Teva US Mountain Running Team Selection Process Announced

The Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team will compete in the 25th World Mountain Running Championships in Campodolcino, Italy on September 6, 2009. Campodolcino is located in the province of Sondrio in the Lombardy region located approximately 100 kilometers north of Milan.

This year’s races are held on up/down courses (as opposed to even-numbered years when the events are held on uphill-only courses) with the senior men running approximately 12 km, the senior women and junior men running a distance slightly over 8 km, while the junior women run approximately 4.5 km.

The women’s team includes four athletes with the top three finishers scoring for the team. Six athletes will represent the men’s team with the top four finishers scoring. The junior men’s team includes a maximum of four with top three scoring while the junior women’s team is a maximum of three with the top two scoring. Team manager Nancy Hobbs, Colorado Springs, CO, team leader Richard Bolt, Portland, Oregon, team manager for the juniors Dave Dunham, Bradford, MA, and women’s team manager Ellen Miller, Vail, CO will accompany the team to Italy.

At the USATF annual convention in Reno, NV, on December 6, the Mountain Ultra Trail Running (MUT) Council chose two races from which automatic qualifiers to the U.S. team will be selected. The USA Mountain Running Championships will be hosted at Mt. Cranmore (10km) slated for June 28 in North Conway, NH. The top three U.S. men and the top U.S. woman finisher at Cranmore will receive automatic berths on the team. In addition to hosting the USA Mountain Running Championships, Cranmore will also host the sixth North American Central American Caribbean (NACAC) Mountain Running Championships.

“The White Mountain Milers are really excited to have Cranmore host both the USA and NACAC Mountain Running Champs this year. The local running community always gets involved with mountain races at Cranmore and Mt. Washington and this year they are looking forward to hosting athletes from Canada and Central America as well. Cranmore is a fantastic venue which provides great facilities and a course that will really test the athletes. New England has an active mountain running program with outstanding support from USATF and this is our chance to share it with both national and international elite mountain runners. We can't wait until June,” said race director Paul Kirsch.

The Cheyenne Canon Mountain Race in Colorado Springs, CO, will be the site of the second and final selection race on July 26 (approximately 8km for women and juniors and 12km for men) where the top two U.S. men and the top two U.S. women will receive automatic berths.

“We started looking for a potential course along Colorado’s front range this fall and came up with a great venue on the west side of Colorado Springs. Several of our former team members have run the trails in Cheyenne Canon and helped us determine the best possible route for a selection race. On January 5 we’ll apply for the necessary permits and move forward with our race committee to solidify event details,” said Hobbs.

Offering events in two different regions allows athletes to choose whether to travel east or west. Of course, some athletes will make the decision to participate in both races.

After the final selection race, the remaining members of the senior squad, (one male, one female), will be chosen by the Mountain Ultra Trail Council with input from the team staff based on results at the selection races, past World Trophy events, national and international racing experience including mountain, road, cross country, and track. Athletes MUST run a selection race in order to be considered for the team. To be considered for the team all team members MUST be current USATF members prior to running a selection race. Interested athletes should submit running resumes to: Richard Bolt (post a comment on this blog) and Nancy Hobbs (trlrunner@aol.com)

Juniors Team Selection – 2009 Teva US Mountain Running Team

For team consideration, the junior athlete:
Must be current USATF members (for 2009)
Must be at least 16 and not yet 20 in the year of competition.
Must have posted a 16:45 or better (junior men) and 19:30 or better (junior women) in a 5km road or cross country event. (Equivalent times – from an alternate race distance that translates to the aforementioned time criteria – will be considered for distances other than 5km.)
Must have experience running (in training and preferably racing) on courses similar to the event.
Must be mature, motivated, with a positive attitude to proudly represent the United States and sponsors internationally, under the rules of USATF and the event governing bodies.
A letter of recommendation from a coach, parent, or mentor-runner must accompany the athlete resume.

Resumes (including road, trail, track, and cross country results and current training info) will be accepted through July 26. Send resume and recommendation to: Dave Dunham, dave.dunham@comcast.net, or contact Dave at: (978) 474-9745.

Team members will be announced by August 1, 2009.