La Sportiva Mountain Cup Finale Attracts Competitive Field

Vail, CO – The final event in the La Sportiva Mountain Cup Series, the La Sportiva Vail Trophy Challenge Race, was held Sunday, August 31 in the midst of a beautiful and sunny Labor Day weekend in the Rockies.

Series overall leaders Shiloh Mielke and his older sister Meadow Tarves made the trip to Colorado from North Carolina in the hopes of keeping their lead and winning $5,000 each in prize money. Before the race Tarves said, “We both just bought houses and the money will really help!”

Close in the standings were Bernie Boettcher, just two points back from Mielke and Laura Haefeli, nine points back from Tarves. Both of these masters runners (age 40 and over) opted to race in the “open” category hoping to pick up the extra prize money doled out for the open winners. The total purse for the series winners would be $25,000 – top three open men and women -$5,000, $2,500, $1,500; top three masters men and women -$2,000, $1,000, $500.

Also making the trip to Colorado was Tom Borschel from Idaho Falls, ID, vying for a top finish in the veterans (over 50) division. Borschel ended up with a ninth-place finish overall timed in 1:06:58 to win the veterans’ category.

Although the series attracted runners from more than 15 states, only three states were represented in the finale. No surprise was Colorado boasting the most runners in the Trophy Challenge.

In the masters’ category Simon Gutierrez was hoping to seal a victory on the men’s side and Lisa Goldsmith on the women’s side. Andy Ames hoped to have a finish that would elevate him to second place while Suzan Nuzum hoped for the same on the women’s side. The third place position would certainly be up for grabs with many athletes in contention.

The Trophy Challenge started at the bottom of Vail Mountain at Golden Peak Children’s Center at 8,150 feet above sea level and climbed to Wildwood, the highest point of the resort at 10,874 feet. The majority of the climb occurred over the first 5.6 miles of the race. The final 1.6-mile section ran across the ridgeline and downhill to finish at Eagles Nest at 10,300 feet. The vertical gain was 3,000 feet in 7.2 miles. The course was entirely single track terrain, after a brief start on a wide gravel path. The route included deep forest as well as some open and expansive meadows, and finished above tree line with gorgeous vistas to the north and south. There were aid stations at miles 2, 4, and 5.6 as well as the start and finish line. Gatorade Endurance formula was provided at the aid stations as well as water.

First into view at the finish line was 2007 Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team member and former University of Colorado Buffalo cross country and track standout, Payton Batliner, 24, who posted a time of 55:27, just over one minute ahead of42-year-oldGutierrez, Alamosa, CO, a seven-time mountain running team member. In third place was Shiloh Mielke, 28, Weaverville, NC, who races for Innov 8 and was a member of the ’05 and ’06 mountain team, in 58:02. La Sportiva Team member Bernie Boettcher, 45, Silt, CO, finished fourth in just under one hour with Andy Ames, 45, Boulder, CO, a member of the ’04 mountain team who also runs for Fleet Feet Sports, rounding out the top five in 1:00:26.

With his seventh place finish overall, Boettcher’s La Sportiva teammate Michael Selig, 30, Lakewood, CO, earned third place in the series behind Mielke and Boettcher. Batliner earned enough points to take fourth in the series.

On the women’s side, Brandy Erholtz, 30, Bailey, CO, a member of the 2008 Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team who (like Gutierrez) will compete in Switzerland at the World Mountain Running Trophy Race on September 14, led the way from start to finish posting a time of 1:06:41 and appears to have moved into the third place open series slot. La Sportiva Team member and ’97 and ’06 Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team member Lisa Goldsmith, 43, Nederland, CO, finished in second with a time of 1:07:15, to clinch the masters’ series title. Laura Haefeli, 40, Del Norte, CO, who also runs for La Sportiva and is a four-time member of the Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team (leading the U.S. women to a gold-medal finish in ’07 with a bronze individual medal), finished in 1:10:21. Anita Ortiz, 44, Eagle, CO, another La Sportiva Team member (and a five-time member of the Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team) was fourth in 1:11:38, while Meadow Tarves, 30, Arden, NC, finished in fifth place timed in 1:16:00. Tarves will happily enjoy her $5,000 first place series prize!

In addition to the Vail Trophy Race, the La Sportiva Mountain Cup included 12 other events held May through August with venues in North Carolina, New England, Idaho, Utah, Oregon, California, Colorado, and Canada.

Although the series attracted top mountain runners, runners of all ages and abilities were encouraged to participate in the event. There were 44 finishers in the race with times ranging from 55:27 to 1:59:38. The ages of the participants ranged from 20 to 70.

For additional details on the series, visit www.mountainrunning.com.