November 21, 2003

Low & Ortiz Named 2003 USATF Mountain Runners of the Year 
Boettcher & DiStefano Take Masters Honors

On Saturday, December 6, the 2003 USATF Mountain Runner of the Year awards will be presented at the Sheraton Four Points in Greensboro, NC during a breakfast banquet as part of the USATF annual convention.

The USATF Mountain Runner of the Year award recipients in the open category are Paul Low, Amherst, MA and Anita Ortiz, Eagle, CO and Bernie Boettcher, Silt, CO and Kari DiStefano, Telluride, CO in the masters category.

Paul Low, 29, Amherst, MA was a member of the Teva US Mountain Running Team earning his spot on the team with a win at the Northfield Mountain Race (New England USATF Mountain Running Championships). Low was the top US finisher at international events including the World Mountain Running Trophy in Girdwood, AK (15^th overall), the WMRA Grand Prix race in Susa, Italy where he led the US team to victory, the first time a US team had been on the gold medal podium in an international mountain running competition. Additional top finishes in 2003 included a win at Colorado's Barr Trail Mountain Race, 4^th at the Vail Hill Climb and a win and course record at the Adidas Seven Sisters Trail Race. Low was born and raised in Mount Pleasant, Michigan where he graduated from Central Michigan University in 1999 with a B.S. in Biology and Geology. He recently finished his graduate studies at UMass Amherst in Geoscience and is enrolled in the doctoral program at UMass Amherst. Low represents the Central Massachusetts Striders running Club.

Anita Ortiz, 39, Eagle, CO had an extraordinary year in spite of some early season injuries. Ortiz earned her spot on her second Teva US Mountain Running Team with a win at the Alyeska Mountain Run in Girdwood, Alaska. Her incredible 8^th place finish at the World Mountain Running Trophy was the best finish by a US woman since 1995, the first year the US sent a women's team to the Worlds, and the only time a US woman has cracked the top 10 (Ortiz finished 11^th at last year’s WMRT in Austria). Ortiz was victorious at the inaugural USA National Mountain Running Championships in Vail, CO in July and also defended her title at the Pikes Peak Ascent in August. She is a graduate of Colorado State University and received her Master in Education at Florida State with an impressive 4.0 average. Ortiz teaches kindergarten at Eagle Valley Elementary and has four children.

Bernie Boettcher, 40, Silt, CO, is one of the most recognizable runners in Colorado competing nearly every weekend and consistently finishing as a top master and often winning events outright. In 2003 Boettcher won the masters divisions at Pikes Peak Ascent and the Pikes Peak Marathon. He competed in two of the Teva US Mountain Running Team selection races, the Teva Spring Runoff where he finished 9^th and the Alyeska Mountain Race where he finished 5^th. He also traveled to the WMRT and ran the open race finishing 4^th and first master. Boettcher is a freelance writer and artist whose designs have appeared on numerous race T-shirts.

Kari DiStefano, 44, Telluride, CO, USATF Mountain Runner of the Year in 2001 and last year’s masters mountain runner of the year, earned a spot on the Teva US Mountain Running Team with a win at the Teva Spring RunOff. She was the second master finisher at the USA National Mountain Running Championships and fourth overall. Kari also finished 2^nd at the Barr Trail Race. DiStefano has three children and works as a mapper for San Miguel County.

This is the fifth year for the USATF Mountain Runner of the Year awards. Past winners include Colorado athletes Danelle Ballengee, Matt Carpenter, Cindy O'Neill, New England runners Craig Fram, Dave Dunham, and Eric Morse.

Criteria for this year’s selection included top results in US mountain/trail competitions and international competitions during 2003, current USATF membership, and serving as an ambassador for the sport.

#####

MUT Home
Last updated: 09/14/05
Web Author: Lorraine Gersitz