The 48th Mt. Washington Road Race (MWRR) and 2008 US Mountain Running Championship took place this morning in Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire under clear, sunny skies and ideal cool temperatures. The challenging 7.6 mile course up the auto road climbed 4200' to the summit where low winds and 45 degree tempertures were excellent - by Mt. Washington standards. Mt. Washington is home to the highest recorded straight line wind speeds in the United States - 231 mph.This year marked the 3rd time that the MWRR has been the US Mountain Running Championship (2004, 2006) and this was by far the most competitive field ever assembled. In past years, men with time under 70 minutes would be rewarded with a top 10 or top 15 finish. This year a record 32 men finished under 70 minutes! Also this year a record 6 women finished in under 80 minutes including first time MWRR runner Brandy Erholtz who won the women's race in a time of 1:11:08.
The men's race featured a close battle nearly all the way to the top between 2006 MWRR winner Eric Blake, 2007 US Mountain Team member Clint Wells and 2007 US Mountain AND Trail Champion Rickey Gates. Once again it was Eric Blake who won the race in a time of 1:00:39.
Today was a great day for Northwest runners Joseph Gray (Lakewood, WA) and Mike Sayenko (Bellevue, WA) who both ran the race for the first time and finished 4th (1:01:31) and 8th (1:05:04) respectively. Joseph's time, while only good enough for 4th place, would have won the race in many past years. The top Oregon finisher was 1999 and 2002 US Mountain Running Team member Richard Bolt who finished 42nd in 1:12:10. As another indication of how good the 2008 field was and how much mountain running has matured, Richard's 2003 time of 1:06:58 (4th place) would have only earned him 21st place in the 2008 race!
The 2008 MWRR was also a selection race for the Teva US Mountain Running Team. The top 4 men (Eric Blake, Clint Wells, Rickey Gates & Joseph Gray) and the top woman (Brandy Erholtz) earned automatic selection to the team that will compete in the World Mountain Running Trophy races in Switzerland this coming September.
Top 5 Men:
1. Eric Blake (New Britain, CT) - 1:00:39
2. Clint Wells (Superior, CO) - 1:00:50
3. Rickey Gates (Boulder, CO) - 1:01:12
4. Joseph Gray (Lakewood, WA) - 1:01:31
5. Simon Gutierrez (Alamosa, CO) - 1:01:34
Top 5 Women:
1. Brandy Erholtz (Baily, CO) - 1:11:08
2. Kasie Enman (Huntington, VT) - 1:13:26
3. Laura Haefeli (Del Norte, CO) - 1:13:34
4. Carly Graytock (Cambridge, MA) - 1:15:41
5. Alison Bryant (Elkin, NC) - 1:15:54
Complete results can be found at:
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