Find this page online at www.coolrunning.com/results/06/nh/Jun24_LoonMo_story.shtml
Find this page online at www.coolrunning.com/results/06/nh/Jun24_LoonMo_story.shtml
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| Paul Low just before the finish line
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LINCOLN, NH - Paul Low continued his dominance of the New England Mountain Running Circuit with a win at the inaugural Loon Mountain Race in Lincoln, NH. Low finished the 10K course in a time of 47:08, battling an average grade of 10% with a half mile section that has grades over three times as steep as the Mount Washington Auto Road.
Not to be outdone by husband Paul, the women's race was won by Paul's wife, Kelli Lusk, who finished 18th overall in a time of 60:46.
"It was a fun course, I had a blast" remarked Low, looking remarkably fresh after tackling the North Summit of Loon Mountain.
With light rain on and off in the early morning leading to fog descending on the mountain, racers had the opportunity to run through the clouds twice, as two layers of fog blanketed the two peaks of Loon Ski area.
Two and a half minutes behind Low was local runner Kevin Tilton of Conway, NH who finished in a time of 49:33. For Kevin, this was an opportunity to have a strong race among his mountain racing peers after he struggled in the heat at the Mount Washington Road Race the week before.
The race served as a men's qualifier for the US Mountain Running Team that will compete for the World Mountain Running Trophy in Bursa, Turkey on September 10th. The winner of the Loon race receive an automatic berth on the team. Because Paul Low already won a spot on the team with his second place finish at Mount Washington the week before, the berth at Loon will become an at-large bid, to be awarded in the weeks following the final selection race in Vail, Colorado on July 9th.
Low and Tilton were followed by Tim Parr of Flagstaff, AZ and Andy Ames of Boulder, CO. Parr and Ames came in in a time of 50:42 and 52:05, respectively. The top four finishers are all former members of the US Mountain Running Team.
The closest finish of the day was the battle for fifth place, where mountain and trail runner Ben Nephew of Mansfield, MA, edged out 3 time Olympic XC Ski Team member, Carl Swenson by one second. "Carl would catch me on the uphills and I would pass him on the downhills." said Nephew. "On that last uphill section I was just able to stay in front of him."
Swenson was followed by co-race director Dave Dunham in seventh, David Hunt of Fryeburg, Maine in eighth, Tim Livingston of Conway, NH in ninth and Canadian Mountain running team member John Lofranco of Montreal in tenth.
On the women's side, former NCAA All American Cross Country Skier Sigrid Aas of Norway, came in second in a time of 66:04. She was followed by Dawn Heinrich of Wolfeboro, NH in a time of 69:47 and Kara Haas of Chelmsford, MA in 71:08.
In the Junior's race, 2005 US Junior Mountain Running Team Member Jon Horn of Chandler, AZ finished first in a time of 59:51 (16th overall). He was followed by Nathan Winebaum of Rye, NH in a time of 61:08 (19th Overall). Winebaum was the top under-20 finisher at Mt. Washington the week before.
On the Junior Women's side, 13 year old Haley Heinrich of Wolfeboro finished first in 85:08 (73rd overall).
The US Mountain Team selection process continues in two weeks at the Vail Hill Climb in Vail, Colorado where the top woman and man (must be current USATF members and U.S. citizens) will receive automatic berths for the team.
The race also served as the USATF-New England Mountain Running Championships. Top spots in the open age divisions went to Low and Lusk. Dave Dunham was the top Masters champion, followed by Len Hall as the top 50+, Peter Orni as the top 60+ and John Parker as the top 70 and over champion. On the women's side, Dawn Heinrich was the USATF master champion and daughter Haley was the under-20 champion. Lisa Doucett of Andover, MA was the top 50+.
Inov-8 trail and mountain running shoes were a primary sponsor of the race. They were excited to see so many of the top runners finish wearing their Inov-8 Mudroc 280 shoes. Inov-8 is also a sponsor of the next stop on the USATF-NE Mountain Running Circuit, the 19th Annual Cranmore Hill Climb on July 8th at Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway, NH.
Additional race sponsors included Eastern Mountain Sports, Fuel Belt, Clif Bar, Loon Mountain Ski Area, La Sportiva/Go Lite and Self-Proclaimed King of Mountain Running Publications.
Complete results available at www.coolrunning.com.