This race was made special by those who created it. Both the Cheetah Herders and the man and legend, retired race director and founder Pat Caffrey left big shoes to fill. There is long-standing tradition, grit, and heart behind the Le Grizz Ultra-marathon. The Polebridge Mercantile aims to preserve that tradition for years to come. The following are archives and records documented by the Cheetah Herders.
Info of Interest
States Represented:
AK, AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, NE, ND, NH, NM, NY, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV, WY
Canadian Provinces Represented:
AB, BC, MB, NS, ON, SK
Other Countries Represented:
England, Australia, Italy
# of Starters & Finishers by Year
1982: 19 16
1983: 23 22
1984: 21 17
1985: 22 21
1986: 24 22
1987: 40 37
1988: 46 45
1989: 73 70
1990: 73 66
1991: 65 63
1992: 54 51
1993: 78 77
1994: 70 68
1995: 74 69
1996: 76 73
1997: 55 52
1998: 70 62
1999: 78 74
2000: 52 50
2001: 54 52
2002: 84 84
2003: 71 70
2004: 56 53
2005: 63 60
2006: 71 69
2007: 88 85
2008: 89 83
2009: 91 84
2010: 90 87
2011: 76 74
2012: 104 98
2013: 103 99
2014: 90 85
2015: 69 63
2016: 58 57
2017: 48 45
2018: 61 57
2019: 51 51
2020: 60 57
2021: 59 57
2022: 60 49
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SILVERTIP CLUB
Finishers age 70 and older are automatic members
Ross Waltzer 70 – 10:07:30 in 1992
Bob Hayes 70 – 8:49:07 in 1996; 71 – 8:55:44 in 1997; 72 – 8:56:13 in 1998; 73 – 9:36:42 in 1999; 74 – 9:50:52 in 2000; 76 – 9:50:35 in 2002; 78 – 9:50:22 in 2004; 79 – 10:13:49 in 2005; 80 – 11:04:03 in 2006; 82 – 11:00:33 in 2008; 83 – 10:47:45 in 2009; 84 – 12:02:54 in 2010; 85 – 13:13:28 in 2011
Bill Halm 70 – 11:25:35 in 1997
Burt Carlson 72 – 11:35:56 in 1997
Robert Haynes 73 – 16:30:45 in 2004
Jim Grindley 70 – 9:32:16 in 2005; 71 – 11:01:29 in 2006; 72 – 10:09:51 in 2007; 73 – 10:36:40 in 2008; 74 – 10:46:15 in 2009
Bob Johnson 71 – 12:13:37 in 2009
Larry Carroll 70 – 12:13:37 in 2010
John Morelock 70 – 10:19:16 in 2012
Dusty Moller 70 – 11:09:22 in 2014
Max Welker 72 – 11:55:38 in 2014
Gunhild Swanson 70 – 9:42:02 in 2014
Sylvia Quinn 77 – 10:24:58 in 2014
Kathie Lang 70 – 13:11:53 in 2019; 71 – 15:58:55 in 2020 – 72 – 13:54:47 in 2021; 73 – 14:43:23 in 2023
Richard Hildner 74 – 12:49:47 in 2020
Richard Dingman 72 – 12:35:48 in 2021
Jim Ballard 71 – 16:00:00 in 2021
FURBALL CLUB
Finishers under age 20 are automatic members.
Jerry Chambers 16 – 8:27:50 in 1986
Tova Reddick 18 – 9:38:56 in 1994
Matt Darrington 12 – 11:40:38 in 1999
Nick Weisgerber 18 – 9:51:45 in 2003; 19 – 9:15:33 in 2004
Barret Schlegelmilch 19 – 9:35:25 in 2008
Jacob Hinz 19 – 9:30:55 in 2011
Cameron Gehrman 19 – 11:24:54 in 2011
10 CUBS AWARDS
Volunteers who staff the event 10 times are given a smaller version of the 10 Bears Award
Rose & Lynn Carey – Awarded in 1991
Bill Pursell – Awarded in 1995
Randy Avery – Awarded in 2001
Bill & Peg Moir – Awarded in 2002
Chuck Rippey – Awarded in 2003
Ann & Bill Tarr – Awarded in 2004
Debbie Bloomfield – Awarded in 2005
Mike Sands – Awarded in 2005
Beth Burren – Awarded in 2006
Steve Bolling – Awarded in 2007
John & Evelyn Pacheco – Awarded in 2007
Tom Torpen – Awarded in 2009
Mike Fraser – Awarded in 2010
Louie & Cheryl Van Duzer – Awarded in 2012
9 MILE-AN-HOUR CLUB
Finishers under 5:33 are automatic members.
Drew Coco – 5:20:00 in 2021; 5:21:19 in 2022
8 MILE-AN-HOUR CLUB
Finishers under 6:15 are automatic members.
Rick Spady – 5:55:49 in 1983; 5:50:56 in 1986; 5:44:54 in 1988; 6:05:09 in 1989; 6:10:21 in 1990; 5:59:36 in 1991
Jim Pomroy – 6:13:35 in 1985
Don Kardong – 5:58:37 in 1987
Peter Holubar – 5:56:28 in 1989
Mark Tarr – 5:53:57 in 1991; 6:00:37 in 1992; 5:51:21 in 1993; 5:38:26 in 1994; 6:13:03 in 1995; 5:34:38 in 1996; 5:55:30 in 1997; 6:02:42 in 1998; 6:08:43 in 1999; 6:12:59 in 2001
Bob Feeney – 6:07:35 in 1991; 6:04:16 in 1992; 6:02:55 in 1993; 6:09:38 in 1994
John Cave – 6:07:21 in 1993; 5:54:58 in 1994; 5:51:02 in 1995
Jeff Tiegs – 5:42:06 in 1996
Michael Bresson – 5:52:38 in 1996
Rob Macal – 5:52:26 (unregistered) in 1995; 6:03:31 (qualifier) in 1996; 5:47:22 in 1999
Seth Swanson – 5:57:39 in 2011
Heath Wiltse – 5:58:45 in 2012
Andy Prevost – 6:04:09 in 2012
Benjamin Bucklin – 6:14:47 in 2014
Drew Coco – 5:45:13 in 2020
Jason Delaney – 6:07:48 in 2020; 5:34:58 in 2021
Cody Moore – 6:12:55 in 2020
7 MILE-AN-HOUR CLUB
Women Finishers under 7:09 are automatic members.
Bobbie Pomroy – 7:07:56 in 1984; 6:37:53 in 1985; 7:05:37 in 1986; 6:58:18 in 1987
Cathy Relf – 7:04:38 in 1988
Glenna Burmeister – 7:08:58 in 1995
Connie Ridenour – 7:08:28 in 2002
Kendra Borgmann – 6:40:33 in 2007
Jenny Pierce – 6:50:46 in 2012
Christi Richards – 6:54:44 in 2015; 6:56:59 in 2016
Evie Tate – 6:58:33 in 2021
Natalie Como – 7:06:47 in 2021
Special Olympics Fundraising Benefit
The event has raised money, both by donations by Plum Creek Timber Company on behalf of the runners, and by the runners themselves, since 1986. Youth athletes of the Special Olympics turn out every year to staff a complimentary aid station on the dam, the last aid before the finish.
Between 1986 and 2022, $33,385 has been raised.
North Fork Community Donations
Since 2019 Le Grizz has donated any remaining proceeds along with a generous donation from the Polebridge Mercantile to a different North Fork non-profit organization. In 2019, North Fork Trails Association, http://nftrails.org/, received $500.00. In 2020, the North Fork Landowner’s Association, http://nflandowners.com/, received $500.00