Mandy Erdmann

Not that Mandy Erdmann needs a head start. The world-record holder in the women's Boom Run already has five ESPN Great Outdoor Games medals in the event, and she credits her bowlegs with helping her grip the sides of the pitching, yawing logs.

But after honing her first step to the boom, Erdmann was markedly quicker off the blocks than any of the competitors she faced on her way to a third Boom Run gold on Saturday. Three times she bounded from the platform so soon after the signal that she appeared to have false-started. All three times, she won clear decisions.

"I've really been working hard on that, this year especially, to make sure I get off the line," said Erdmann, of Lacrosse, Wis. "My starts have improved, my rounding the stanchion is faster, and overall I think I'm a lot faster this year."

Erdmann, who was nursing two sore quadriceps, needed every advantage she could get in the finals against Abby Hoeschler, the returning gold medalist. The 5-foot-2, 110-pound Hoeschler, also from Lacrosse, is in her natural element on the logs, which seem barely to rock under her light steps.

	Despite posting the second-fastest time ever in the women's Boom Run, Abby Hoeschler had to settle for silver.

After Erdmann took a half-step lead to begin the race and remained just a whit ahead until she leapt onto the platform in 14.950 seconds hurdling the electronic timer in the process. Hoeschler finished in 15.427 seconds, the second-fastest time posted in the event, despite having trained for only the last three weeks after returning home from college.

That lack of preparation made her too tentative on her starts, she said.

"I think I was maybe a little too cautious today," she said. "In the past my starts have been really good."

To reach the finals, Hoeschler had to outrace her older sister, Lizzy Hoeschler, in the semifinals. The two were neck-and-neck until the turn, when Abby pulled ahead. On her return, she stepped on the end of a rocking log that actually dumped her right foot in the water. She recovered her balance and won 16.072 seconds to 16.805.

Tanya Fischer, of Hudson, Wis., who trains with her five-time Boom Run gold medalist cousin Jamie Fischer, beat Lizzy Hoeschler in the consolation round to take the bronze, her first individual Great Outdoor Games medal. Her improvement in the last year is due to running loads of hill sprints, she said, and listening to her cousin, who has advised her to lengthen her strides.

Final Standings:
1. Mandy Erdmann, La Crosse, Wis.
2. Abby Hoeschler, La Crosse, Wis.
3. Tanya Fischer, Hudson, Wis.
4. Lizzy Hoeschler, La Crosse, Wis.
5. Shana Martin, Madison, Wis.
5. Maggie Bulk, La Crosse, Wis.
5. Taylor Duffy, Hayward, Wis.
5. Jenny Atkinson, Grand Marias, Minn.

Results by Round

Final Round
Mandy Erdmann (14.950) def. Abby Hoeschler (15.472)

Consolation Round
Tanya Fischer (15.915) def. Lizzy Hoeschler (16.414)

Semifinal Round
Mandy Erdmann (16.182) def. Tanya Fischer (16.744)
Abby Hoeschler (16.072) def. Lizzy Hoeschler (16.805)

Quarterfinal Round Mandy Erdmann (15.839) def. Shana Martin (21.071)
Tanya Fischer (17.294) def. Maggie Bulk (17.917)
Abby Hoeschler (16.280) def. Taylor Duffy (10:00.000)
Lizzy Hoeschler (16.858) def. Jenny Atkinson (17.565)