The Matt Carpenter plan: save $15, lose $1,000

Matt kickin Eminem on the iPod during the Leadville100

OK, sure, Matt Carpenter did it on principle.
When he entered the national 10K trail running championships, which were held in Vail last weekend, he refused to pay $15 for short-term membership with USA Track & Field.

"You win your awards. You don't buy them," the 41-year-old Manitou Springs runner told The Denver Post.
Of course he won the race, finishing in 44 minutes, 5 seconds, 1:39 ahead of the runner-up.

But without a membership, he was ineligible to claim the $1,000 purse.

Oh well, he said.

"A principle is not a principle unless you are tested," he said. "If it costs me $15 to win $1,000, then that's against my principle."

Carpenter is undeniably a purist. He's been fighting fees and dues and other things that seem to cling to organized running for years. Recently, he ducked the fees associated with Active.com (which is the Ticketmaster of the running world) and set up his own online sign-up for the Barr Trail Mountain Race that saved runners several dollars.

By the way... just to start the buzz... Carpenter is signed up to run Pikes Peak August. I've been running with him a bit, and he keeps breaking his own records on training runs that he hasn't broken since 1993 when he set the record for the Pikes Peak Ascent. Does this mean he'll be able to break his record in the race? Time will tell.