Boston Marathon Fills Up Slower than Predicted

Related Boston 2014 write-up can be found here:
 - Boston Registration Demand Strong - Sep 2013

Monday was the first day of registration for the 2012 Boston Marathon. This year is the first for the new registration process which allows runners with qualifying times significantly below the standards to register before all other aspirants. The idea of seeding the entries like this is a passive way of floating a 'natural' qualifying standard, a fix on last year's first-come-first-serve debacle that crashed Boston Athletic Association servers and sold out the 20,000 open registration slots in 8hrs. Roughly 5,000-6,000 entries go to charity runners and sponsors.

Under the new system runners with qualifying times 20min+ below the age/gender standards were allowed to register beginning on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, qualifiers with times 10min+ below the age/gender standards were allowed to sign up. Beginning this morning (Friday), qualifiers with times 5min+ below the standards may register.

There was much anxious speculation as to how quickly the race would fill up even with these stricter qualifying criteria. It looked as if ~4,400 registrants were confirmed on Tuesday night, which includes -20min runners and folks who've run 10 or more years in a row (not very many of these guys/gals). As of last night it had filled to ~11,000 with -10min registrants included, so it looks like almost everyone with a -5min qualifier ought to get in today. Registration closes for the weekend and opens to all runners under the standards on Monday. Should it fill up, registrants will be seeded fastest to slowest by their qualifying times before making the cut. Anxious applicants on the bubble won't receive their registration confirmations until several days afterward. I've got a few bros anxious about getting their bib this week but I think you fellas are going to be sittin' pretty.

Update (10/4) - Registration for Boston ended Fri. Sep. 23rd. After sorting qualifying times, the Open Men's cutoff settled at 3hr 8min 46sec, a couple of minutes below the standard of 3:10:59. The Open Women's cutoff settled at 3hr 38 46sec, equally a couple of minutes below the standard of 3:40:59. Qualifying times will fall 5min across all standards next year for the 2013 race.

Santa Fe's First Snow of the Season - 2011

First snow of the season, Aspen Vista Tr., Sat 9/10/11 (Bryan Helke)

Almost seemed like winter weather this morning. The peaks above town may have received some wet snow, it was tough to see on the Ski Santa Fe webcam whether it was raining hard or coming down frozen.

First snow of the season arrived last Saturday though (Sep 10, 2011). One inch of wet stuff above 11,000ft. It melted off just as soon as the clouds broke.

Related Links:
 - Santa Fe's First Snow 2014 - Oct. 21st
 - SFe's First Snow 2013 - Oct. 12th
 - SFe's First Snow 2012 - Nov. 16th
 - SFe's First Snow 2010 - Nov. 16th

Imogene Pass Trail Run - 2011 Results

Seemed like decent weather yesterday for the Imogene Pass Run, hopefully the sun and open skies extended north to the mountains above Ouray and Telluride. This year's race was the 38th annual event which begins on main street Ouray (7300ft), heads up and over Imogene Pass southwest of town (13,100ft), and descends down to the finish in Telluride (8800ft) 17mi away.

This is really one of the classic area trail races to go along with La Luz, Pikes Peak, Big Tesuque, and probably the Jemez Mountain Runs even though the event is so young

Michael Smith of Flagstaff whupped the field running to the third best time on record, 2hr 9m, 20min clear of the field. The timeless Bernie Boettcher of Silt cruised in for another top 3 finish. New Mexico's top finisher was Paul Formisano of Albuquerque in 2hr 54m, for 43rd. My pal and this year's 4th place finisher at the Mt Taylor Quadrathlon was Santa Fe's Juniper Hunter at 2hr 54m, for 45th. Jennifer McCarthy, also of Flagstaff, claimed the women's title nipping the runner-up by less than a minute in 2hr 48min. Albuquerque's Leigh Caswell and Sandia Park's Jillian Conrad ran to 25th and 26th places, respectively, at 3hr 20m. Clean pair of heels to all of New Mexico's fine and noble finishers.

Men's Top 25 Results:

FIRST	LAST	AGE	CITY,	ST	SUMMIT	FINISH	DIV	PLACE
Michael	SMITH ,	31 M	FLAGSTAFF	AZ	1:31:11	2:09:28	0	1
Michael	DOMINGUEZ ,	27 M	BOULDER	CO	1:47:29	2:29:01	1	2
Bernie	BOETTCHER ,	49 M	SILT	CO	1:50:40	2:30:29	0	3
Eric	BOHN ,	30 M	FLAGSTAFF	AZ	1:49:12	2:30:54	1	4
Dylan	BOWMAN ,	25 M	ASPEN	CO	1:49:26	2:32:56	2	5
Ben	KADLEC ,	28 M	BOULDER	CO	1:53:06	2:35:11	3	6
Patrick	COLE ,	31 M	DENVER	CO	1:53:33	2:35:31	2	7
Michael	KLOSER ,	51 M	VAIL	CO	1:54:30	2:37:07	1	8
Nathan	SCHULTZ ,	40 M	BOULDER	CO	1:52:35	2:37:37	1	9
Jim	CARLSON ,	28 M	TELLURIDE	CO	1:59:42	2:39:48	4	10
Steve	MARSHALL ,	40 M	FRISCO	CO	1:57:40	2:39:58	2	11
Max	TAAM ,	28 M	SNOWMASS	CO	1:55:04	2:41:29	5	12
Marty	WACKER ,	40 M	GRAND JNCTN	CO	1:56:16	2:42:38	3	13
Doug	AGNE ,	42 M	LAKEWOOD	CO	1:57:49	2:42:49	4	14
David	MARCINOWSKI ,	31 M	TELLURIDE	CO	1:56:34	2:43:13	3	15
Trent	JOSEPH ,	28 M	DENVER	CO	1:59:40	2:43:14	6	16
Erich	OWEN ,	38 M	OPHIR	CO	1:56:17	2:43:21	1	17
Edward	LE GRICE ,	34 M	DENVER	CO	1:56:31	2:43:46	4	18
Timothy	SLATER ,	29 M	GOLDEN	CO	1:57:39	2:45:15	7	19
Ryan	DOHNAL ,	26 M	TELLURIDE	CO	2:01:51	2:45:15	8	20
Billy	MERTENS ,	44 M	LOUISVILLE	CO	2:02:52	2:46:26	5	21
Evan	CARVER ,	29 M	DENVER	CO	2:00:11	2:46:33	9	22
Nick	STERLING ,	27 M	BOULDER	CO	2:01:56	2:46:37	10	23
Eric	HISLOP ,	26 M	GOLDEN	CO	2:05:18	2:47:58	11	24
Ryan	HUCKABAY ,	42 M	KINGBURG	CA	1:56:51	2:48:00	6	25

Women's Top 25 Results:

FIRST	LAST	AGE	CITY,	ST	SUMMIT	FINISH	DIV	PLC (W)
Jennifer	MCCARTHY ,	31 F	FLAGSTAFF	AZ	2:02:29	2:48:37	0	1
Stacey	CHAMBERLAIN ,	40 F	BOULDER	CO	2:02:16	2:49:45	0	2
Sara	WAGNER ,	39 F	FLAGSTAFF	AZ	2:06:27	2:53:48	1	3
Alexandra	BLAKE ,	28 F	TUCSON	AZ	2:10:13	2:57:53	1	4
Lynette	CLEMON ,	37 F	LEADVILLE	CO	2:09:48	3:04:07	2	5
Nancy	DOLAN ,	55 F	BUENA Vista	CO	2:14:46	3:06:03	1	6
Cynthia	MALLECK ,	35 F	GRAND JNCT	CO	2:15:15	3:06:35	3	7
Jaime	FALCON ,	33 F	AFTON	WY	2:16:59	3:06:38	1	8
Robin	LYON ,	40 F	FLAGSTAFF	AZ	2:11:41	3:10:39	1	9
Erin	BUTLER ,	23 F	SALT Lake City	UT	2:18:21	3:10:51	1	10
Rebecca	SCHILD ,	28 F	DURANGO	CO	2:14:53	3:12:02	2	11
Lenka	PALANOVA ,	27 F	BOULDER	CO	2:16:49	3:14:07	3	12
Julie	KORB ,	39 F	DURANGO	CO	2:21:04	3:14:48	4	13
Julia	BENSEN ,	30 F	ASPEN	CO	2:19:45	3:16:04	2	14
Jessie	YOUNG ,	27 F	SNOWMASS	CO	2:17:11	3:16:05	4	15
Tracy	OLSON ,	40 F	FLAGSTAFF	AZ	2:21:03	3:16:35	2	16
Bernadette	CHAVEZ ,	39 F	FLAGSTAFF	AZ	2:11:16	3:16:55	5	17
Ashley	CARRUTH ,	28 F	DURANGO	CO	2:24:01	3:17:55	5	18
Sarah	SLAUGHTER ,	39 F	DURANGO	CO	2:25:13	3:18:10	6	19
Jenny	FOX ,	32 F	STEAMBOAT	CO	2:23:09	3:18:55	3	20
Bridget	DUNN ,	43 F	DENVER	CO	2:25:16	3:19:06	3	21
Jenni	WARD ,	39 F	TELLURIDE	CO	2:23:35	3:19:21	7	22
Sandra	BERTRAND ,	47 F	NEDERLAND	CO	2:22:06	3:19:28	1	23
Julia	WENTWORTH ,	26 F	TELLURIDE	CO	2:25:27	3:19:38	6	24
Leigh	CASWELL ,	32 F	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	2:26:01	3:20:12	4	25
Jillian	CONRAD ,	26 F	SANDIA Park	NM	2:25:58	3:20:49	7	26

New Mexico and Santa Fe area results: 

FIRST	LAST	AGE	CITY,	ST	SUMMIT	FINISH	DIV	PLACE
Paul	FORMISANO	34	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	2:07:26	2:54:38	8	43
Juniper	HUNTER	37	SANTA FE	NM	2:04:42	2:54:50	4	45
Eric	POPE	48	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	2:09:18	2:56:11	3	50
Hunter	FIREBAUGH	17	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	2:06:49	2:56:35	1	52
Matthew	BRAKE	31	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	2:11:03	2:59:06	11	58
Robb	MCLEAN	38	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	2:13:59	3:03:56	6	69
Dana	PATTON	27	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	2:06:25	3:04:35	25	70
Bill	CAREY	53	SANTA FE	NM	2:19:48	3:06:13	4	74
Peter	OLSON	49	SANTA FE	NM	2:25:54	3:22:03	15	129
Michael	STARR	38	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	2:24:14	3:26:41	21	156
Eric	EDMONDS	46	LOS ALAMOS	NM	2:30:09	3:27:37	22	165
Rod	NELSON	48	AZTEC	NM	2:30:01	3:28:49	25	174
Luke	WEGENER	18	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	2:29:54	3:29:02	4	178
Mark	CROWLEY	55	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	2:27:27	3:30:51	7	185
Bill	BLANKENSHIP	61	SANTA FE	NM	2:35:09	3:32:26	3	194
Stewart	ANDERSON	36	SANTA FE	NM	2:29:03	3:32:57	28	198
Karen	CAVANAUGH	38	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	2:44:29	3:47:35	20	99
Amber	HUGHES	36	CARLSBAD	NM	2:41:40	3:48:08	21	100
Scott	ATCHLEY	44	LAS VEGAS	NM	2:41:03	3:50:52	53	305
Chris	MURRAY	51	CEDAR CREST	NM	2:44:32	3:52:53	35	317
Devin	FARRELL	46	LOS ALAMOS	NM	2:52:27	3:54:51	44	326
Mike	HALL	49	SANTA FE	NM	2:48:29	3:59:44	50	356
Amalia	THOMAS	32	SANTA FE	NM	2:53:25	4:06:06	33	178
Steve	KELLAM	44	SANTA FE	NM	2:53:24	4:06:06	67	386
Lucas	CONLEY	32	SANTA FE	NM	3:00:04	4:06:20	60	389
Linda	DEBUCK	52	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	2:54:39	4:07:19	12	184
Nicole	WERKMEISTER	43	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	3:01:37	4:10:50	43	207
Lauren	SCOTT	23	MORIARTY	NM	2:59:44	4:12:44	11	215
Patricia	SCHILLE	50	AZTEC	NM	2:55:33	4:21:07	18	257
Jill	GUTHMILLER	46	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	3:09:10	4:27:07	27	286
Anna	GAY	24	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	3:15:31	4:33:38	17	324
Eric	SMITH	51	SANTA FE	NM	3:06:10	4:45:38	54	540
Rebecca	MAESTAS	47	AZTEC	NM	3:28:12	4:51:45	39	395
Victoria	HOMAN	26	ESPANOLA	NM	3:54:15	6:01:00	75	521

Full results may be found here:  http://www.imogenerun.com/results.htm


Related Posts:
  - Pikes Peak Ascent Results - 2011
  - La Luz Trail Run Results - 2011



View Imogene Pass Trail Run - 17miles in a larger map

Things Not Seen on Treadmills

Climbing a hill on the bike, I actually stopped and turned around to document this for posterity. And hilarity. Close friends those two.

Seen in Las Campanas (Sep 2011)

Floods Ravage Bandelier and the Cochiti Canyons

Upper Falls, scoured of all sand and debris (Dale Coker)

Running in the heavy rain last week was awesome, as are late summer runs where the familiar hills and mesas on the horizon dim behind magnificent displays of thunderheads, bolt lightning and dense folds of sheet-rain.

Last week's storms jacked things up seriously though, creating havoc not seen in recent memory throughout the burn scars of the Los Conchas Fire and Pacheco Canyon Fire areas. Unusually strong storms coupled with the now denuded mesas and canyons have produced flood images that defy rational imagination.  Flood waters measured at between 3,000-4,000cfs rocketed down Frijoles Canyon last Sunday (8/21), with sizable but smaller runoff-fueled floods that Friday and Monday. Rainfall on the mesas south of Los Alamos was measured at more than 2.5" in places. For comparison sake, we comfortably floated the San Juan river in Utah last month on 1,800cfs. The Bandelier Monument Facebook page has been the best site to monitor the Los Conchas Fire aftermath, restoration, and now the flooding. Sandbags, new jersey barriers, plastic siding, and the removal of bridges inside the Monument helped to minimize damage to the visitors area, although everything else was pummeled badly.

Frijoles Canyon at 3,000cfs. Note the flow has receded from high line indicated by debris (Tom Betts)

Bandelier Visitors Center post-flood with several hundred displaced sandbags. Some of the concrete barriers were rolled and sheered from cable anchors. (Bandelier Facebook)

Log jam up-canyon. Jams were spotted and cleared by Bandelier Rangers to minimize subsequent dam breaks and even more catastrophic flood damage (Bandelier Facebook)

Just outside the west boundary of the Monument, the Cochiti canyons funneled the same storms down into Lake Cochiti with tragic effect. Dixon's Apple Orchards were very nearly wiped away in entirety. In the video below one can actually see a large canal that was bladed out along side the orchards to divert expected monsoon floods away from the trees. That Sunday's flood looked to be at least three times the worst-case anticipated volume. Very difficult to watch destruction on that scale in a place so near to many peoples' hearts and collective memories.

Dixon family home at the mouth of Medio Dia Canyon (Clyde Mueller/The New Mexican)

The canyons of Santa Clara Pueblo up north saw similar damage from the storms and are appealing for help.



 

To a lesser but still serious extent, Nambe Pueblo and Nambe Lake is seeing severe sediment and ash erosion into that area's main public water supply.

A bit of a downer post. Too much of a good thing (rain in the desert!) is sometimes bad, a cause-and-effect relationship you'd think a guy that runs to injury several times a year could relate to. It is the scale of this year's damage that makes these events difficult to accept. God speed to all the folks working to control the damage.

Related Posts:
Medio Dia Canyon (Cochiti) - 2/23/11
The Los Conchas Fire - 7/1/11
Pacheco Canyon and Los Conchas Forest Closures - 6/29/11