By: Buzz Burrell

A number of people flew in as the BTMR is a stop on the La Sportiva Mountain Cup, but as Mike Selig said, “Those Colorado Springs boys have it wired. They’re good at altitude, know the course, and this is the race they really train for.” Indeed, on the Mens side, Colorado (and Manitou) Springs runners took 1st thru 4th, as well as 8th, 10th, and 12th.

Shiloh Mielke and Jason Bryant came out from North Carolina to contend for the Cup, and earned valuable points running respectable 6th and 9th places.

Jason said, “A great experience; nice to meet more La Sportiva Teammates. It’s the best I’ve run at altitude, even though at 9,500′ I got a little dizzy; on the turnaround I was better placed but couldn’t get my head cleared until a couple miles down. Wherever you are, you get used to it – North Carolina has it’s challenges – this is a good, honest course, so the challenge here is the altitude.”

The Women’s side was expected to be very competitive, which was a accurate, as two women went under the previous Course Record, which was set just last year. Brandy Erholtz, currently the dominant female mountain runner in the States, became the first woman to run under 1:50 with a 1:49:08. Megan Kimmel also ran under the previous CR with a 1:50:09; along with Stacey Chamberlain of Boulder, all three set age group records. Caitlin Smith, alone in the first 70 people in Women’s field that came from sea level, was 4th in 1:54:52, a time that would have won this race the majority of previous years. There were four women present who were current or past members of the US National Team. “It was beautiful,” said Caitlin. “A beautiful trail; so happy I came out here for it. It was great meeting everyone.”

” And the altitude kicked my ass.”

Of the top 7 Women in the current Mountain Cup standings, 6 were at this race! Only Keri Nelson was missing. Current leading Master Lisa Goldsmith said,

“Another really good day at Barr Trail. Super great to see the other runners coming in for it. That’s what makes it fun; good runners push you to be your best. I get inspired at races like this to get in better shape and come back. Heard from a few people, ‘Your team did really well!’ (La Sportiva Women were 2nd, 4th, 8th, and 12th overall, and the Men were 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th and 12th). It would have been even stronger if Laura (Haefeli) was here, but she was preparing for the Selection Race in two weeks.” Megan Kimmel will also be at the Cheyenne Cañon race in two weeks, as will Brandy, who took a 2 minute lead into the turnaround on Sunday and probably eased up in preparation. This was Megan’s first BTMR, and said,

“Definitely a classic run. It asks for a lot – the grade isn’t steep, but it stays consistent and makes you work the whole way. On the way down it’s the same – it just keeps going, really fast the whole way. It was awesome running with Brandy; we sort of bonded in Europe last year. The Selection Race is going to be really fast.”

Matt Carpenter, who clocked still another dominating win at age 44, said, “Both races were decided by less than a minute. But both had a cushion at the top allowing for the luxury of some downhill cruise control. The Women were tearing it up with 3 of the 4 course records coming from them.” (Note – The 4th was Eddie Baxter breaking my age group record).

Matt not only runs a great race, but puts the same effort into Race Directing. ALL Entry Fees are given to local charitable organizations, and that is made possible by the Pikes Peak National Bank being the Presenting Sponsor, which picks up the expenses. In addition, La Sportiva is the shoe sponsor, contributing a new pair of shoes to every age-group winner.

MOUNTAIN CUP

Brandy accumulated a whopping 28 points for this event, as one receives 2 bonus points for each runner beaten who was in the top ten. At a highly competitive event such as this, she thus earned 20 for the win and 8 bonus. This makes perfect sense, as competitive events such as the BTMR are much harder to place well, so one should be rewarded for doing so.

Shiloh is dominating the Men with 52 pts, having raced all 4 Mountain Cup events so far. Since he’s 18 pts ahead of 2nd place, he would appear to wrap up the title, but while he clearly intends to repeat his overall title from last year, it’s not a sure thin as only 5 events can count toward scoring, in order to prevent someone from simply out-traveling another competitor.

Brandy has 50 pts, two less than Shiloh, but scored that after only two races – both were the most competitive of the entire series, so maximum points were earned.

Overall Standings are HERE. Note that while only the Top Ten are shown, points are kept for everyone who have scored, so the Top Ten can change and all points will count.

The Mountain Cup moves next to either Squaw Valley or Eldora, both in 3 weeks. Strategy may be employed as runners pick their remaining events to contend, and the very next weekend offers two events to choose from as well. Those weekends will really sort out the Cup, as those who are serious about contending will simply have to be there.

Traveling the country, spending your summer running what are 10 of the absolute best trail races in the country, meeting and making new friends each time … good times! In more ways than one.