SISTERS — Ultramarathon runners — seasoned and new — gathered around a large, crackling fire early Sunday morning in Village Green Park, awaiting the start of the casual 34-mile Sisters Poker Run.

The fireside scene was just one of the way this race was different from a normal running event. While some well-known local favorites, like Kami Semick, Sean Meissner and Jenn Shelton — who are some of the top-ranked runners in their age groups nationally — were among the pack of 35 runners, none of them won on Sunday.

“This is just a fun thing,” said 64-year-old Lee Fields of Salem, one of 30 runners to finish the 34 miles. “It’s a poker run, so the slow guy could even win today.”

The Sisters Poker Run was not really a race, rather one big, long poker game, with a card dealt about every seven miles. The winner was Wendy Wheeler-Jacobs, of Sammamish, Wash., with a full house of queens and jacks, and she ran the trek in 6 hours, 20 minutes — not that anyone was really counting. The runners with the top three poker hands received North Face gear, and Wheeler-Jacobs earned an entry into the 2008 Peterson Ridge Rumble.

Bend’s Paul Saladino, 30, who won this year’s Haulin’ Aspen Marathon, held in and around Shevlin Park in August, was the fastest runner Sunday, finishing in five hours and 20 minutes.

Though the ultrarun (any distance more than a standard 26.2-mile marathon) was ultimately for fun and not for competition, runners traveled far and wide to attend the day-long journey.

Die-hard runners made the trip from as far away as Tempe, Ariz., Seattle, Portland and Salem. Handfuls of Central Oregonians decided to spend Sunday running the Sisters Poker Run too, like Stan Nowakowski and Maura Schwartz, a couple from Madras, who have each run more than 50 ultramarathons in their lives. Despite the fact that the two completed the Le Grizz 50-mile ultramarathon in Hungry Horse, Mont., last Saturday, they were back for more long-distance running on their home turf.

“In the running community, especially the ultrarunning community, you see the same people,” Nowakowski explained. “And it’s just a good way to catch up with people and see what they’re up to this winter.”

As demonstrated by the runners Sunday, the Sisters Poker Run was not just about finishing, but also about the experience along the way. During the first mile, the mass of runners chatted and laughed along, some even cartwheeling a few times. About two miles into the run, joggers started introducing themselves to one another and sharing stories of past races and their trials and tribulations while running other epic distances.

There were six people running an ultra for the first time Sunday. Saladino was running in his first ultra. Carly Ziegler, of Bend, 18, and Mark Arndt, 20, of Tempe, Ariz., had just recently completed their first 13.1-mile half-marathon in Bellingham, Wash., and on a whim entered into the event to see if they could meet the challenge.

“I’m way better at poker, than running,” said Arndt, chuckling as he ran cheerfully along during the first mile.

Though Ziegler and Arndt lost their way and were unable to finish, they were still satisfied with the 22-mile distance they overcame.

“I am really amazed that I was able to do it,” said Ziegler.

The main focus of the Sisters Poker Run, (started in 2004) is to raise awareness of the Sisters Community Trail System, which stretches nearly 150 miles in and around Sisters. Proceeds went to the Sisters Trail Committee for the development of the Sisters trails.

The 34-mile course was a relatively flat loop, save for a few hills and a crater. Runners enjoyed soft, single- and double-track trails through rabbitbrush, sage and pine trees, with spectacular views along the way.

At the five aid stations, runners talked, ate and stretched.

“They stood around and talked and ate and hung out for between five and 10 minutes,” said Gene Trahern, founder and organizer of the event. “They took their time, refueled and left.”

For many of the participants, the run was a learning process, finding out what personal limitations they can exceed.

“In 10 years, or even five, no one will remember today’s runners,” reads a caption on Trahern’s Web site, www.fatboycanrun.com. “But the memories of being out on the trails, the beauty of forests, mountains, and deserts, and the time spent alone or with friends will last a lifetime.”

Trahern said: “It’s not about having a fast time, but having a good time. That’s what this run is about.”