Randall runs away from field at Ascent
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- Created on Saturday, 21 August 2010 21:09
- Written by Matt Wiley
By MATT WILEY, THE GAZETTE
Cross country skiers are supposed to be fast going down the mountain — not up it.
Glenn Randall left the blocks quickly Saturday morning at the Pikes Peak Ascent and he never hit a bump in the road.
Randall, of Mesa, won in 2 hours, 9 minutes and 23 seconds. Not bad for his first time on Pikes Peak. In fact, all three of the top finishers had never ran the Ascent before.
Watch a photo slideshow of the Ascent.
“With mountain running there is not secret to it really,” third-place finisher Rickey Gates (2:16:44) said. “You go out and run some hills and you work on your speed. That’s what it comes down to.”
Check out more photo galleries from the race.
For Randall, it came down to his “insane” start according to Gates. Ironically, the skier wanted to take advantage before the course hit its incline.
“I am pretty good on flats,” Randall said. “If people were going with me, hopefully it was going to take a toll on them. I feel like I should be in pain, but I am not.”
Randall actually uses running to become a stronger skier.
“Getting into good races makes you physically strong, mentally strong,” no matter the sport according to Randall, who is a professional skier who grew up in Colorado. “( The Ascent is a) good test of fitness and a good way to get a good race in. You’ve got to run with confidence.”
One person running with confidence was Evergreen’s Brandy Erholtz, who won the Ascent Saturday and in 2008.
“I felt really good the whole way today,” she said. “I decided I was going to go for it from the gun. I didn’t wear my watch, I didn’t really care about time today. If I wasn’t running worlds in two weeks maybe I would have attempted to try to go under 2:40 and go for the record. I just really wanted to be competitive and win if I could.”
Erholtz was pushed to the end by Aurora’s Kim Dobson, who finished 13 seconds back.
“That last mile is tough,” Erholtz said. “It doesn’t matter what kind of shape you are in.”
Erholtz said she has had a hectic summer and would like to train on Pikes Peak more to improve her mark.
Randall thinks he might have had a better time if someone would have been threatening him.
“I feel like you are always going faster if you have somebody right with you,” he said. “There was a spot half a mile, or a quarter mile (away from the finish). I went around a switchback and locked and didn’t see anybody and was pretty confident there.”
Colorado Springs’ Ryan Hafer, who finished fourth in 2:20:04, was also confident. He was convinced Randall would fade.
“I was a little disappointed today,” Hafer said. “I was feeling pretty rough at the top. I was hoping to catch up. I didn’t think he would keep it up.”
Not everyone was quick to question Randall’s emphatic start, even if that is not how they would have ran.
“I was just trying to run comfortable within myself,” Erholtz said. “Everybody has their own style.
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