Race for the Rainforest I
The 1st 50 mile Race for the Rainforest started at 5:00 a.m. on Sat., Aug. 28th, 1999, with four slightly deranged runners; Steve Morrow, the founder of the race, Larry Schlueter, whose legendary annual birthday run (54 miles that year) was the inspiration for the race, Joe LeBlanc, veteran marathoner and former Green Beret medic in Vietnam, and Cory Turner, administrator of the Galloway marathon training program for the 2000 Mardi Gras Marathon.
The race was run in Audubon Park in New Orleans, LA, on a beautiful sunny day with temperatures reaching 93 degrees and 47% humidity by race end. Cory set the early pace as planned and ran 28 miles to warm up for the marathon class he was conducting the next day.
Joe, the iron man, still recovering from a serious bicycle accident that left him unconscious with a broken collarbone and numerous other injuries barely a month earlier, incredibly ran 32 miles before joining the wonderful support crew at the shelter.
Larry and Steve completed the 50 miles, with Larry winning the Masters Division in 9:35:49 and Steve the overall winner in 9:13:46. Several hundred dollars were raised for Rainforest Relief and other environmental organizations. Race For The Rainforest II was set for Saturday, Sept 2nd, 2000.
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