| My Dr. told me NOT to run. I felt decent running the course on Thursday (Eric and I ran it in about 60
min.) so figured I'd give it a go anyway. I was tired going out. The first 2m were very fast xc, with drop then the climb! I was 12th at 2m but all of the guys were right in front of me, except Eric who was about 20 sec. up by 2. Eric pulled away and I moved through the crowd quickly on the climb. Within about 5 min. of the climbing I was in second. Conditions were very good 47 at the start and 30 at the finish and a bit windy. The course was muddy on Thursday in spots, but had dried out. Only a couple of patches of snow to run through. Eric looked strong, gapped me by 1:30 with a mile to go (according to spectators) and held it to the finish. I took second and Scott Elliot was third. Rich Bolt took 6th, the RD Brad Precosky took 8th. Eric was 47:??, I was 48:43, Elliot was 50:??, Rich was 51:??. Ortiz smoked the field finishing 12th overall she was 53:??. Kempell was 2nd in 58:?? and Suzy West took third (despite being sick for 2 weeks) in 62:?? My calf was and is quite sore, hope to turn it around for Mt Washington and the 100K!
Outsiders whip Alaskans up hill Daily News Staff (Published: June 10, 2002) The Alaska vs. Outside battle for bragging rights during Sunday's inaugural Wolverine Mountain Run wasn't even close. "Basically, the Alaskans got their butts whipped," said Brad Precosky of Anchorage. Outsiders Eric Morse of Vermont and Anita Ortiz of Colorado picked up overall titles in the all-uphill race that covered 5.5 miles and gained 3,600 feet. Together, they beat a large men's and women's field made up mostly of Alaskans who were racing on their home turf. The victory qualified Morse and Ortiz each for the U.S. team which will compete this fall at the world championships in Austria. Both American runners already had met qualifying standards and needed only victories in the Wolverine race to claim official spots on the national team. Jerry Ross of Anchorage was fourth to lead all Alaska men, and Olympic cross-country skier Nina Kemppel of Anchorage finished second to pace the Alaska women. Times were not reported. Considered by many to be the best in the nation, Morse last year was named mountain runner of the year by Trail Magazine. Precosky certainly was convinced after racing against him and watching Morse attack Wolverine Peak. "The pace was furious going out," said Precosky, who competed in the men's race. "Most of us were doing all we could to hold back and save some (energy) for the climb. By then, we had lost a couple of minutes to (Morse)." The men's runner-up was Dave Dunham of Massachusetts, a national-class marathon runner, and the third-place finisher was Scott Elliott of Colorado, a multiple winner of the Pikes Peak Ascent. Ortiz made her victory seem easy. She won by nearly five minutes over Kemppel, the reigning Mount Marathon women's champion and one of the country's greatest Nordic skiers. "She really attacked the climb. She ran the entire course," Precosky said. |
Sunday, January 07, 2007 01:58 PM