Trail running competition Mt. Wash.

Nation’s Top Mountain Runners Competing at Mount Washington on Saturday

Colorado Springs, CO ---- The best mountain runners in the U.S. will gather in Gorham, NH, on Saturday, June 21 to race the 48th annual Mount Washington Road Race in the hopes of becoming a USA Mountain Running Champion. An added incentive for a top finish is a trip to Switzerland as a member of the 2008 Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team.
At Mount Washington, the top four U.S. male finishers and the top U.S. female finisher will be named to the team (must be current USATF members). The 10-member open squad of six men (four to score) and four women (three to score) and the seven-member junior squad of four junior men (three to score) and three junior women (two to score) will compete in the 24th World Mountain Running Trophy race on September 14 in Sierre Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
This year’s Trophy races are uphill events (as opposed to odd-numbered years when the events are held on up/down courses) with the senior men running 12 km, and the senior women and junior men running 8.5 km, and the junior women running 4.5 km.
On the men’s side at Mount Washington, 14 former mountain team members are competing including five of the six members of last year’s team headlined by top U.S. finisher Payton Batliner, 24, Boulder, CO, last year’s USATF Mountain Runner of the Year Rickey Gates, 27, Aspen, CO, past Mount Washington Champ Simon Gutierrez, 42, Alamosa, CO, four-time All-American Clint Wells, 33, Superior, CO, and North Carolina standout Shiloh Mielke, 28, Weaverville. Fellow team member Paul Low, who has been on seven mountain teams, will not race due to injury.
On the women’s side, three-time team member, individual bronze medalist, and team gold medalist Laura Haefeli, 40, Del Norte, CO, has been tapped as the pre-race favorite since two-time team gold medalist Christine Lundy, who has also been on three teams, will not compete. Expect a challenge from Brandy Erholtz, 30, Bailey, CO, and 26-year-old Camille Herron, Lafayette, IN, who is currently training in Alamosa with Gutierrez. Other contenders include Amy Nedeau, 33, Belchertown, MA, Kasie Enman, 28, Huntington, VT, Alison Bryant, 29, Elkin, NC, Keri Nelson, 27, Grand Junction, CO, Carly Graystock, 29, Cambridge, MA, and former Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team member Kelli Lusk, 38, Manitou Springs, CO. Multi-time Mount Washington winner Anna Pichrtova, Czech Republic, has withdrawn due to injury leaving the field wide open for a new champion.
With four team slots up for grabs the men’s field is stacked. Eric Blake, 29, New Britain, CT, two-time team member, is an uphill specialist and won at Mt. Washington in 2006. Joseph Gray, 24, Lakewood, WA, a collegiate steeplechaser (University of OK), finished third just 1/1000th of a second behind Batliner at the Larabar 10 km Trail Race in Vail, CO, earlier this month, and like Batliner has focused his pre-season training on running uphill. Michael Sayenko, 23, Bellevue, WA, boasts PRs of 14:08 for 5 km, 29:07 for 10 km and 4:07 for the mile certainly has the leg speed to pose a threat to the field. Sayenko was this year’s youngest finisher at the Olympic Marathon Trials where he finished 29th.
This is the third time in five years that Mount Washington has hosted the USA Mountain Running Championships. In 2004 Paul Low and Erica Larson won championship titles and in 2006 Blake and Nicole Hunt were the champions. Of the four, only Blake is entered in this year’s race.
The course is a 7.6 mile unbroken-ascent to the 6,288-foot summit of Mt. Washington, the highest peak in the northeastern United States. Making the challenge even more severe is the always unpredictable Mt. Washington weather, famous for its outrageous wind and layers of fog and cloud.
First prize in the race is $1000, with a bonus of $5000 for a course record. New England Runner magazine offers a $2000 bonus to any male or female master who sets a new masters course record. For a complete list of entrants visit: www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com and click on “Lottery Results.”
The Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team selection process includes just two events this year with the final event in Vail, CO on July 20 with the Berry Picker Trail Race – approximately 6.5 miles of climbing from 8,200 feet to 10,200 feet – where the top U.S. man and the two U.S. women will receive automatic berths. One junior man will also earn a spot at the Berry Picker.

Page Two/Mount Washington Race Week

The remaining members of the squad, (one male, one female), will be selected by the 24-member Mountain Ultra Trail Council with input from the team staff. Details posted at www.usmrt.com. For Junior Team consideration, interested athletes should contact David Dunham, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Sponsors of the 2008 Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team include title sponsor Teva, the official footwear of the team since 2002, SportHill is the official apparel sponsor providing team uniforms, OrthoLite Insoles, the world’s leading supplier of open cell foam insoles in the performance and footwear category is the official insole, Fleet Feet Sports Boulder, the official specialty running store, Windermere of Teton Valley, the official real estate company, Wicked Fast Sports Nutrition, Wicked Fast sports nutrition, the official dietary supplements for pre-exercise energy/endurance (Energ-Ease) and post-exercise recovery (Recover-Ease), and product sponsors FuelBelt, Inc., and Youth Runner magazine.

For additional information visit the websites listed below:
USA Mountain Running Championships www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com
Berry Picker Selection Race www.vailrec.com
USA Track & Field www.usatf.org
World Mountain Trophy 2008 www.wmrt2008.org/pages/fr/
American Trail Running Association www.trailrunner.com
Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team www.usmrt.com
Teva www.teva.com
SportHill Clothing www.sporthill.com
Windermere www.juliebryan.mywindermere.com
Fleet Feet Sports-Boulder www.fleetfeetboulder.com
Wicked Fast Sports Nutrition www.recover-ease.com
OrthoLite www.ortholitefoam.com
Fuel Belt www.fuelbelt.com
Youth Runner www.youthrunner.com

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