2003 Vail Hill Climb - Vail, Colorado

By MATT CARPENTER
www.skyrunner.com

Matt Carpenter reports:
Distance: The last three times I have done this race there have been three courses. I am sure someone knows the distance, but not I or any other runners I spoke to.
Goal: Win
Results: A hard fought 7th
Website: http://www.vailrec.com

General Summary:
The winner, Peter DeLaCerda, blew the field away and it was great to see (or rather hear about). For those that don’t know or remember he got 2nd in the 2000 US Olympic Marathon Trials but did not get to go to the Olympics because the times were not fast enough. At any rate, after the race it was kind of funny to listen to some of the runners saying things like “this is not really a mountain running course.” What bunk! 2000 feet vertical gain in 7 whatever miles may not be extreme but it is not a road race either. Peter just showed a bunch of people that are used to running in small races with little competition where the bar is! I was glad he came (and told him so) and the more runners like him we can get interested in the sport the better! I have run Vail much faster and I know the training that went into it. The rest of us just need to train is all.

Things Done Right:
I showed, I ran, I finished. Not a lot else to say about it.

Things Done Wrong:
More a matter of things not done than things done wrong. Simply my training is not like it used to be and in sports, especially running, when you don’t train you get beat. I got beat and further I was not even in the hunt after 30 seconds. Funny thing is, with other priorities in my life now I am not going to get too worked up about it.

Any Other Stuff:
Like the last Vail race I did the results took forever. By the time they got started about the only people left were award winners. It was kind of embarrassing to win my age-group because they pulled a guy from the top 3. Why should I win my age-group just because a guy in my age-group is faster? In fact, when written like that it does not even make sense! On the other side of the coin a couple of us, including myself, got pulled from USATF results because we refused to pay extra above the entry fee to be eligible for them. Oh well, in either case — age-groups or overall — numbers don’t lie and the results show who finished where no matter how they fudge the numbers.