of course: becomes oldest ever "Janny" winner
2	5	Cole Starkey	23	2:20:24	Stays with lead pack to avoid getting lost; dropped on final mountain
3	4	Jason Fiegl	34	2:23:35	Feels great; races well, but falls behind on Sugarloaf and can't gain
4	44	Matt Moscato	33	2:37:09	Keeps it together to finish in top five; best personal time in five years
5	3	Dan Herbert	34	2:39:01	Will surprise no one this year; could have won Clydesdale division
6	13	Tom Moffett	33	2:47:32	Plenty of training on the race course yields personal best time
7	70	Scott Kelley	23	2:48:55	Established Colorado mountaineer uses climbing skills to his advantage
8	8	Marc Hummel	35	2:49:35	Ran a four hour marathon a few weeks back; in great race condition
9	9	Jacob Gittler	16	2:50:23	Still maturing as a racer, big improvement; future "Janny" winner
10	58	Mark Corell	30	2:56:43	Has been training hard to beat three hours before fatherhood sets in
11	14	Chris Durlacher	26	2:58:02	Kicks it back under three hours for first time in three years
12	17	Jack Kinney	17	3:03:11	Could break 3 hours but is a mile and 800-meter specialist
13t	69	Alec Bohn	15	3:06:17	Unfamiliar with course; gets blown off by Gittler and picked up by Taptick
13t	47	Michael Taptick	26	3:06:17	Posts his best ever result despite nagging quad injury
15	60	Peter Stein	27	3:09:33	Tennis player, sailor & triathlete training for Kilimanjaro
16t	84	Steve Bagley	23	3:29:18	Doesn't Derman, Bagley and McCormick sounds like a law firm?
16t	86	Peter Derman	23	3:29:18	All-American Gymnast at Stanford.  Will it help here?
16t	85	Zack McCormick	23	3:29:18	Challenges Clydesdales to a burger eating contest th the barbecue
19	50	Brian Wells	34	3:54:20	For what it's worth, his name is an anagram for "brain swell"
20t	39	Dan DeSloover	28	4:32:27	Really an enthusiastic trekker diguised as a racer
20t	42	Brian Adamczyk	36	4:32:27	Hung with Ike in '07; improves big time this year
Place	Race #	MEN'S MASTERS	Age	Finish Time	The Skinny
1	43	Tom Lynch	46	2:51:03	Surprises many, including himself, by taking division for fourth time
2	7	Jerry Ross	57	2:55:04	16 seconds faster than '07 but nearly 4 minutes in back of leader
3	11	Tim Singer	49	3:14:08	Former overall and division champion now just throwing in the towel
4	18	Erik Anderson	41	3:33:33	Betters 2007 time by 12 minutes and sings throughout the race
5	19	Ken Herz	48	3:37:18	Hangs with Anderson for much of the race; cramps up late
6	88	Dale Wells	46	4:00:26	No relation to Men's Open runner Brian
7	27	John Rayburn	43	4:28:14	Trains hard, knows course but always tends to run out of gas
8	28	David Mason	43	4:39:12	Tweaks his knee hiking two days before the race
	10	George Disney	55	DNS	Pulls out of race due to knee injury; Treks Pok-O-Moonshine only
Place	Race #	WOMEN'S OPEN	Age	Finish Time	The Skinny
1	6	Sheila Mulherin	24	2:50:58	Paced by faster men, wins division by 32 seconds
2	49	Elizabeth Disney	20	2:51:30	Breaks three hour mark for third time; Should have started at 10:00am
3	53	Cecilia Disney	23	3:27:44	Med School:  Has she been studying or training?
4	16	Cindy Mercado	34	3:30:47	Smooth, steady run; shaves a minute off of her best time
5t	21	Jess Anderson	29	3:35:38	Steady racer never seems to be laboring through the course
5t	20	Stephanie Lylis	35	3:35:38	One of the division's most experienced racers keeps improving
7	61	Kate Durlacher	23	3:35:55	Panned on trekking but talked into racing by the Disneys
8	72	DeeDee Falkenbach	36	3:37:11	Give or take 30 minutes; unknown quantity
9	31	Stephanie Konowitz	37	3:49:04	Biggest time improvement of any racer in the field
10	55	Jen Mattimore	32	3:56:09	Breaks four hours eleven months after giving birth
11	62	Kathleen Wiley	38	4:28:14	Third time around course produces personal best time
12	40	Sarah Shaddy-Farnsworth	27	4:32:27	Pays price for one too many tequila shots Friday night
13	57	Leah Grossman	34	5:03:51	Enjoys the beauty and vows to move out of the city
		Devin Winter	26	DNS	Withdraws from event due to dispute with her sponsors
Place	Race #	WOMEN'S MASTERS	Age	Finish Time	The Skinny
1	73	Susan Trzaskos	40	4:03:00	Lives in Willsboro so may have intimate knowledge of the course
2	83	Marianne Perreault	44	4:52:12	First big athletic event in years as fitness comeback is underway
Place (Net)	Race #	CLYDESDALE	Age	Finish Time	The Fat  (total time - pounds exceeding 200 = Net Time)
1	2	Ben Stanley	26	2:38:02	15 extra pounds turn out not to be lean muscle
2	12	Matt Elliott	30	3:12:52	Since runner-up in '01, has had trouble with late endurance
3	15	Roberto Mercado	37	3:27:10	Defending champ drops to third; loses 33 pounds for 2009 race
4	52	Kenneth Ryba	51	3:57:54	Has lost a lot of weight.  Is he faster or weaker?
5	32	Josh Bornt	28	4:45:59	Asthma attacks on Rattlesnake, Sugarloaf and Pok-O.  Fine on Bare.
		Drew Canning	36	DNS	Withdraws from race prior to start for 5th consecutive year
Place	Race #	TREKKER	Age	Finish Time	The Skinny
*** TREKKERS do not compete for placing
-	66	Suzanne Baker	32	3:48:55	Event rookie comes in fastest of all the trekkers
-	48	Michael Daley	32	3:51:11	Last remaining participant still named "Daley"
-	23	Fiona Dubuss	24	3:53:08	Did not take full advantage of home course training
-	54	Don Stauffer	39	3:53:08	Performs much better in odd numbered years
-	24	Dana Beck	25	3:57:47	Time spent at altitude helps her near the summits
-	93	Maggie Durlacher	20	3:57:47	First time Patch Sprinter; will finish Top 3, Women's Open in '09
-	25	Peter Joelson	16	4:00:13	This is the year he finally betters Andrew Spaulding at the finish
-	22	Andrew Spaulding	16	4:04:50	Starts out too quickly and runs out of gas behind Sugarloaf
-	51	Chris Bell	50	4:14:05	Born in Africa; closest thing to a Kenyan of anyone in the field
-	89	Michael Moscato	40	4:19:12	Planned to trek exclusively but racing urges fire up at times
-	26	Jonathan Alvarez	28	4:22:06	Breaks away from walking trekkers to jog some of the course
-	41	Nancy Mercado	32	4:36:40	Casual walk last year; tough to predict her true potential
-	90	Ashley Slater	26	4:36:40	Favorite to win the 50-50 raffle drawing
-	80	Andrew Gonzalez	12	4:37:26	Becomes second youngest person to cover entire course
-	81	Pam Gonzalez	43	4:40:02	Hangs back with son, who then blows her off in final mile
-	30	Brandi Bornt	30	4:42:06	At night when the bars close down, Brandi walks through a quiet town
-	67	Erin Canning	29	4:49:12	Hasn't been on a hike this long since her camper days
-	71	Phil Rolfe	39	4:49:12	They don't have hills like this in the Mother Land!
-	68	Sandy Solomon Rolfe	29	4:49:12	Trekker field features a Sandy, Brandi and Andy
-	87	Meghan Taptick	29	4:49:12	One of seven 2006 volunteers now trekking.  Do I sound bitter?
-	64	Tricia Woodward	29	4:49:12	In between half-marathons; just another training day
-	63	Jillian DeBusk	26	4:57:38	Triumphant North Country return marred by turned ankle in Fiegalley
-	29	Nora Elton	27	4:57:38	Is Joey cool with the fact that she's with CKD?
-	78	Annie Horwich	27	4:57:38	Will be the fastest ADK 45er in the field.
-	79	Antoine Leveque	30	4:57:38	First ever Patch Sprinter to come from France
-	59	Mimi Petrovich	25	4:57:38	Has attmpted ruuged trek in the past; has yet to finish
-	65	Lauren Jacoby	29	5:06:34	Friends leave her to labor up Pok-O by herself
-	82	Jaclyn Adamson	29	5:07:11	You may know her as Jackie Sobocienski
-	33	Brad Spaulding	46	5:13:01	Recovers after taking that wrong turn coming down Bare
-	75	Erin Sayward Dorr	29	5:19:58	Grew up in Willsboro; knows these peaks like the back of her hand
-	76	Mike Dorr	28	5:19:58	Could be faster but the Jack Russell's hold him back
-	35	Pam Cataldi-Gittler	44	5:25:43	Favorite to be the first to sign up for 46-in-a-Day
-	34	Dave Joelson	53	5:26:21	Getting thinner and in better shape, but not getting any younger
-	74	Bob Mason	56	5:26:21	Four different racer/trekkers from Shelburne, VT.  None related
-	77	Tom Nold	53	5:26:21	Tied for the shortest name in the race
-	37	David Anderson	27	5:33:17	Three Andersons in the race; none have father named "Ander"
-	38	Rachel Newman	27	5:33:17	Second time around the course results in big time improvement
-	36	Jay Bauer	35	5:39:12	Not a winter forty-sixer
-	91	Anne Phan	32	5:58:06	Anne Phan Can!
-	92	Mark Skeeter	32	5:58:06	Accidently leaves course map at Homestead
-	45	Kristin Fiegl	33	DNF	Covers half of the course and heads to Pok-O for Kindersprint
-	56	Erik Zimmerman	40	DQ	Inexplicably misses turn to Sugarloaf and only summits three peaks
Place	Race #	KINDER SPRINT	Age	Finish Time	The Skinny
1	K1-I	Alec Gonzalez	10	30:08	"Speedy" Gonzales captures division as race rookie
2	K1-A	Joseph Zimmerman	8	39:14	Pulls a Phil over the last ten yards
3	K1-B	Chad Canning	8	39:22	Could kick JoJo's butt in a wrestling match
4	K1-H	Elizabeth Swan	9	43:04	Back after three year layoff; fastest girl to the top
5	K1-L	Keely Sample		46:36	Cool name.  Not much else known about this late entrant
6	K1-C	Nora Canning	6	52:20	Takes chimney route but still fails to break 50 minutes
7	K1-D	Katherine Zimmerman	6	1:00:29	Tune-up race for The Great Journey, July 22
8	K1-E	Jenna Zimmerman	10	1:07:45	Oldest racer in division enjoys taking it easy and checking out view
9	K1-G	Jameson Fiegl	5	1:10:17	Pushed too hard during training and failed to taper properly
10	K1-F	Sierra Moscato	7	1:10:57	Has been wheeled, carried and dragged; how will she do solo?
11	K1-K	Skylar Hedlund	4	1:17:22	2nd coolest name; Too young to be competitive
12	K1-J	Luke Moffett	3	1:18:08	Could be faster; stays back to make sure everyone gets up safely
		Above list based on entrants and projected entrants through May 21
		Race number based on most recent placing
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