A Race to the Wire at Taos Up and Over 10k
August 23, 2010 by Bryon Powell · 59 Comments
Wow, this year’s La Sportiva Mountain Cup has flown by! Four plus months felt like a blink of an eye… and an avalanche of free La Sportiva shoes. This year’s Mountain Cup finale, the Taos Up and Over, was run on Saturday in Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico. This race is NOT your garden variety 10k! Nope, you START at 9,207′ to climb another 2,612′ in the first 3 miles before plummeting the same amount in the next three miles and change. I, for one, wanted supplemental oxygen on the way up and a hang glider on the way down! Heck, the elevation profile is too good to not include it below.
We’ll begin our LSMC race coverage by giving you the scoop on how the race went. We’ll then move on to final Mountain Cup standings and our giveaway contest (Fireblades) before calling for your comments.
The Race
Men’s Race
Bernie Boettcher notched his second La Sportiva Mountain Cup race win of the season by running up and over the mountain in 54:21. He was also the master’s winner. Jason Bryant, another series competitor, easily took second, but was well behind Bernie in 57:08. Mike Rahmer took third in 1:02:10 just ahead of Jason Taylor, who ran 1:02:15. Rounding out the top five was Thomas Fritsch in 1:06:39. Here’s an interview with Bernie from after the race.
I happened to run 1:09:30, which I think was good for 12th overall and 8th man. I’m not quite sure. I walked all but maybe a third of the mile on the climb, which my Garmin pegged at 2,345 feet in 2.86 miles. I’m glad I had a pair of Black Diamond’s forthcoming Z-Poles Ultra trekking poles with me out there. I picked up some places quickly on the steep, technical descent just after the peak.
Women’s Race
Rachael Cieslewicz made it to the top of the mountain in first, only to be passed by Susan Nuzum and Alison Bryant on technical sections early in the descent. She never gave up. Bryant suffered with some heel blisters on the steep downhill and was the first to be passed with maybe half a mile to go. Cieslewicz pressed on to catch Susan just before the finish. She won in 1:06:42 to Nuzum’s 1:06:46. Nuzum was the masters winner. Bryant came in third in 1:07:12.
Full Results
Full results of the Taos Up and Over are not yet posted.
La Sportiva Mountain Cup Standings
Below are the final LSMC standings per out reckoning.
Women
It should surprise no one that Meghan Kimmel repeated as this year’s La Sportiva Mountain Cup women’s champ. Her 93 points going into the weekend made her untouchable and the winner of $5,000. Rachel Cieslewicz’s victory over LSMC Top 10 women, Alison Bryant and Susan Nuzum, gave her 24 points on the day and 76 points on the season. Bryant picked up 15 points on the day, but that wasn’t enough to hold of Cieslewicz, who improved upon last year’s third place in the Mountain Cup with second overall in series this year to give her a $2,500 pay day. Bryant ended up in third overall with 74 points, which is good for $1,500.
Here are iRunFar’s Unofficial Standings:
- Megan Kimmell – 93 points
- Rachel Cieslewicz – 76 points
- Alison Bryant – 74 points
- Laura Haefeli – 45 points
- Susan Nuzum – 40 points
Women Masters
It turns out that fourth and fifth in the overall Mountain Cup standings are one and two in the masters standings. That makes Laura Haefeli this year’s women masters champ ($2,000) and Susan Nuzum the runner up ($1,000). Lisa Goldsmith was third to take home $500.
Men
Our congratulations go to Ryan Woods for becoming the new men’s La Sportiva Mountain Cup winner and the $5,000 it brings with it. Neither Woods nor runner-up Matt Byrne ($2,500) had to race this weekend to hold their positions. Bernie Boettcher’s win over Jason Bryant switched their positions in the overall standings. However, as Boettcher will take home more cash as the master’s champion, he is removed from the open prize list. That means Bryant will still take home the $1,500 prize for the third place overall male.
Here are our unofficial series tallies:
- Ryan Woods – 106 points
- Matt Byrne – 96 points
- Bernie Boettcher – 84 points
- Jason Bryant – 82 points
- Ryan Hafer – 50 points
Men’s Masters
Bernie Boettcher keeps his LSMC masters championship streak alive again this year to take home $2,000. Matt Carpenter was second ($1,000) and Tadd Morris third ($500).
Official Standings
The official LSMC standings will be available here (pdf). In case you are interested, here’s a link to the official scoring rules.
The first couple of the La Sportiva Mountain Cup, Alison and Jason Bryant.
iRunFar.com La Sportiva Mountain Cup Contest
Now on to this year’s most exciting contest section. We’re naming the winners of four different pairs of La Sportiva shoes. We also offer up one final pair of shoes as well as one last chance to enter to win the iRunFar.com La Sportiva Mountain Cup giveaway grand prize.
This week winners are:
- La Sportiva Skylite – Scott (of iKeepRunning.com) of Pullman, WA
- La Sportiva Crossover GTX – William Ward of Murfreesboro, TN.
- La Sportiva Wildcat – Chris Taft of Easthampton, MA.
- La Sportiva Fireblade – Chris Freet of Honesdale, PA.
I brought a pair of Crosslites to Taos and they served me well. Besides, these are easily the most frequently worn by the La Sportiva Mountain Running team in races. Therefore, we think it’s fitting to make them the final individual prize in the series.
To enter the contest, simply leave your name and town (in the US or Canada) in a comment before 5 pm on Wednesday, September 1. As a reminder, if you enter to win the Crosslites, you’ll also automatically be eligible to win the grand prize at the end of August.
Call for Comments
If you ran the Taos Up and Over, please leave a comment letting everyone know how you did and what you think about the race. Past racers are invited to comment, too!
Related articles:
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- Hafer Wins Again at Eldora Trail Run iRunFar covers the La Sportiva Eldora Trail Run, the penultimate race in the 2010 La Sportiva Mountain Cup....
- Fire Sale at Shop to the Top With ski season not far away, the slopes of Ketchum, Idaho heated up one last time this weekend for Shop to the Top – the finale of the La Sportiva...
Bryon Powell is the Editor-in-Chief of iRunFar.com, which he founded five years ago. Also the author of Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons and a contributing editor at Trail Runner magazine, he's quickly approaching 10 years as an ultrarunner and 20 years as a trail runner. These days he calls Park City, Utah and its trails home.
All posts by Bryon Powell
I could use a pair of Crosslites at Virgil Crest this year. *wink wink*
Jeff Faulkner
Beaver Dams, NY
A couple of us were wondering who that cheater with the trekking poles was :) . I think I managed 22nd. wore my wildcats, but would love to run this again in crosslites.
small race write-up here:
http://santafetrailrunner.blogspot.com/2010/07/taos-ski-valley-10k-race-report.html
Jacob W.
p.s my quads still hurt
Santa Fe, NM
I wonder who else will wise up and use trekking poles at the race next year?! ;-)
Ps. My quads are still sore, too. Pacing at the Leadville 100 that night probably didn’t help that.
Currently in Najaf Iraq but expect to be back home in Vienna Virginia soon. I would love to try racing in a pair of the Crosslites.
James Carlisle
Vienna, VA
Meg Shad
Geneva, IL
peter L.
harrison, ny
Thanks for the great coverage. Hope to make it to this one next year.
Brent B
Albuquerque, NM
Greg W.
San Antonio TX
Tried the Crosslites in a store, and they felt good!
Toronto, Ontario
Congrats on a great race Bryon!
Patrick, Denver, CO
Another great Taos Up and Over race! HUGE thanks to the race volunteers and event staff!
Bob, Colorado Springs, CO.
The Skylites will be perfect for my first visit, next spring, to Colorado.
Thanks.
Eddy, Los Angeles
Wore a pair of Crosslites for Saturday’s Pikes Peak Ascent. Bernie (being Bernie) cruised out of Taos and had a top 10 finish at the Pikes Peak Marathon on Sunday. Talk about an Ironman!
Jim, Evergreen, CO
kevin s.
newark, de
I love that elevation profile. Looks like my kind of run!
Alex
Pocatello, ID
Already have the Wildcats and love them but would love to try the Crosslites as well.
Kim
Millbury, MA
Spencer King
Scranton pa
Meg Shad
Geneva, IL
Thank you! <3
Chris Talley
Morgan Hill, CA
Would love a pair!
Tried them out at SOB 50k, liked the feel!
Stefan Raab
South Riding, Va
Hope the mountain cup expands to Washington next year. We got some great mountains!
Will T.
Fall City, WA
The mesh fabric on my crosslite shoes is all ripped up from running over/into rocks…would love to win a pair!
Kelly B.
Smithfield, UT
John Dayton
Helena, mt
Crosslite’s would be great…
Mick
SLC, UT
I’m in for this last pair of shoes and the grand finale.
Henry Bickerstaff
Alva, OK
(crossing fingers)
Shayne K
Vancouver, BC
Waiting for the big moment with my new shoes.
Armando B
Montreal, QC
To help kick-start my 50m training!
Zak W.
Portland, ME
Another great RR from iRunFar – Thanks!
Matt S.
Chatham, NY
Checked out those Z-poles in Salt Lake and am starting to covet them…which one’s ya got, the all carbon? Curious your initial take on the strength and reliability. I’ve been on the fence about running with poles and those were the first things I’ve stumbled on that having me leaning hard towards “yes”.
Fort Collins CO.
Jennifer G.
Austin, TX
with elevation changes like that – and in Taos no less – the views had to be great. Perhaps a few more pics in the coverage next year?
Rob L.
San Antonio, TX
Rob, I thought about carrying a camera… but I wasn’t about to shlep an unnecessary ounce up that mountain! :-)
Josh Allfree
Louisville, KY
Jason Nemecek
Gig Harbor, WA
Sara M.
Seattle, WA
atlanta, GA
Wow, you just don’t realize how steep 2600 feet over 3 miles is until you actually cover it. My quads are still feeling it. I managed to finish in 1:22:16. Considering I’ve only been running for 5 months and this is the second race I’ve entered, I’m pretty happy with that time.
It was a very challenging race and I can’t wait for next year.
Chris, congrats on running so well, so soon into your running career. I’m 18 years into running and 8 years into running ultras and my quads are still feeling it, too! I’d love to go back… I’ve got some unfinished business with this course!
Thanks Bryon!
Chris
Albuquerque, NM
I love Crosslites! Count me in!
Ken Michal
SF, CA
The Crosslites are my favorite shoes. I wore out my last pair, but I need to wear out my current Fireblades and Raptors before I feel I can purchase new Crosslites…I appreciate all you do for us at irunfar.com!!
Alan
South Jordan, Utah
Karen
Albuquerque, NM
Thanks!
Audra
State College, PA
Mike
Monson, MA
Needin’ a new pair of skids
Kevin Brennan
Santa Fe, NM
EJ Murphy
Chester Springs, PA
Hey Bryon, I could use a new pair of kicks for Oil Creek. :)
Whoa, almost forgot…count me in the running for that pair of Crosslites. As always, thanks for the great reporting and the great giveaways!
Leon
Manheim, PA
Bryon. As always it was great to see you again. I had such great time! Thanks for the great vibes you bring to the trail running community all the way around. I look forward to seeing you again soon!
Rach
Meredith Murphy
Chester Springs, PA
Pick me, Pick me.
Hi Bryon.
Veronica
Toronto, ON
Shaun Hansen
Mission, BC, Canada
I thought Bernie looked tired Sunday at Pikes Peak. He still ran an amazing race there.
Jim Parry
Stewartville, MN