“There were so many great, great runners who put in an entry.
#World long distance mountain running challenge free#
(And many did - Ilgen’s office said via email that on average between 23 and 30 runners were brought to the Pikes Peak Ascent/Marathon free of charge.)įor the 2014 running, there wasn’t as much of a need for it though, said Ilgen, and the Ascent/ Marathon only accepted nine runners.
In the past, if you were a renowned mountain runner, or at least if you thought your name could bring more awareness and popularity to the race, you could send in an application in hopes of getting your race entry and hotel fees waived. Ron Ilgen, the race’s director for the past 14 years, decided to limit the number of competitive athlete applicants he accepted this year due to the supreme talent already signed up. The rarified competition hasn’t gone unnoticed in the civilian ranks either. teams) have a really good shot to lead the way,” said Hobbs, who has been a part of the WMRA council since 2000. “There is so much talent, but you want to think we (the U.S. teams should be considered one of the few favorites in both groups. council member in the WMRA, there will be 10 men’s teams and nine women’s teams competing in the world championship. Per Colorado Springs’ Nancy Hobbs, the lone U.S. Mountain Running champion Allie McLaughlin, along with Shannon Payne, Stevie Kremer, Nuta Olaru and Olympic-skier-turned-mountain-runner Morgan Arritola. The American women’s team will be made up of Colorado Springs resident and the 2014 U.S. The U.S men’s team will be comprised of the 2013 Ascent champion, Eric Blake, as well as Joe Gray, Sage Canaday, Zach Miller and former CU runner Andy Wacker. In the WMRA Challenge - the race woven within the Ascent - 75 runners from 20 countries will go head to head in hopes of individual and country championships. “I’m a competitor so I’m going to go for it, but, yeah, this is the best competition I think any of us have seen in a long time.” “It’s tough to think that you have a chance to win with the best mountain runners in the world up against you,” said Gutierrez, who last won the Ascent in 2008 - just two years before he had major knee surgery. He’s going side by side with some of the top mountain runners in the world, who have made the 59th running of the Ascent their World Mountain Running Association’s Long Distance Challenge - the sport’s world championship.
Not for lack of confidence - but dose of reality, Gutierrez realizes he’s not only stacked up against the state’s best mountain runners at the Ascent on Saturday, Aug.
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