The world's best mountain runners met in the Bavarian ski village of Bergen, Germany for the 16th World Mountain Running Trophy September 7-10.
Teams began arriving in Bergen on Thursday and were greeted with heavy rainfall that continued throughout the day giving organizers and competitors pause to contend with potentially slick conditions on the race course. Fortunately the wet weather cleared by early Friday morning and held throughout the weekend. Team USA
Photo: Dave DunhamFestivities kicked off on Friday, September 8 with the more than 30 competing nations marching in a celebration parade through town to an opening reception and dinner.
The running events began on Saturday with the junior men's race followed by the senior women, and finally the junior women. In the junior men's 8.6K competition, perennial favorites Italy won the gold medal after placing all of it's scoring team members in single-digit positions followed by the small African nation of Eritrea who, in their first appearance, had the gold medal winner on their team. The bronze-medal position was secured by the Czech Republic.
The junior women ran a shorter 4.5K course. Again, Italy dominated the field taking first position in the team competition followed by France and Germany. The US did not field a junior team.
For the sixth year, the US fielded a full US senior women's team. From Colorado Cindy O'Neill, 38, Manitou Springs and Rene Frazee, 33, Salida joined New Englanders Julie Peterson, 40, Beverly, MA and Suzy West, 37, Putney, VT to round out the four-member team. The women would run the same 8.9Kcourse that the junior men had run just one hour earlier. Race organizers required runners to place an additional runner number on their backs for identification but neglected to distribute the numbers until late on race morning. As the women hastened to pin an additional runner number on their backs, the announcer's voice boomed in the background for the teams to line up in their randomly-drawn pre-assigned positions on the grassy starting area. The one-minute warning was given and the runners jostled from side to side awaiting their cue. A howitzer signaled the start of the race spewing clouds of smoke into the blue skies above. "They said that we had one minute to go and then no 3-2-1 countdown, just BOOM and the lead girls shot out like rockets," said first time US team member O'Neill after the race.
Frazee, also a first timer at Worlds took the first US position on the start line with the remaining three US team members lining up in cross country fashion behind her. Frazee, herself a former collegiate cross country runner, was comfortable with the line up and managed to dash out and secure 14th position onto the pavement. Peterson and West making their second appearance in two years at the Worlds settled into the 2nd and 3rd positions respectively for the US team giving them top 30 placings among the 78-member field. Rene Frazee, Team USA
O'Neill started out conservatively and settled into 46th position. After about .5K on the road, the route shifted to a gravel-strewn double-track trail that wound uphill over several wood-planked bridges and well-spaced water erosion bars for approximately 2.5K to the next section composed of single-track trail. When the course diverted from gravel road to single track, the footing became more difficult with long switchback turns and root-laden trail underfoot.
Below the mid-point on the course at the first aid station, the US positions had changed with O'Neill emerging through the woods in first position for the US and about 35th overall. Peterson had claimed second position for the US with Frazee fading to third. Here the real climb began with most of the course out of the trees see-sawing between single and double-track trail complete with hundreds of steps to further slow the runners progress. Cindy O'Neil
Many of the runners were reduced to a walk, placing their hands on their knees willing the lactic acid burn to diminish, as they climbed toward the 1674-meter summit. Frazee passed Peterson to claim the second US position and worked to close the gap on O'Neill. While the US team powered on, Scotland's Angela Mudge was crossing the line with a time of 49:24 followed by Germany's Brigit Sonntag in 49:43 and Izabela Zatorska of Poland in 50:11.
O'Neill the two-time Pikes Peak Ascent ('99 and '00) champion who earned a berth on the US team by winning the Vail Hill Climb this year, led the US finish in 30th position with a time of 55:40. Close behind in 36th place, Frazee ran 56:10. Rounding out the scoring was Peterson, top American at this year's Mt Washington Hill Climb, in 42nd place with a 56:48. West suffered from leg cramps early in the race but managed a respectable 46th position with a time of 58:24.
First on the team podium was New Zealand followed by Italy in second and Germany in third. The US placed 9th among the 18 teams. Both Frazee and O'Neill are looking forward to a return visit to the Worlds in 2001. "Now I know what to expect from the competition and I'm inspired to return to the states and train with the hopes of making next year's team," said O'Neill. West and Peterson may sit out next year opting for their preferred uphill editions in the even-numbered years.
On a cloudless 80-degree day, the open race kicked off the next day's activities followed by the senior men and culminating in a closing reception later in the evening. "I wish that I'd previewed the ENTIRE course," was the sentiment echoed by more than one member of the US men's mountain running team after completing their race. Both the senior men and open runners competed over the 11.6k (7.2mile) course with the open racers kicking off the competition at 9 in the morning .
The race route climbed gently for the initial 1.5k on paved roads before narrowing down to groomed dirt trails. The first 7.1k to the cable car middle station climbed 500m (1650'), leaving the last 4.5k to climb 700m (2300'). The last 3.2k (2 miles) climbed almost 1800' on single track and innumerable steps.
The senior men's race had entrants from 30 countries in the 140-man field. In the open race, twenty-three countries were represented in the 224-person field dominated by men with just 29 female participants. Dan Verrington (MA) the US men's team alternate was attempting to run faster than some of the US team members in the championship race in the hopes of impressing the selectors for next year's team. Verrington ran with the leaders for the first 3k of the race, pulling away from the rest of the field. In the last 3k on the stairs, Verrington was passed by one man as the leader pulled away to victory. Dan closed the gap on second with a strong finish to take third in 54:43. Dan noted, "I'm glad I had competition, I was pushed to a good time."
Prior to congratulating Verrington, teammate Eric Morse (VT) stated (tongue in cheek), "I'd rather be last in the championship race than first in the open race!"
Women's team manager Nancy Hobbs and Yvonne Carpenter and John O'Neill, spouses of two of the US team members, also competed in the open race. Though not as competitive as Verrington, Hobbs still managed 13th among the women and second-place in her age group while Carpenter finished 17th among the women followed by O'Neill who finished in the middle of the pack.
The championship looked to be one of the stronger fields ever assembled at the worlds. Former champions Italian Marco De Gasperi (1999,1997), New Zealander Jonathan Wyatt (1998), Italian Antonio Molinari (1996), and Austria Helmut Schmuck (1994,1992) headed up what looked to be the making of a great race.
Rumor circulating the small town of Bergen, where the athletes mingled in an Olympic-village setting, had Wyatt running the course the previous week in 51 minutes. It was said that Wyatt thought he could race it in about 48 minutes. His prediction would ultimately be quite accurate. The athletes would be somewhat handicapped by a lack of kilometer marks, only two water stations, two "no passing zones," and a VERY narrow start.
The large pack set off at a fast clip over the initial asphalt section. The favorites, some pretenders, and a few hopefuls spearheaded the pack at the transition to dirt and the initial climb. Wyatt went into the lead chased by Molanire and others as the top five eased away from the strung out chase group. Paul Low (OR) was the first US runner to the trail but was soon overtaken by Dave Dunham (MA). Dunham slowly worked his way into the top 20.
At the middle station the race was becoming Wyatt's as he seemed to effortlessly pull away. Wyatt went on to take a 2:19 win to cap off an excellent season of racing in Europe. Wyatt's time was very nearly what he predicted. At the finish he noted he was "pretty nervous" prior to the race, and, "pleased with the win." Wyatt led New Zealand to the bronze medal as Italy continued its winning ways with its 16th team gold.
Jon Wyatt, NZ
Team USA's Dunham moved into 15th prior to the first no passing zone with its rocky steps and significant chasm. "I was encouraged when I saw Molinari was struggling as much as everyone else," said Dunham. He passed Molinari and got as high as 10th place before being passed in the last 50m on the 40 percent-grade grass slope.
Top 3 Men, Open division
Uli Steidl had jokingly mentioned on the starting line, "Don't pass me in the last 50m." The last 50m had been previously designated a no passing zone, but the restriction was lifted for the men's and open races after some controversy in the events held the previous day. As Dunham finished in 12th (51:33), Richard Shelley (NM) was closing in on Morse. "I didn't have the confidence to push it early, this was only my second race this year," noted Shelley. "I ran a strong second half and was pleased with my performance." Shelley took the 2nd USA spot in 30th (53:27).
Morse had gotten into about 25th place at the halfway mark, and struggled in the closing kilometers. "Rich got me near the top, I think this ties my best place," noted Morse of his 37th place finish in 53:59. It did indeed tie his previous best placing from 1997. The final scoring member of the squad was Matt Carpenter (CO). "I had trouble adjusting to the travel and the lower altitude," said Carpenter of his 63rd place (55:56). Eric Morse
Team USA finished 9th with 142 points. The remaining runners were Paul Low 81st (57:54), and Scott Gall (CO) 94th (59:21). Team and individual results are listed below, and full results can be found at: http://www.chiemgau.com/bergen/wm2000/index.htm
Next years up/down World Mountain Running Trophy will be held in Arta Terme in the mountainous Carnia region of eastern Italy. The senior women's 8.5k (500m up/down) race will be held on Sept. 15th and the men's 12.9k (950m up/down) race will follow on the 16th. Information about the races can be found at www.arta2001.org
The 2001 US team will be announced in July of next year. Plans are currently in the works to have two or more selection races in the spring/summer of 2001. More details will be available following this year's USATF convention in December. For more information contact Dave Dunham @ mtnman@greennet.net mtnman@greennet.net, or Nancy Hobbs mailto:trlrunner@aol.com.
The US mountain running team extends its thanks to Mountain Athletics by Timberland for providing travel support for top finishers in this year's US selection races and for providing footwear and apparel to the US contingent to wear while training for the World Mountain Running Trophy race. Team Timberland
