5 days til race day; Olszowka warns Davis: 'I'll break your record'; Mud Mountain XIII entries set new daily mark (29), total 252 so far

Jason Olszowka wins Mud Mountain XII in 2007, finishing ahead of Eric "Jo Jo" Johannigmeier, and Aaron Werths.


Dustin Davis sat out Mud Mountain in 2007, but holds the course record of 15:36, which he set during an IHSA sectional meet in 2005.

by Tom Atwood

When Jason Olszowka first heard that Dustin Davis held the course record for Mud Mountain, he had his doubts. Olszowka contacted race officials to find out if Davis' claim was true. They confirmed that Davis holds the record, which was set in 2005--not at the Mud Mountain 5K Classic that year--but at an Illinois High School Association Sectional meet held at the Mud Mountain course in the fall of 2005. Davis won the event in the fastest time ever recorded for the 3.1 mile course: 15:36.

Olszowka, a former cross-country coach, who now works as a machinist and salesman in Greenville, says he will return to defend his 2007 title this year. In an email, Olszowka wrote: "If that [15:36] is the course record, and Dustin is going to be at this year's Mud Mountain, tell him that I am going to break his record. I will sign up the day of the race."

Davis, a junior at Southeast Missouri State, says he is "not terrified" of Olszowka. "It'll be a good race," Davis says, "but I honestly think that if I don't break my own course record, it will be out reach for him. I'm coming to Mud Mountain this
year the fittest I've ever been and I'm accepting his challenge."

Stephen Pifer, the former EHS cross country standout, has dominated Mud Mountain in the past. At this summer's US Olympic trials, Pifer ran the 5,000 meters more than 2 minutes faster than the Mud Mountain record. But so far, no word on whether Pifer will return to Edwardsville for Mud Mountain XIII.

Last year's 2nd place finisher, University of Illinois sophomore Eric Johannigmeier, will be at the course this Saturday, but Johannigmeier has been injured, and says he will not be running competitively. That leaves Olszowka and Davis as the favorites in what promises to be an interesting race, with both runners predicting victory.

"I don't think he can imagine what 15:36 feels like," Davis says of Olszowka. "But I'll show him."

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How many runners have registered for Mud Mountain XIII?
Entries received today: 29 (7 online, 22 mail-ins)
Total entries to date: 252