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Carpenter, Murray Victorious at WMRA Challenge at Pikes Peak

Emma Murray en route to her second straight WMRA World Long Distance Challenge title (Danny Hughes)

Monday 21 August 2006

Manitou Springs, Colorado, USA — Predictions about the winner of the men’s WMRA Third World Long Distance Challenge were correct in identifying local boy Matt Carpenter, a six time winner on this Colorado course in previous years, as the one to beat. Now aged 42 he is proof that long distance mountain running can be enjoyed at the top level well into the Masters age group after his win at the Pikes Peak Marathon on Sunday (20).

The expected challenge from outside the USA did not materialize with Steidl (GER) fourth, Lopez (MEX) fifth, Vencelj (SLO - last year’s silver medalist) sixth, and Bolt (SUI - last year’s bronze medalist) eighth.

Carpenter was nine minutes ahead of Galen Burrell, another local boy from Boulder, and Zac Freudenburg from St. Louis, a further two minutes adrift. His time was 3 hours 33 minutes 07 seconds for the 42km course to the summit of Pike’s Peak mountain and back to Manitou Springs, an ascent/descent of 2404 metres.

Running the same course, Emma Murray of Australia repeated her World Challenge victory in Cauteretes, France, last year, thus retaining her World Champion title which she plans to defend next year when the Challenge moves to Switzerland for the Jungfrau Marathon.

Danelle Ballengee (USA), another multiple winner of the Pike’s Peak race, had to settle for second place over four minutes behind.

800 runners took part, a number that would have been doubled had the entry numbers not been limited for safety reasons.

Full results via the link on www.wmra.info

Danny Hughes for the IAAF