This story has been archived from the Thursday, August 24, 2006 Pikes Peak Bulletin

Carpenter returns to Marathon a winner

Photo By Jack Elder

More than 1,000 runners filled Manitou Avenue Saturday morning on their way up Pikes Peak in the annual Ascent race. Racers from Colorado took first among both the male and female runners Saturday, with Simon Gutierrez of Alamosa setting new Masters and age-group records with a winning time of 2:18:06 and Lisa Goldsmith of Nederland beating the other women with a time of 2:46:07.

By Jack Elder

Matt Carpenter of Manitou Springs is once again the champion of the Pikes Peak Marathon. Carpenter skipped the race last year to compete in—and win in very convincing fashion—the Leadville 100 race. Carpenter’s winning time Sunday was 3:33:07—12 minutes ahead of runner-up Galen Burrell of Boulder.

Carpenter has won the Marathon seven times, the Ascent four times and won both races in 2001.

Carpenter’s winning Marathon time of 3:16:39 in 1993 still stands as the race record. He set the Ascent record of 2:01:06 in the same race.

Sunday’s race was especially important to Carpenter due to its being the Challenge, the gold medal race for 2006 of the World Mountain Racing Association. Carpenter told The Bulletin that since mountain marathons are not an Olympic event, this was his first opportunity to win a gold medal and he took full advantage of it.

“This was an opportunity to showcase our mountain and our town,” Carpenter said.

Noting the international field Sunday and the recent string or Marathon victories by foreigners, Carpenter said, “It’s nice to bring the title back to Manitou.”

“The race unfolded really well,” Carpenter said. Carpenter took the lead “40 or 50 seconds” into the race. The winner’s strategy was “to crush any hope they had to go with me. If you’re going to go with me, you’re going to suffer.”

Carpenter elaborated on his strategy. “You win the race in training,” he said. “I was able to put it away well before the race.”

Carpenter’s win Sunday set a new record for the 40 to 45 age-group and for the Masters Class, reserved for runners over 40 years old.

“I’m in complete denial about age,” the 42-year old winner told The Bulletin.

The first woman to complete Sunday’s Marathon was Emma Murray, of Dixon, Australia, in a time of 4:21:09, nearly six minutes ahead of Danelle Ballengee of Dillon, Colo.

This year’s race featured 110 Doublers, runners who compete in both Saturday’s ascent of Pikes Peak and Sunday’s round trip marathon.


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