Posted: June 6, 2005

Athletics: Carpenter, Haefeli USA 10K Trail Titlists Under Winter Conditions

Report by Nancy Hobbs, USATF Mountain/Ultra/Trail Running Council

VAIL, Colo. - (June 4, 2005) - The mountains surrounding Vail, Colorado were covered with a thin blanket of wet snow as runners toed the line at the Gore-Tex USA 10K Trail Running Championship on Saturday morning. Temperatures were in the low 40s at the 9:30am start time which was moved ahead 30 minutes so race officials could remark parts of the course as heavy winds blew markers down last night. Snow continued throughout the race and turned to rain in the afternoon.

The race field featured some of the best mountain runners in the world in addition to top U.S. runners competing for the national title. Anna Pichrtova, Czech Republic the runner-up at the 2004 World Mountain Running Trophy and Melissa Moon, Wellington, New Zealand, a two-time World Mountain Running Trophy champion dueled throughout the race with Moon gaining distance on the uphills and Pichrtova pulling away on the downhills. Pichrtova was victorious in a time of 52:19 with Moon just 20 seconds back.

The first American was Laura Haefeli, 37, Del Norte, CO who finished in 55:01 and earned her second national title honors at the 10K trail distance (having won also in 2004) as well as a spot on the Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team. Haefeli was elated with her finish, "I am so excited to make the team. It was a really tough run today with great competition. I'm looking forward to the World Trophy race this September in New Zealand."

On the men's side mountain running specialist Matt Carpenter, 40, Manitou Springs led from the start. Carpenter won national championship honors with his victory in 46:41 while Tim Parr, 23, Gunnison, CO finished second in 47:31 and road specialist and four-time All-American Clint Wells, 30, Boulder, CO was third in 47:50.

Both Carpenter and Parr earned automatic berths on the Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team although Carpenter will most likely decline his spot since he is planning to race the Leadville Trail 100 this year and said, "After Leadville, I know I'll be too sore to race at Worlds. Last year, Leadville took quite a bit out of me," said a mud-splattered Carpenter following the race.

Parr has been focusing on making his second mountain team and was elated to be named to the team. "I had been following Matt's career for years having grown up and attending high school in Colorado Springs (next to Carpenter's hometown of Manitou Springs). It is incredible to finish second to him today. I am so thrilled to make the team and can't wait to go to New Zealand," said Parr.

Wells, although not getting an automatic berth on the team will certainly be a top contender for an at-large spot on the team. "I'm really interested in making the team and going to New Zealand. I wasn't sure how I'd do today since I race mostly on the roads," said Wells.

Saturday's race also included the second North American Central American Caribbean (NACAC) Mountain Running Championships which pits team from the NACAC member countries in a cross-country scoring (with up to four team members and the top two finishers scoring).

On the men's side, the U.S. team led by Vail's Josiah Middaugh in fourth position and Simon Gutierrez in seventh position were victorious with a score of 11. The Canadian team's top finisher was Jason Loutitt in sixth place with Geoff Williamson in tenth position resulting in a score of 16. The women's U.S. team was led by Laura Haefeli in third and Lisa Isom in fifth for a team score of 8.

In spite of the less-than-ideal conditions, there were 205 finishers on the day with 83 women and 122 men. There were 153 finishers in 2004.

The event was part of the Teva Mountain Games, an annual four-day festival which includes kayaking, paddling, rock climbing, inner tubing, mountain biking, outdoor films, rock concerts and the inaugural Everest Awards.

Gore-Tex USA 10K Trail Running Championship - Vail, CO, Saturday, June 4, 2005

U.S. MEN
1) Matt Carpenter, 40, Manitou Springs, CO, 46:41, $1000
2) Tim Parr, 23, Gunnison, CO, 47:31, $750 
3) Clint Wells, 30, Boulder, CO, 47:50, $500 
4) Josiah Middaugh, 26, Vail, CO, 48:23, $250 
5) Simon Gutierrez, 39, Alamosa, CO, 49:24 

U.S. WOMEN
1) Laura Haefeli, 37, Del Norte, CO, 55:01, $500
2) Chris Lundy, 34, Sausalito, CA, 56:34, $250
3) Lisa Isom, 33, Vail, CO, 57:34
4) Julie Bryan, 36, Jackson, WY, 58:07
5) Kelly Ryan, 36, Lakewood, CO, 58:44
Overall winner and runner-up were Anna Pichrtova, 
Czech Republic, 52:19, $1000 
and Melissa Moon, New Zealand, 52:39, $750

USA Masters Champions
40-44 Carpenter and Lisa Goldsmith, 40, Nederland, CO, 58:57 
45-49 Tom Borschel, Idaho Falls, ID, 54:25 and Ellen Miller, Vail, CO, 1:11:57
50-54 Chuck Smead, Mosca, CO, 53:42 and Kelly Murphy, Leadville, CO, 1:29:08
55-59 John Swartz, Breckenridge, CO, 1:04:23 
60-64 James Douglas, Breckenridge, CO, 1:14:25

Complete results are available at: www.vailrec.com

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director
385 Oak View Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93111

(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.runningusa.org.