More on Boston - plus La Luz!

Shalane's 2:22 effort comes up short
courtesy of Google images

Two weeks later I'm still stoked from Meb's impossible Boston win. I unfairly left out any detail of the Women's race in my prior writeup due to the massive burning man-crush.

Quickly then - Shalane Flanagan was the runner all eyes were trained on, the one with the best chance of breaking the Boston curse and redeeming the City and the race from last year's tragedy. And she appeared to be channeling God because she ran lights-out. Unlike the men's race, the women's field wasn't about to let a runner of Shalane's caliber charge off without covering such a move. End result was a brilliant run by Shalane that dragged the field well under the course record but put five women between Shalane and the victor's olive wreath. She did nail down the American course record, took 3min off her career best (at Boston!) and is now the 3rd fastest American all-time (behind Joanie and Deena). Solid effort, but she was visibly crushed that she couldn't come through for her hometown. Better analysis of the race by Tony Reavis here.

Then there's this, tweeted out by the folks over at Pikes:

"... now holds the American course record at the Boston Marathon". Flanagan testing the ascent at Pikes Peak back in the day. Interestingly, her time isn't remotely close to the age-group record of 2hr 39min, which is pretty effin' fast. Faster than the guy typing this anyhow.

And this leads me to the broader topic of the summer trail racing season. It's here sons! Pikes is mostly full but there's still room in the Wave 1 Ascent field. Qualifying times are 1hr40min for a half marathon or 3hr45min for the marathon. Whadder' ya waitin' for? If you haven't yet laced up for a race with over 7800ft of elevation gain than you're really just piddlin' away your time and training, aren't you? Aren't you?

La Luz and the Rock Slide

Second note on running the summer Classics:  La Luz is still accepting entries into their registration lottery - extended through midnight of Saturday May 10th. Race day is August 4th. I'm getting one of those lottery spots and I'm sending that slot trail like Meb/Shalane on an April morning in Boston. Hide the women and children (Erica Baron excepted since she kicks my ass).

And the third marker on the summer Classics, Imogene:  Registration opens (and closes) the morning of June 1. Race day is September 6th. This race is so rad, I'm hoping the logistics fall together for me to return to this beaut this year. Plus Ouray now has their own brewpub (as does Ridgway), so there's that.

Related Posts:
 - La Luz Trail Run Recap 2013
 - Pikes Peak Ascent - trail report
 - Imogene Pass Trail Run 2013



View La Luz Trail Run - Albuquerque, NM in a larger map

Imogene Pass Trail Run - Results and Updates

This morning's start in Ouray - photo by Cindy Brown

An obligatory post for today's Imogene Pass Trail Run. Ouray to Telluride via mountain pass through the San Juans. 10mi and 5,000ft of climbing to the 13,000ft pass, 7 steep and crazy-scenic miles with 4,000 feet of descent into the town of Telluride.

There's some significant travel time involved in running this, and it always falls on Fiestas week (Que Viva!!), but this race really should be on every trail runner's list. Everything awesome about trail running taken up to eleven.

So, early results coming in. Flagstaff, AZ continues their dominance in this Four Corners epic - 2010 champ Jason Wolfe out of Flagstaff takes the men's overall in 2hr 17min 23sec, avenging last year's runner up finish and adding a new age-group course record. Flagstaff's Sara Wagner nails down her third consecutive title in 2:48:32, fourth in five years. The feed below ought to capture all Twitter traffic tagged with #imogenepassrun, it should filter race reports and uploaded images from those on the course today.

Full results are now posted

Imogene Pass

New Mexico representation in this year's field includes Santa Fe's Maryann Kos and Ben Fresquez,
Albuquerque's Mark Baker.

A run down on last year's top New Mexican finishers at Imogene below:

William Gardner, Abq, 35th O/A, 2hr 55min 26sec; Peter Falk, Abq, 52nd, 3:00:46; Antonio Lopez, Santa Fe, 65th, 3:07:17; Michael Starr, Abq, 73rd, 3:10:11; Tom Callahan, Santa Fe, 79th, 3:11:48.

On the women's side:  Molly Roberts, Abq, 20th O/A, 3:13:08; Katrin Silva, Las Vegas, 23rd, 3:16:19; Aimee Hoyt, Abq, 52nd, 3:29:43; Lindsey Gardner, Abq, 81st, 3:40:20; Elizabeth Lopez, Santa Fe, 82nd, 3:40:22.

Tweets about "#imogenepassrun"

Related Posts:
  - La Luz Trail Run - Results and Updates
  - Imogene Registration Opens (and Closes)
  - Imogene Pass 2011 Results


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

Imogene Pass Registration Opens Tomorrow Morning

Mad scenery up in the San Juans

The unparalleled Imogene Pass routes from Ouray to Telluride over 17 glorious miles of Colorado high-country. It begins with a ten mile climb out of Ouray (elev. 7,810ft) to a high point of 13,120ft on Imogene Pass, followed by a technical seven mile 4,000ft descent into Telluride (8,820ft). There are time cutoffs to beat and the race has been halted on more than one occasion due to snow or lightning.

The race has a different feel to it then La Luz since it follows a road-cut, but the dramatic steeps, thin air, and technical footing is closely comparable. The panoramic views are something else. Outside Magazine recently tagged the race on its bucket list of trail runs. I'd agree. If there were one race I could line up for in the Four State Region it would be Imogene, which is one reason why I'm perpetually frustrated that I can't race it more regularly. September wedding season sabotage, what's a guy to do?

Race directors generally cap the field at something like 1,500+ and it fills by days end. Without a reminder to make tomorrow's registration signup, it will very likely come and go until next year. Registration opens at 6am MCT (Sat. June 1st), and generally fills by end-of-day if not by noon. The registration link will be available here - http://www.imogenerun.com/information13.htm . It looks like the race directors have discontinued the bib transfer system this year which is always a challenge. In the past there were always several work-arounds if you were determined enough. Always remember - when in doubt, head higher.

Update:  
Sold out in less than five hours (11am). Better luck next year!

Related Posts:
 - Imogene Pass 2011
 - La Luz Trail Run
 - 2013 Trail Racing Calendar


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

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