Great Ascent / Marathon photos

Check these two slide shows from the weekend's Pikes Peak Ascent. I'll see if Gaz photogs can give us a look at the marathon, too..

This one is from the aid station at the cirque, by Christian Murdock:

http://www2.gazette.com/interactives/ascentaid/

This one is a collection of images from start to finish, by Mike Terry:

http://www2.gazette.com/interactives/ascent2007/

To see other photos of various topics, check out our photographer's blog (they answer questions, too, if you want advice about how to get an action shot or take a photo at night, say).

http://gazettephoto.blogspot.com/

Rescue off the peak

An Ascent runner manages a smile (thanks for the photo, Christian!)

OT reporter Dave Philipps looked strong this morning as he hit Barr Trail after about 1.5 miles on the pavement at the start of the Pikes Peak Ascent. I haven't called to see how he did - and didn't see him in town afterward. (That's a photo of him below, closing in on the summit - by Gaz photog Christian Murdock.)

But there's a lot of chatter in the last 40 minutes about rescues on the mountain. Bad weather has hit and apparently there are still entrants on the course. I'm sure rescue teams, the aid station workers and Neal and Teresa at Barr are ready to help.

I have to say, it looked like there were a lot of people entered this year who I believe should probably join a charity hike of Pikes Peak instead of enter the Ascent. They were planning to hike it, no running or jogging involved. It's a challenge, either way, but when you're still on the trail more than 8 hours later... And when there were people who wanted to run it and couldn't get a bib...

Just sayin'.

The virtual race

For fans of the Pikes Peak Marathon and Ascent, here's who will win if everyone runs the time they predicted for themselves when they entered: (time first, then name, then home town)

2:00:00 Colling, David Russell Sand UT

2:00:00 Kercher, Kristina Marie Wauke IA

2:00:00 Ohmes, Kimberly Olathe KS

2:00:00 Riley, Heather Denver

2:05:00 Call, Hobie S Laverki UT

2:05:00 Gutierrez, Simon B Alamosa

2:08:00 Carpenter, Matt Manitou Springs

2:10:00 Ilfrey, Campbell McIntyre Boulder

2:14:28 Silvis, Jeffrey Alllen Green Mtn Falls CO

2:15:00 Booth, Christopher Craig

2:15:00 Parker, Daryn Manitou Springs

OK, now for some discussion. The four people who predict they will beat Matt Carpenter's all-time record of 2:01:06, which has stood for 14 years, are deluded. Especially the ladies from Iowa and Kansas. But look at Simon Gutierrez, who holds a few course age group records, and has won the race a few times. He's predicting coming in ahead of Carpenter by three minutes. Should be a great race, especially with cash prizes to push the competitors.

Of course, predictions are worthless. If predictions were right, I would finish the Ascent in 3 hours, in 192nd place. In fact, I hope to finish in under 2 hours, 50 minutes, which will probably put me in the top 25. Let's hope. My plan is to try to hang with the top women, who will finish in about 2:45.

Good luck to all!