Pikes Peak Marathon

The Pikes Peak Marathon was run in fairly good conditions this mornings … “The weather was 10X better”, said George Zack, after completing an excellent Double.  Temp was 24d on top at the start, prompting an odd look as the runners headed up Ruxton Avenue, with some people wearing full Gore-Tex outfits, others carrying packs, and others in singlets and shorts.   

Matt won … duh … with an excellent time of 3:36.  ”I was pretty happy” he said later.  ”I was 3 minutes slower on the up, so even with the ice, I was able to make up some time on the descent”.  Matt put 7 hex head screws in his racing flats for the occasion, and finished looking very good, not passing out in the bathroom like last year (”Tell Matt I had the floor of the port-a-pottie cleaned this year, just in case”, joked Ron Ilgen, the RD.

Second again was Dave Mackey, who ran the race basically alone, for an excellent 3:51. He was less pleased however, noting, “I’m sick of finishing second!”  Dave is one of few people willing to challenge Matt, but doesn’t have the uphill to make it work.  He does however, dominant the “New Fathers” category, an overlooked but esteemed category of runners with children (Ava, born in January), less than a year old (Matt was in the same category 6 years ago).  Bryan Dayton is in the exact same category (Pierce, born in October), and was in 3rd place until the A-Frame, when Bernie Boettcher … when he wasn’t busy taking pictures with the camera he carried the whole way … was able to move ahead.  ”I didn’t feel comfortable the whole time.  But I made up time on Bernie on the way down.”  Bryan nabbed 4th, while “The Energizer Bernie” (Ron’s term) was an outstanding 3rd place, setting a PR of 4:02 at age 45.

Keri Nelson ruled the Women, with a 4:39 for 13th overall.  ”I’m finally learning”, she exclaimed at the finish.  ”I took it easy going up, then really took it out going down.”  Interestingly, the Barr Trail is firmer and faster in wet conditions, as the decomposed granite firms up; when it’s dry, the surface is loose and dusty.  Decomposed granite generally does not get muddy.

Bronwyn Morrissey was the 2nd Woman in 5:17, completing what has come to be a typically strong showing of Masters runners on this mountain.

Simon Booth, one of the top Euro runners, came out from the UK in celebration of his 40th birthday, and nabbed 9th in 4:24.  ”I’ve always wanted to do this race”, he said, “but it’s so gradual, such a smooth track … I’m much more used to straight up, and straight down.”

We may look forward to more world-class runners testing themselves on Pikes Peak, as next year the Marathon may be part of the SkyRunning Circuit, and for 2010, race management may bid for it to again be the World Mountain Running Long Distance Championship.  Interestingly, they are considering bidding for the Ascent rather than the Marathon, as the WMRA has expressed “reservations” about the pounding descent on “America’s Greatest Challenge”.

View a photo gallery of both races here (some pictures courtesy Bernie Boettcher, who carried a camera the whole way!)

Tags: Matt Carpenter, Pikes Peak