This story has been archived from the Thursday, August 24, 2006 Pikes Peak Bulletin
Carpenter returns to Marathon a winner
By Jack Elder Matt Carpenter of Manitou Springs is once again the champion of the Pikes Peak Marathon. Carpenter skipped the race last year to compete inand win in very convincing fashionthe Leadville 100 race. Carpenters winning time Sunday was 3:33:0712 minutes ahead of runner-up Galen Burrell of Boulder. Carpenter has won the Marathon seven times, the Ascent four times and won both races in 2001. Carpenters winning Marathon time of 3:16:39 in 1993 still stands as the race record. He set the Ascent record of 2:01:06 in the same race. Sundays race was especially important to Carpenter due to its being the Challenge, the gold medal race for 2006 of the World Mountain Racing Association. Carpenter told The Bulletin that since mountain marathons are not an Olympic event, this was his first opportunity to win a gold medal and he took full advantage of it. This was an opportunity to showcase our mountain and our town, Carpenter said. Noting the international field Sunday and the recent string or Marathon victories by foreigners, Carpenter said, Its nice to bring the title back to Manitou. The race unfolded really well, Carpenter said. Carpenter took the lead 40 or 50 seconds into the race. The winners strategy was to crush any hope they had to go with me. If youre going to go with me, youre going to suffer. Carpenter elaborated on his strategy. You win the race in training, he said. I was able to put it away well before the race. Carpenters win Sunday set a new record for the 40 to 45 age-group and for the Masters Class, reserved for runners over 40 years old. Im in complete denial about age, the 42-year old winner told The Bulletin. The first woman to complete Sundays Marathon was Emma Murray, of Dixon, Australia, in a time of 4:21:09, nearly six minutes ahead of Danelle Ballengee of Dillon, Colo. This years race featured 110 Doublers, runners who compete in both Saturdays ascent of Pikes Peak and Sundays round trip marathon. |