Teva
U.S. Mountain Running Team
Shines in
Alaska
September 22, 2003
GIRDWOOD,
AK — The
Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team had one of its best showings at the
World Mountain Running Trophy (WMRT) on Sept. 21-22 on
Mt.
Alyeska.
Both the U.S. men’s and women’s teams turned in strong eighth-place
finishes in the team standings, while several individuals shined in
the IAAF-sanctioned world championship event that was plagued by a
freak snow shower. It was the first time the WMRT was held in the
U.S.
and only the second time the event was held outside of
Europe.
Highlighting the weekend was the eighth-place individual finish from
Anita Ortiz (Eagle,
Colo.)
amid a snowstorm in the senior women’s 7.7K race up
and down 2,231-foot
Mt.
Alyeska
on Saturday. Ortiz, 39, was in 10th place at the top of the course,
but ran smooth and strong on the snowy terrain and picked off two
places during the long descent. The 2003 USA Mountain Running
champion, finished the course in 42:33, more than a minute ahead of
the course-record time she set on the same course on Aug. 9.
“I felt so good on that downhill,” she
said. “Normally I hate it, but I felt great. I actually think the snow
helped make it a more controlled course.”
Ortiz,
the 2002 women’s USATF Mountain Runner of the Year, became the first
U.S. woman to crack the top 10 in a WMRT race and helped the U.S.
women to their best ever finish (eighth) in the WMRT. Nikki Kimball of
Elizabethtown, N.Y., ran a strong race and finished 24th in 44:04,
while Kelli Lusk (Amherst, Mass.) rounded out the scoring in 39th
place in 46:05. Kari DiStefano (Telluride,
Colo.)
was the final member of the
U.S.
team, placing 48th in 49:04.
On the
men’s side, Paul Low of
Amherst,
Mass. ,
was the top American runner in the senior men’s 11.5K race for the
second year in a row. Although he started out slow (and was the No. 4
U.S. runner early on), he moved up the entire race, caught five
runners on the long descent to the finish line and wound up in 15th
place.
“The real trick was not to kill yourself
on the first climb or the first downhill,” said Low, the 2002 men’s
USATF Mountain Runner of the Year. “If you do that, you’re not going
to be able to climb very well on the second climb. And that’s where
the race really starts. I had been shooting for a top-10 finish all
year, but I guess 15th is pretty close.”
Bill
Raitter of
Estes Park,
Colo.
(29th, 55:49) also ran strong for the
U.S.
team, as did Eric Morse of
Berlin,
Vt.
(60th, 58:26). Peter De La Cerda (61st, 58:31), and Simon Gutierrez
(79th,
1:02:01),
both of
Alamosa,
Colo.,
started strong but struggled with leg cramps and slippery footing
after the initial climb. Scott Gall of
Waterloo,
Iowa
(78th,
1:01:58)
also competed for the
U.S.
team.
Maggie
McManigal (Colorado Springs,
Colo.),
Jessica Pitzer (Nederland,
Colo.)
and Erika Ross (Colorado
Springs,
Colo.)
were the top
U.S.
runners in Saturday’s 4.2K junior women’s race, finishing 30th, 32nd
and 33rd, respectively. Andrew Payton (Woodland Park, Colo., 35th
place), Eduardo Pasko (Colorado Springs, Colo., 38th), Rory Egelus
(Anchorage, Alaska, 40th) and Brett Wilson (Loveland, Colo., 47th
place) competed in the 7.7K men's junior race for the U.S.
"We
brought a full squad to
Alaska
this year which included alternates not only to provide team support,
but also to give additional runners an opportunity to gain experience
at an international level. We are especially interested in a
development program for our junior athletes that includes identifying
potential team members and keeping their interest level keen as they
graduate to the senior ranking," says USATF MUT Chair Nancy Hobbs. "I
am proud of our athletes and ecstatic for Anita. It has been a delight
to watch our women's team mature since our first trophy in 1995 where
we finished at the bottom of the team standings to consistent top ten
finishes including our solid eight place this year."
The World Mountain Running Trophy
is sanctioned by the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA), the
International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF), and USA Track &
Field (the national governing body in the
USA for track & field,
long distance running and race walking).
The 2003 Teva U.S. Mountain
Running Team was chosen through a series of selection races and by the
USA Track & Field Mountain/Ultra/Trail Running Council. Sponsors of
this year's team include Teva and SpecialOps Nutrition. Adam Druckman,
Teva Sports Marketing Manager, says "Teva is pleased to introduce two
new products in the Spring 2004 trail running line. Both shoes will
include design features inspired by the Teva US Mountain Running
Team."
Visit
www.wmrt2003.org
for complete results and more information about the WMRT.
Brian Metzler
USATF Mountain/Trail/Ultra Running Council
3160 18th Street
Boulder, CO 80304
(303) 546-6613
##############
For additional information on the Teva US Mountain Running Team contact:
Nancy Hobbs at trlrunner@aol.com
or
Richahrd Bolt at
MUT Home
Last updated:
09/14/05
Web Author: Lorraine Gersitz
|
Mountain/Ultra/Trail Running Council