Ramsey: No pain, no glory for Pikes Peak rookie
- Details
- Created on Saturday, 21 August 2010 22:17
- Written by Brian Gomez
BY DAVID RAMSEY, THE GAZETTE
After Glenn Randall ran from the bottom of Pikes Peak to the top in a little less than two hours and 10 minutes, he savored a panoramic view of Colorado Springs and smiled as he considered a morning well spent.
“I must be in good shape, or something,” Randall said. “It went well out there.”
Watch a photo slideshow of the Ascent.
It sure did. Randall won the Pikes Peak Ascent with a performance that leaves him in danger of being labeled a showoff. He led, literally, start-to-finish, stunning his competition by instantly sprinting to a big lead and cruising to a 2:09:28 victory. No one seriously threatened him.
All this from a frustrated cross-country skier.
When this summer began, Randall was a skier concerned about his performance. He’s a former NCAA ski champ (and a cross country runner) at Dartmouth College. He now skis professionally.
It had not gone well over the winter months. Randall was disappointed, and he knew his training needed a special, sinister kick.
“I had to create some pain,” Randall said.
Is there a better way to bring physical agony into your life than running up mountains really fast?
Randall, who lives in Mesa, began his mountain running career in June with the Mt. Evans Ascent, a 14.5 mile race that is slightly less grinding than the Pikes Peak Ascent.
Instead of Pikes Peak nearly 8,000-foot climb over 13.22 miles, the Mt. Evans offers a relatively gentle 3,600-foot rise over 14.5 miles. The Evans course even features two brief descents. (It, unfortunately, also offers the thrill of running alongside cars filled with tourists.)
Randall destroyed the competition, earned a 1:41.21 clocking and even flirted with breaking Matt Carpenter’s 2008 record of 1:37.01.
He delivered a massive statement, but the word didn’t exactly sweep the state. He entered Saturday’s Ascent as a relative unknown.
That explains why most runners had no clue about the identity of the red-headed guy who bolted to the lead seconds into the race.
“I thought he was a joker, to be honest,” said Rickey Gates, who finished third. “It was insane.”
“I thought he just wanted to get in front of the cameras,” said Colorado Springs runner Ryan Hafer, who won the Ascent in 2005 and finished fourth on Saturday. “I thought he would come back to the pack pretty quick.”
Hafer never will find work as a prophet. Randall sensed a few runners in his general vicinity at 11,500 feet, but kicked into a higher gear and left them far behind.
He had promised himself to “really put it out there,” and there’s no doubt he made good on his vow. As he neared the finish line, he trotted through a switchback and took a quick look to search for competitors.
He saw none, and knew he was headed to another convincing victory. He’s now taken two solitary runs to the top of Colorado mountains.
When he finished, he wasn’t even breathing with much difficulty. He had hoped for a strong summer of training for the rigors of ski competition.
He had enjoyed much more than mere training.
Had this run to the Peak been fun?
Randall grimaced.
“Fun,” he said, “in a masochistic sort of way.”
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