Mount Washington Road Race hosts Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team Selection Race
Posted Wednesday, 11 June, 2008
Colorado Springs, CO ---- The nation’s top mountain runners will gather in Gorham, NH on Saturday, June 21 to race the 48th annual Mount Washington Road Race in the hopes of making the Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team. The top four U.S. male finishers and the top U.S. female finisher will be named to the team (must be current USATF members).
The 10-member open squad of six men (four to score) and four women (three to score) and the seven-member junior squad of four junior men (three to score) and three junior women (two to score) is slated to compete in the 24th World Mountain Running Trophy race on September 14 in Sierre, Crans- Montana, Switzerland.
This year’s Trophy races are uphill events (as opposed to odd-numbered years when the events are held on up/down courses) with the senior men running 12 km, and the senior women and junior men running 8.5 km, and the junior women running 4.5 km. Team director Nancy Hobbs, Colorado Springs, CO, team leader Richard Bolt, Portland, OR, manager of the junior team Dave Dunham, Bradford, MA, women’s team manager Ellen Miller, Vail, CO will accompany the team to Switzerland.
In addition to hosting the first team selection race, Mount Washington is site of the 2008 USA Mountain Running Championships – the third time in five years. In 2004 Paul Low and Erica Larson won championship titles and in 2006 Eric Blake and Nicole Hunt were the champions. Of the four, only Blake is entered in this year’s race. Low is not running due to injury, Hunt is pregnant with her first child, Larson is not slated to compete. With some newcomers on the scene and some returning favorites, this year’s event is shaping up to be one of the most competitive selection races in recent memory.
On the men’s side,13 former mountain team members are competing including Dan Verrington (8 teams), Dave Dunham (7), Simon Gutierrez (6), Eric Morse (5), and Eric Blake (3). Two-time team members include Rickey Gates (2007 USATF Mountain Runner of the Year, winning both the USA Mountain Running Championships and USA 10 km Trail Championships last year and recently winning the Larabar 10 km as part of the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, CO), Shiloh Mielke, Kevin Tilton, and Richard Bolt, while Andy Ames, Steve Peterson, Payton Batliner (top U.S. finisher at the 2007 World Trophy and second at the Larabar 10 km), and Craig Fram have each represented team USA once. On the women’s side, three-time team member, individual bronze medalist, and team gold medalist Laura Haefeli will battle with two-time team gold medalist Christine Lundy who has also been on three teams.
Challenging these outstanding team members will be Brandy Erholtz, 30, Bailey, CO who represented the USA at last year’s NACAC Mountain Running Championships (on the team with Lundy and Lisa Goldsmith), and recently finished third at the Larabar 10 km. Competition will also come from 26-year-old Camille Herron, 26, Lafayette, IN, a 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials finisher who is currently training in Alamosa with Gutierrez. Other contenders include Amy Nedeau, 33, Belchertown, MA, winner of the 2008 Northfield Mountain 10 km, BAA team member Kasie Enman, 28, Huntington, VT, Alison Bryant, 29, Elkin, NC, Keri Nelson, 27, Grand Junction, CO, and former Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team member Kelli Lusk, 38, Manitou Springs, CO. Multi-time Mount Washington winner Anna Pichrtova, Czech Republic, has withdrawn due to injury leaving the field wide open for a new champion.
With four team slots up for grabs the men’s field is stacked. Joseph Gray, 24, Lakewood, WA, a collegiate steeplechaser (University of OK), finished third just 1/1000th of a second behind Batliner at the Larabar 10 km and like Batliner has focused his pre-season training on running uphill. Michael Sayenko, 23, Bellevue, WA, boasts PRs of 14:08 for 5 km, 29:07 for 10 km and 4:07 for the mile certainly has the leg speed to pose a threat to the field. Sayenko was this year’s youngest finisher at the Olympic Marathon Trials where he finished 29th. Coloradoans John Tribbia, 26, Boulder and Bill Fanselow, 41, Golden will also compete along with Jason Bryant, 35, Elkin, NC, and Michael Wardian, 34, Arlington, VA, who is known for his ultrarunning accomplishments having won the 2008 USA 50 km Road Champs, the USA 100 km Road Champs, and recently finished second at the USA Trail Marathon Championships. Wardian made his first USA 100 km Team this year with his USA 100 km Championship victory.
The race course is a 7.6 mile unbroken-ascent to the 6,288-foot summit of Mt. Washington, the highest peak in the northeastern United States. Making the challenge even more severe is the always unpredictable Mt. Washington weather, famous for its outrageous wind and layers of fog and cloud.
First prize in the race is $1000, with a bonus of $5000 for a course record. New England Runner magazine offers a $2000 bonus to any male or female master who sets a new masters course record. For a complete list of entrants visit: www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com and click on “Lottery Results.”
Course Records: Men’s open – Jonathan Wyatt, New Zealand, 2004, 56:41; Women’s open – Magdalena Thorsell, Sweden, 1998, 1:10:08.2; Men’s masters – Matt Carpenter, Manitou Springs CO 2005, 1:02:12; Women’s masters – Joan Samuelson, Freeport ME, 1997, 1:16:03. Race director: Bob Teschek, (603) 863-2537, racetime@gsrs.com; Press and elite athletes’ liaison: John Stifler (413) 585-0924, jstifler@econs.umass.edu.
The Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team selection process includes just two events this year with the final event in Vail, CO on July 20 with the Berry Picker Trail Race – approximately 6.5 miles of climbing from 8,200 feet to 10,200 feet – where the top U.S. man and the two U.S. women will receive automatic berths. One junior man will also earn a spot at the Berry Picker.
The remaining members of the squad, (one male, one female), will be selected by the 24-member Mountain Ultra Trail Council with input from the team staff.. Details posted at www.usmrt.com. For Junior Team consideration, interested athletes should contact David Dunham, dave.dunham@comcast.net.
Sponsors of the 2008 Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team include title sponsor Teva, the official footwear of the team since 2002, SportHill is the official apparel sponsor providing team uniforms, OrthoLite Insoles, the world’s leading supplier of open cell foam insoles in the performance and footwear category is the official insole, Fleet Feet Sports Boulder, the official specialty running store, Windermere of Teton Valley, the official real estate company, Wicked Fast Sports Nutrition, Wicked Fast sports nutrition, the official dietary supplements for pre-exercise energy/endurance (Energ-Ease) and post-exercise recovery (Recover-Ease), and product sponsors FuelBelt, Inc., and Youth Runner magazine.
Top finishers from the 2006 USA Mountain Running Championships at Mount Washington
Women:
1. Nicole Hunt, 36, Deer Lodge, Montana, 1:12:30 - USA National Champion $600 (Hunt was 2nd overall)
2. Laura Haefeli, 38, Del Norte, Colorado, 1:15:45, $400
3. Christine Lundy, 35, Sausalito, California, 1:17:52, $200
4. Lisa Goldsmith, 41, Nederland, CO, 1:18:46, $100 + $200 (masters 2nd, age-graded) = $300
6. Kelli Lusk, 36, Belchertown, Massachusetts, 1:19:57
Men:
1. Eric Blake, 27, New Britain, Connecticut, 1:01:09 – USA National Champion, $1000
2. Paul Low, 32, Belchertown, Massachusetts 1:01:37, $600
3. William “Rickey” Gates, 25, Boulder, Colorado, 1:03:31, $400
4. Simon Gutierrez, 40, Alamosa, Colorado, 1:04:06, $200 + $300 (masters 1st) = $500
5. Eric Morse, 41, Berlin, Vermont, 1:04:38, $100 + $200 (masters 2nd) = $300
8. Andy Ames, 43, Boulder, Colorado, 1:06:28, 3rd master, $100
For additional information visit www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com or www.usmrt.com
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