Mountain/Ultra/Trail 2008 Annual Report
December 2008
Mountain Ultra Trail Running (MUT) Council Annual Report
The three disciplines within long distance running – Mountain, Ultra, and
Trail – attract runners of all ages and abilities who enjoy the adventure and
challenge inherent in our sports. There is increased interest in our programs
from the running industry who respond to runner needs by developing footwear,
apparel, nutrition, and hydration products. The media provides support in terms
of promotion and advertising geared to mountain, ultra, and trail aficionados.
These avenues, coupled with the interest and enthusiasm of race directors
nationwide, has fueled the growth in mountain, ultra, trail pursuits.
Our 23-member (and growing) council has been busy coordinating championships,
team selection, and travel to our world events including the IAU 100km World
Cup, the IAU 24 Hours, the NACAC Mountain Running Championships, the WMRA World
Mountain Running Trophy, and reviewing and responding to missives from the
national office staff and LDR leadership. We have a solid group dedicated to our
sport and look forward to continued growth, awareness, and promotion of our
sport in 2008 and beyond. Associations are encouraged to add Mountail Ultra
Trail disciplines to their LDR program and to consider hosting a trail,
mountain, or ultra championship event. Contact the Mountain Ultra Trail chair or
a member of the Council for suggestions and support with starting a program in
your association.
Trail and Mountain Running
The fifth mountain running national championship event was contested at Mount
Washington on June 21 which also hosted the first of two Teva U.S. Mountain
Running Team selection races. National Champions were Eric Blake and Brandy
Erholtz who each earned a berth on the mountain team. Our fifth trail sub
marathon distance (8 km for women and juniors; 12 km for men) championships in
Steamboat Springs, CO, on June 29. National trail champions were Jon Severy and
Laura Haefeli while Paul Petersen was the junior champion. The second and final
mountain team selection race was held on July 20 in Vail, CO with the Berry
Picker Hill Climb. Simon Gutierrez and Megan Kimmel made the team there.
The trail marathon championships were held on June 8 in Deadwood, SD with
champions James McGown and Emily Brzozowski.
The U.S. entered both a men’s and women’s team (organized by Jason Bryant) to
the NACAC Mountain Running Championships in Jalisco, Mexico on July 5. The U.S.
women defended their gold medal and the U.S. men settled for silver. The U.S.
plans to enter a full team at sixth NACAC Mountain Running Championships which
are planned for June 28, 2009 in North Conway, NH, site of the 2009 USA Mountain
Running Championships.
At the 24th World Mountain Running Trophy on September 14 in Sierre-Crans
Montana, Switzerland, 33 countries participated. The Teva U.S. Mountain Running
Team had medal-winning results. Our senior men’s team finished in third place,
our senior women were eighth, our junior women finished eleventh, and our junior
men had their best finish to date with a solid fourth place. The U.S. earned its
first medal in the individual junior competition when first-time team member
Alex Dunne raced to a third-place finish. Our junior team members created blogs
at www.youthrunner.com to track their journey as team members from making the
team, to the competition in Switzerland, to their return trip to the U.S. Team
manager Nancy Hobbs thanks the dedication of this year’s team staff including
Richard Bolt, Ellen Miller, and Dave Dunham.
The 25th World Mountain Running Championships (having earned the title of World
Mountain Running Championship from the IAAF Council in 2008 with the name change
starting in 2009) will be held on an up/down course in Campodolcino, Italy,
during the weekend of September 4 (details are being finalized at press time).
The selection races for the 2009 team will include the USA Mountain Running
Championships with an additional qualifying race to be announced in December.
The mountain team established a relationship in 2005 with USATF organization
member, the American Trail Running Association, (www.trailrunner.com) to seek
sponsorships and fundraising for the team. The title sponsor and official
footwear is Teva (Teva has been the title sponsor of the team since 2002),
SportHill provides team apparel, Wicked Fast Sports Nutrition signed a two-year
sponsorship agreement in 2008, and Ortholite signed on this year as well.
Additional sponsorships for 2008 included returning sponsors from 2007 to
include Windermere Real Estate of Teton Valley and Fleet Feet Sports Boulder.
FuelBelt provided product again this year and new for 2008 was Costa Del Mar who
provided sunglasses. For 2009, the team has also signed CW-X as a product
sponsor to supply tights to the team. Our official team website debuted in
August of 2007, www.usmrt.com.
Ultrarunning
National Championships
Ultrarunning had another banner year with some new events as well as
returning events hosting championships. The 2008 championships were:
• USA 50km Road - Caumsett Park, NY – March 2 – Champions Michael Wardian and
Dana Parrot
• USA 100 km Road – Madison, WI, April 12 – Champions Michael Wardian and
Carolyn Smith
• USA 100 Mile Trail, Lake Tahoe, NV, July 16 – Champions Eric Skaden/Mike Wolfe
and Nikki Kimball
• USA 50 Mile Trail (White River 50), Crystal Mountain, WA, July 28 – Champions
Michael Wardian and Susannah Beck
• 100km Trail Champs, Wilamette Pass, OR, August 18 – Champions Neil Olsen and
Prudence L’Heureux
• USA 50M Road (Tussey Mountain 50M) in State College, PA, October 11 –
Champions Eric Grossman and Sarah Vanderelli
Our championships have seen increased participation by USATF members during the past few years. When we used to award just a few championships medals, we now award most every medal at our championships. Our council continues to promote its National Championships calendar and actively solicits bids from race directors nationwide. Championships Chair Paul Kirsch works closely with our events and this year USATF provided travel for liaisons to each of our championship events.
100 km Team
The 2008 IAU 100km World Cup will be held on Saturday, November 8, in Tarquina,
Italy. The U.S. 100 km Team includes Howard Nippert, Michael Wardian, Greg
Crowther, Chad Ricklefs, and Adam Lint for the men, Kami Semick, Devon
Crosby-Helms, Julie Udchachon, Connie Gardner, Carolyn Smith and Meghan Arbogast
for the women. Special thanks to the staff Dr. Lion Caldwell, team leader, Lin
Gentling and assistant team manager Mike Spinnler for accompanying the team to
Italy. The site of the 2009 IAU 100 km World Cup will be three-time host (’87,
’93, ’02) Torhout, Belgium on June19, 2009. In 2010, the IAU 100km World Cup
will be held in Gibraltar on November 6.
To be considered for the 2009 USA 100 km team, runners must be current USATF
members and meet qualifying standards. View selection criteria at:
www.usatf.org/groups/MountainUltraTrail/.
A not for profit fundraising arm was set up in 2007 for the 100 km team. The
Fund for National Ultraunning Teams, Inc., accepts donations and the teams
appreciate any and all support. The address is: PO Box 1807, Madison, WI
53701-1807.
24 Hours Team
The sixth 24-Hour IAU World Challenge was held in Seoul, South Korea, on
Saturday, October 18. Athletes from 24 countries participated in this 923 meter
track and road course. The American women were in third place until the final
two hours when the German women moved up gradually to overtake them. The men
placed seventh. Scoring members of the U.S. men and women's team were 17. Phil
McCarthy, NY, 233.835km; 30. Alex Swenson, WA, 216.665km; 35. Roy Pirrung, WI,
214.34km; 5. Jamie Donaldson, CO, 220.092km; 12. Deb Horn, OH, 203.092km; 17.
Carilyn Johnson, TX, 197.073km. The 2009 IAU 24-Hr WC will be held on May 2-3,
in Bergamo, Italy. The 2008 24-Hour National Championships will be held November
15-16 in McKinney, TX while the details for the 2009 National Championships have
not yet been announced though a tentative date is mid-September.
In addition to these two international events, there is also an IAU World
Trail Challenge which has been held in the USA for the past two years at the
Sunmart 50 mile. In 2009 the IAU World Trail Challenge has been awarded to the
Merrell Sky Race in Serre Chevalier (French Alps) to be held in July.
Special appreciation is extended to our enthusiastic and very active Mountain Ultra Trail Running Council for their efforts to bring more visibility to our three running disciplines within USATF.
Submitted on October 30, 2008 by Nancy Hobbs, Chairperson with input from the USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Running Council