Down to the Wire Finishes at US 10K Trail Championships
Posted Monday, 2 July, 2007
Press Release
Colorado Springs, CO --- Spectators experienced a fantastic finish at Saturday’s USA Trail Championships in Steamboat Springs, Colorado with four athletes crossing the line within 14 seconds of each other. Rickey Gates, 26, Boulder, CO, was victorious with a come-from-behind win in 51:42 followed one second later by masters champion Simon Gutierrez, 41, Alamosa, CO. Gutierrez had put on a last minute sprint to overtake Clint Wells, 32, Boulder who finished in 51:49. Rounding out the top four was Payton Batliner, 23, Boulder, in 51:56.
Run primarily on mountain bike trails - mostly double track, some single track, and service roads – the course was 7.57 miles long. The route consisted of two 3.7 mile loops which had the runners passing the start/finish area between the two loops. With 1,100' of climbing per loop and a low point on the course at approximately 6,900 feet and the high point at 7,937 feet, this course would prove to be grueling especially when raced in high altitude sunshine.
Men's Race
At the 10 a.m. race start there was not a cloud in the sky. Temperatures were in the 70s with little to no humidity and the promise of very little shade on the course. The field included nearly 80 runners representing 16 states, some with stellar road racing credentials, others with strong cross country backgrounds. There were also steeplechasers like Wells (the defending USA 10Km Trail champion) and 23-year-old flatlander Joseph Gray, Stillwater, OK, who was fresh off the USATF Track Championships and boasted a personal best of 8:44 for the “steeple.”
Gray certainly had the leg speed, but could he run with former Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team members Gates, Gutierrez, Andy Ames, 44, Boulder, CO, Timmy Parr, 25, Gunnison, CO, and Shiloh Mielke, 27, Weaverville, NC.
Gray was in the lead pack up the first climb as runners jockeyed for position, some not going out too fast knowing there were two loops and two intense climbs in the race. Batliner was in the lead after the first loop and was followed closely by Gutierrez, Gray, Wells, and Mielke. Gates was hanging back, but still in the top 10.
Announcers did their best to track the runners’ progress with communications being relayed from the mid-way aid station, but when the announcements included Gates in the lead, spectators were amazed. Even though Gates had proved his leg speed at last month’s Bolder Boulder 10Km running a 31:43 PR, he had to still be recovering from his win at last Sunday’s USA Mountain Championships at Mt. Cranmore which included three 4.3 kilometer loops of gut-wrenching climbing and descending.
Gates surprised everyone with his incredible back-to-back championship titles proving that he is fit and ready to represent the U.S. at the World Trophy this September in Saillon, Switzerland. Gates earned his spot on his second Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team with his win last week and will be joined by Paul Low, 33, Belchertown, MA, who finished in second at Mt. Cranmore. With his second-place finish, Gutierrez also earned a spot on the sixman squad and the USA Masters Trail Championship title.
Although there were two team spots up for grabs in Steamboat, with Gates finishing first, the team spot didn’t automatically go to Wells. Team officials on site at the event were optimistic that both Wells and Batliner would be favorites for the at-large selection spots on the team which will be decided after the Mt. Tam Trophy Race (July 15 in Sausalito, CA) when the final automatic slot for men will be awarded.
Women's Race
Equally exciting was the women’s race. Laura Haefeli, 39, Del Norte, CO, had never lost a 10Km Trail Championship title in the three years the event had been contested. She would face strong competition from former mountain team members Chris Lundy, 36, Sausalito, CA (who is also the founder and race director for the Mt. Tam Trophy Race), Rachael Cuellar, 25, Albuquerque, NM, Kelli Lusk, 37, Belchertown, MA, Julie Bryan, 39, Jackson Hole, WY, Lisa Goldsmith, 42, Nederland, CO, and Cindy O’Neill, 45, Manitou Springs, CO. Add to the mix some fast road runners like Emily Mortensen, 24, Alamosa, CO a 2007 RRCA Roads Scholar, and pentathlete Emily Brzozowski, 28, Colorado Springs, CO, each hoping to unseat Haefeli.
As expected, Haefeli was leading after the first loop followed within 30 seconds by Lundy. In pursuit were Cuellar, Mortensen, Goldsmith, Abby Larson, 25, Salt Lake City, UT, Brzozowski, and O’Neill. Heading up the second climb, Teva U.S. Mountain Running Women’s Team Manager Ellen Miller witnessed the race unfolding from the sidelines. “I saw Laura go by and Chris was right on her heels. Then on the climb Chris put it into overdrive and just flew up the hill past Laura.”
Lundy at one time extended her lead to nearly a minute 30 seconds and headed down the final stretch to edge Haefeli by nearly 40 seconds at the tape. Lundy was timed in just under one hour in 59:29 (28th overall) while Haefeli ran to a 1:00:07. Mortensen edged out Cuellar to take third place in 1:01:08. Cuellar’s fourth-place time was 1:01:21. Goldsmith earned the masters championship title finishing in sixth palce with a time of 1:03:18.
With her victory, Lundy makes her third consecutive Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team. The third slot on the fourmember women’s team will be decided on July 15 at Mt. Tam Trophy Race. The final at large spot will be decided shortly thereafter.
Junior Men's Race
The junior men’s race was also very competitive with Mt. Cranmore junior champion Zach Rivers, 16, Victor, NY, flying out to Colorado to race with his Dad Steve (who finished fourth in the 45-49 age group) and friends Mort Nace (who ran the citizen’s race) and Jeff Beck (who finished 12th in the championships event). Rivers, a member of last year’s Teva U.S. Mountain Running junior squad, hopes to earn his second team spot this year.
At the championships he faced Coloradoans Jonny Stevens, 17, from Vail and a member of the 2005 junior team, Matthew Batliner, 19, Boulder, Michael Johnson, 17, Littleton, Ryan Phelan, 19, Avon, and Tony Crisofulli, 16, Edwards.
Rivers led on the first loop, Phelan dropped after the first lap. The other juniors were trailing. On the second loop, Stevens made his move and was the first to finish among the junior contingent. His 28th place finish among the men’s field in 59:58 earned him the junior title.
Rivers held on for second in 1:01:04 followed by Batliner and Johnson in 1:02:24 and 1:02:25 respectively. Crisofulli finished fifth in 1:05:25. The junior mountain team will be named in late July and is based on resumes to include mountain, trail, track, cross country, and road results. Juniors must be at least 16 in the year of competition and not yet 20.
Following the race Andy Ames, second in the 40-44 age group said, “It was exciting to see so many fast new runners out there. That had to be one of the deepest fields for a trail race! Hopefully there are now some new trail racing converts.”
Mark Barbour, high school coach of both Rickey Gates and Jon Severy (sixth place finisher), remarked on his third-place finish in the 45-49 division, “I think I spent 99% of that race looking at a spot about two feet in front of me, except for on the uphill, where my gaze was pretty much fixed on my shoes. It was fun just to get back on the trails and test the limits. Plus now I know that I need to get to the mountains more often if I want to race up them.”
Steamboat Springs will again host next year’s USA 10km Trail Championships and is also working on a bid to host the 2009 World Mountain Running Trophy.
i