Posted: June 24, 2005

Athletics: Northfield Mountain Race Hosts Second Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team Selection Race

From: Dave Dunham, Northfield Mountain Race Director

Northfield Mountain located near the Vermont/Massachusetts border is the site of the second Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team selection race on Saturday, June 25. The top U.S. male and female finishers will be named to the world team at the Northfield Mountain Race. These athletes will join Timothy Parr, 23, Gunnison, CO and Laura Haefeli, 37, Del Norte, CO on the 10-member Open squad of six men and four women (Junior squad includes three Junior men and two Junior women) slated to compete in the 21st World Mountain Running Trophy race on September 25 in Wellington, New Zealand.

Parr and Haefeli, both members of the 2004 Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team, were named to the 2005 team based on their finish at the Gore-Tex USA National 10K Trail Championships in Vail, CO on June 4. Parr was the second U.S. male finisher and Haefeli was the top U.S. female finisher and third overall. Matt Carpenter, 40, Manitou Springs, CO also earned a spot on the team with his victory in Vail, but has declined his spot due to his commitment to run the Leadville Trail 100 Mile in August.

The course at Northfield features a slightly-more-than 5 kilometer (3.1 mile) loop, which will be negotiated twice for women and three times for men. The course was modified from past years to mimic the multiple loop format of the World Trophy race, thus giving U.S. athletes a chance to test themselves over similar terrain and distance as the trophy race.

The first kilometer is on wide trails providing ample opportunity to pass while the second kilometer is almost entirely on single-track trail with one stream crossing and many up and down sections. The footing in the second kilometer is a mixture of rocks, roots and leaves and could be muddy if there is rain. The third kilometer is predominately downhill on wide trails with excellent footing. The trail stays wide as runners climb again from 3 to 3.5 kilometers. The final 1.6 kilometers are entirely downhill with a mixture of wide trails and a 300m stretch of narrow single-track.

Last year's race had more than 127 finishers from seven states. Joshua Ferenc held off 2003 champion Paul Low to take home the victory in a course record 49:18 over the 12.3 Kilometer course. Kelli Lusk took the women's victory for the second straight year, winning the race by four minutes over Jenn Brooks-Lassen in 1:03:04.

Confirmed entrants in this year's event include runners from nine states and the Czech Republic. Six of the top thirteen from last year have entered as of June 19.

TOP MEN
Eric Blake (Plattsburgh, NY) 
Richard Bolt (Nashua, NH)
Eldon Burkinshaw (Londonderry, NH)
Galen Burrell (Boulder, CO)
Buzz Burrell (Boulder, CO)
Dave Dunham (Bradford, MA)
Paul Grant (Carver, MA)
Simon Gutierrez (Alamosa, CO)
Paul Low (Amherst, MA) 
Peter Maksimow (Springfield, MA)
Eric Morse (Berlin, VT)
Ben Nephew (Foxboro, MA)
Chad Newton (Pisgah Forest, NC)
Bill Raitter (Estes Park, CO)
Rob Smith (Charlestown, MA)
Richard Stockdale (Mason, NH)
Kevin Tilton (Conway, NH)
Dan Verrington (Bradford, MA)

TOP WOMEN
Julie Bryan (Jackson Hole, WY)
Lisa Goldsmith (Nederland, CO)
Chris Lundy (Sausalito, CA) 
Kelli Lusk (Amherst, MA)
Emer O'Donoghue (Lexington, MA)
Anna Pichrtova (Czech Republic)

In addition to the selection component of the race, Northfield, for the third time, is hosting the USA Track & Field New England Mountain Running Championships, part of the USATF NE Mountain Running Circuit which includes six races in New England and offers prizes to those who complete the circuit. La Sportiva is the presenting sponsor and the race is hosted by the Central Massachusetts Striders.

After Northfield, there will be two more team selection races with Devil's Trail in Merrimac, WI hosting the next event on July 16 and Cranmore, NH hosting the final selection race on August 7. With Carpenter declining his spot, two at-large positions for the men's team will be up for consideration since each of the next two races will name the top U.S. finisher to the team of six. The third women's team member will be selected at Devil's Trail with the final at-large spot to be selected based on finish position in the selection races and will also consider past mountain race experience as well as trail, mountain, cross country, road and track times.

Find more Northfield Mountain Race information at: USATFNE.org.