For Immediate Release:
USA Senior Men and Senior Women's Teams finish 9th in the World Mountain
Running Trophy Race
The world's best mountain runners met in the Bavarian ski village of Bergen,
Germany for the 16th World Mountain Running Trophy September 7-10. Teams
began arriving in Bergen on Thursday and were greeted with heavy rainfall
that continued throughout the day giving organizers and competitors pause to
contend with potentially slick conditions on the race course. Fortunately the
wet weather cleared by early Friday morning and held throughout the weekend.
Festivities kicked off on Friday, September 8 with the more than 30 competing
nations marching in a celebration parade through town to an opening reception
and dinner. The running events began on Saturday with the junior men's race
followed by the senior women, and finally the junior women.
In the junior men's 8.6K competition, perennial favorites Italy won the gold
medal after placing all of it's scoring team members in single-digit
positions followed by the small African nation of Eritrea who, in their first
appearance, had the gold medal winner on their team. The bronze-medal
position was secured by the Czech Republic.
The junior women ran a shorter 4.5K course. Again, Italy dominated the field
taking first position in the team competition followed by France and Germany.
The US did not field a junior team.
For the sixth year, the US fielded a full US senior women's team. From
Colorado Cindy O'Neill, 38, Manitou Springs and Rene Frazee, 33, Salida
joined New Englanders Julie Peterson, 40, Beverly, MA and Suzy West, 37,
Putney, VT to round out the four-member team. The women would run the same
8.9Kcourse that the junior men had run just one hour earlier.
Race organizers required runners to place an additional runner number on
their backs for identification but neglected to distribute the numbers until
late on race morning. As the women hastened to pin an additional runner
number on their backs, the announcer's voice boomed in the background for the
teams to line up in their randomly-drawn pre-assigned positions on the grassy
starting area. The one-minute warning was given and the runners jostled from
side to side awaiting their cue.
A howitzer signaled the start of the race spewing clouds of smoke into the
blue skies above. "They said that we had one minute to go and then no 3-2-1
countdown, just BOOM and the lead girls shot out like rockets," said first
time US team member O'Neill after the race.
Frazee, also a first timer at Worlds took the first US
position on the
start line with the remaining three US team members lining up in cross
country fashion behind her. Frazee, herself a former collegiate cross country
runner, was comfortable with the line up and managed to dash out and secure
14th position onto the pavement. Peterson and West making their second
appearance in two years at the Worlds settled into the 2nd and 3rd positions
respectively for the US team giving them top 30 placings among the 78-member
field. O'Neill started out conservatively and settled into 46th position.
After about .5K on the road, the route shifted to a gravel-strewn
double-track trail that wound uphill over several wood-planked bridges and
well-spaced water erosion bars for approximately 2.5K to the next section
composed of single-track trail. When the course diverted from gravel road to
single track, the footing became more difficult with long switchback turns
and root-laden trail underfoot. Below the mid-point on the course at the
first aid station, the US positions had changed with O'Neill emerging through
the woods in first position for the US and about 35th overall. Peterson had
claimed second position for the US with Frazee fading to third. Here the real
climb began with most of the course out of the trees see-sawing between
single and double-track trail complete with hundreds of steps to further slow
the runners progress. Many of the runners were reduced to a walk placing
their hands on their knees willing the lactic acid burn to diminish as they
climbed toward the 1674-meter summit.
Frazee passed Peterson to claim the second US position and worked to close
the gap on O'Neill. While the US team powered on, Scotland's Angela Mudge was
crossing the line with a time of 49:24 followed by Germany's Brigit Sonntag in
49:43 and Izabela Zatorska of Poland in 50:11.
O'Neill the two-time Pikes Peak Ascent ('99 and '00) champion who earned a
berth on the US team by winning the Vail Hill Climb this year, led the US
finish in 30th position with a time of 55:40. Close behind in 36th place,
Frazee ran 56:10. Rounding out the scoring was Peterson, top American at this
year's Mt Washington Hill Climb, in 42nd place with a 56:48. West suffered
from leg cramps early in the race but managed a respectable 46th position
with a time of 58:24.
First on the team podium was New Zealand followed by Italy in second and
Germany in third. The US placed 9th among the 18 teams. Both Frazee and
O'Neill are looking forward to a return visit to the Worlds in 2001. "Now I
know what to expect from the competition and I'm inspired to return to the
states and train with the hopes of making next year's team," said O'Neill.
West and Peterson may sit out next year opting for their preferred uphill
editions in the even-numbered years.
On a cloudless 80-degree day, the open race kicked off the next day's
activities followed by the senior men and culminating in a closing reception
later in the evening. "I wish that I'd previewed the ENTIRE course,"
was the
sentiment echoed by more than one member of the US men's mountain running
team after completing their race.
Both the senior men and open runners competed over the 11.6k (7.2mile) course
with the open racers kicking off the competition at 9 in the morning . The
race route climbed gently for the initial 1.5k on paved roads before
narrowing down to groomed dirt trails. The first 7.1k to the cable car middle
station climbed 500m (1650'), leaving the last 4.5k to climb 700m (2300').
The last 3.2k (2 miles) climbed almost 1800' on single track and innumerable
steps. The senior men's race had entrants from 30 countries in the 140-man
field.
In the open race, twenty-three countries were represented in the 224-person
field dominated by men with just 29 female participants. Dan Verrington (MA)
the US men's team alternate was attempting to run faster than some of the US
team members in the championship race in the hopes of impressing the
selectors for next year's team. Verrington ran with the leaders for the first
3k of the race, pulling away from the rest of the field. In the last 3k on
the stairs, Verrington was passed by one man as the leader pulled away to
victory. Dan closed the gap on second with a strong finish to take third in
54:43. Dan noted, "I'm glad I had competition, I was pushed to a good
time."
Prior to congratulating Verrington, teammate Eric Morse (VT) stated (tongue
in cheek), "I'd rather be last in the championship race than first in the
open race!"
Women's team manager Nancy Hobbs and Yvonne Carpenter and John O'Neill,
spouses of two of the US team members, also competed in the open race. Though
not as competitive as Verrington, Hobbs still managed 13th among the women
and second-place in her age group while Carpenter finished 17th among the
women followed by O'Neill who finished in the middle of the pack.
The championship looked to be one of the stronger fields ever assembled at
the worlds. Former
champions Italian Marco De Gasperi (1999,1997), New Zealander Jonathan Wyatt
(1998), Italian Antonio Molinari (1996), and Austria Helmut Schmuck
(1994,1992) headed up what looked to be the making of a great race. Rumor
circulating the small town of Bergen, where the athletes mingled in an
Olympic-village setting, had Wyatt running the course the previous week in 51
minutes. It was said that Wyatt thought he could race it in about 48 minutes.
His prediction would ultimately be quite accurate.
The athletes would be somewhat handicapped by a lack of kilometer marks, only
two water stations, two "no passing zones," and a VERY narrow start.
The
large pack set off at a fast clip over the initial asphalt section. The
favorites, some pretenders, and a few hopefuls spearheaded the pack at the
transition to dirt and the initial climb. Wyatt went into the lead chased by
Molanire and others as the top five eased away from the strung out chase
group. Paul Low (OR) was the first US runner to the trail but was soon
overtaken by Dave Dunham (MA). Dunham slowly worked his way into the top 20.
At the middle station the race was becoming Wyatt's as he seemed to
effortlessly pull away. Wyatt went on to take a 2:19 win to cap off an
excellent season of racing in Europe. Wyatt's time was very nearly what he
predicted. At the finish he noted he was "pretty nervous" prior to the
race,
and, "pleased with the win." Wyatt led New Zealand to the bronze medal
as
Italy continued its winning ways with its 16th team gold. Team USA's Dunham
moved into 15th prior to the first no passing zone with its rocky steps and
significant chasm. "I was encouraged when I saw Molinari was struggling as
much as everyone else," said Dunham. He passed Molinari and got as high as
10th place before being passed in the last 50m on the 40 percent-grade grass
slope. Uli Steidl had jokingly mentioned on the starting line, "Don't pass
me
in the last 50m." The last 50m had been previously designated a no passing
zone, but
the restriction was lifted for the men's and open races after some
controversy in the events held the previous day.
As Dunham finished in 12th (51:33), Richard Shelley (NM) was closing in on
Morse. "I didn't have the confidence to push it early, this was only my
second race this year," noted Shelley. "I ran a strong second half and
was
pleased with my performance." Shelley took the 2nd USA spot in 30th
(53:27).
Morse had gotten into about 25th place at the halfway mark, and struggled in
the closing kilometers. "Rich got me near the top, I think this ties my
best
place," noted Morse of his 37th place finish in 53:59. It did indeed tie
his
previous best placing from 1997. The final scoring member of the squad was
Matt Carpenter (CO). "I had trouble adjusting to the travel and the lower
altitude," said Carpenter of his 63rd place (55:56). Team USA finished 9th
with 142 points. The remaining runners were Paul Low 81st (57:54), and Scott
Gall (CO) 94th (59:21).
Team and individual results are listed below, and full results can be found
at: http://www.chiemgau.com/bergen/wm2000/index.htm
Next years up/down World Mountain Running Trophy will be held in Arta Terme
in the mountainous Carnia region of eastern Italy. The senior women's 8.5k
(500m
up/down) race will be held on Sept. 15th and the men's 12.9k (950m up/down)
race will follow on the 16th. Information about the races can be found at
http://www.arta2001.org
The 2001 US team will be announced in July of next year. Plans are currently
in the works to have two or more selection races in the spring/summer of
2001. More details will be available following this year's USATF convention
in December. For more information contact Dave Dunham, mtnman@greennet.net,
or Nancy Hobbs trlrunner@aol.com.
The US mountain running team extends its thanks to Mountain Athletics by
Timberland for providing travel support for top finishers in this year's US
selection races and for providing footwear and apparel to the US contingent
to wear while training for the World Mountain Running Trophy race. Additional
thanks to the All American Trail Running Association, USATF New England
association and USATF Colorado Association for supporting the US World
Mountain Running Team.