Name: Scott Creel

Event: Trail, mountain, ultras

Hometown: Bozeman, MT

Sponsor(s): inov-8

Date of birth: 6/2/62

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 144 lbs

Years running: 29

Running specialty: Trail & mountain ultramarathons

Career Accomplishments: - USATF champ 50K trail champ (2003); - USATF 100K World Cup team (2004); - Course records at Golden Gate Headlands 50K (California) and Ice Age 50K (Wisconsin); - 6-time winner and course record at Bridger Ridge Run (Montana)

Running achievement I am most proud of: Hmm, don't know.

Why I run: Because I enjoy pushing myself.

Future Goals: I think that goals are cheapened when we splash them around before accomplishing them. I read so much about people who are 'trying to break the record for [fill in the blank]'. Personally, I'd much rather hear about the person who actually holds the current record.

Favorite quote: "Somewhere behind the athlete you've become, the practices, the coaches who pushed you, the meets you've competed in, the long time dedication, and the friendships you made along the way, there's a little girl who fell in love with the water; swim for her."

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For masters runner Scott Creel, 2003 wasa good year.  At the 7.5-mile Vail Hill Climb in July, Creel took the USATF masters mountain running title finishing 10^th overall in 53:04.  The next month, he decided to test his hill climbing talent in an ultra venue at the USATF 50K trail championship.  Creel learned about the opportunity to run a longer distance on trails at the USATF championship races that he frequents and decided to run his first ultra at the USATF 50K trail championship.

The Golden Headlands 50K offered Creel (41) tough competition in an area known for its competitive ultrarunners.  His rookie status as an ultrarunner and the competitive field proved to be motivational.  Pitting himself against a field of national class ultrarunners, Creel won the race in a record time of 3:49, two weeks after defending his title at the Bridger Ridge Run in Montana for the fifth time, in 3:10.  The scenery at the 50K USATF Trail Championship provided inspiration for his win, “The course went through a fantastic redwood forest, the Muir Woods.  For me, hills are good; so I liked the 7,000 of climbing.”

Creel’s prowess on the longer distance hilly trail course was not beginners luck.  For 27 years the Montana State University ecology professor has been honing his competitive running skills and he competes as a national-class nordic skier.  He believes that masters runners “put too much emphasis on quantity of running and not enough effort into quality.”  Creel’s quality performance at the USATF 50K trail championship combined the best of both quality and quantity. Creel’s quality performance at the USATF 50K trail championship combined the best of both quality and quantity.the longer distance hilly trail course was not beginners luck.  For 27 years the Montana State University ecology professor has been honing his competitive running skills and he competes as a national-class nordic skier.  He believes that masters runners “put too much emphasis on quantity of running and not enough effort into quality.”  Creel’s quality performance at the USATF 50K trail championship combined the best of both quality and quantity.

09/03, Rev 04/05