Carpenter king of Barr Trail again

When somebody asked Matt Carpenter’s young daughter, Kyla, who she thought would be the first one down the mountain during the ninth annual Barr Trail Mountain Race on Sunday, she quickly replied, “My daddy.”

Turns out she was right.

After just one hour, thirty three minutes and twenty seven seconds, the Manitou Springs resident came barreling through the finish line. It was Carpenter’s fifth straight Barr Trail Mountain Race title and his seventh overall.

Photo by Dianna Glenn Hundreds of runners lined up Sunday morning to take part in the ninth annual Barr Trail Mountain Race in Manitou Springs.

“I just love the whole event,” he said after the win. “It’s a community event.”

Carpenter fell well short of the 1:29:33 mark he set the year before but said not setting another record didn’t bother him. He said even the greatest runners have off days, something he said happened to him Sunday.

“It was one of those days where it didn’t quite feel right,” he said.

Photo by Dianna Glenn Manitou Springs' resident Matt carpenter won his seventh Barr Trail Mountain Race title Sunday, finishing the event after only one hour and 33 minutes.

One of the things which may have also affected Carpenter’s run was he said the course was really very, very dry.

“We need moisture out there,” he said. “It’s like running on ball bearings.”

Laura Haefeli, from Del Norte, was the first woman to cross the finish line Sunday, clocking in at 1:50:48.

It was a pretty amazing feat considering she had never seen Barr Trail before.

“I was so dang nervous this morning. I’ve never been on the trail,” she said. “I didn’t know what to expect.”

She said her experience Sunday would definitely bring her back for another round most likely next year, and if she wins it again, she’s OK with that.

“I’d love to win it again,” she said.

Another woman who didn’t necessarily finish first but was still very important to the race was Robin Roberts, president of Pikes Peak National Bank who is the major sponsor for the race every year.

Roberts finished the race at 3:18:55, missing her goal by about 18 minutes. It was her second time running the race and even though she missed her goal — possibly because she had been recovering from strep throat for the past week — she was still proud to take part in the race because PPNB sees it as such a great community event.

“It’s fantastic,” she said, noting it wasn’t the strep which bothered her but instead the calf and toe cramps she got halfway through the race.

Roberts said the bank, which has been a sponsor of the race for seven years, would continue to sponsor the event next year.

Tracy Ritter, marketing manager for the bank echoed Roberts’ thoughts.

“We’ll continue to do it every year,” she said. “We like to be involved in the activities.”

Carpenter said without Pikes Peak National Bank the race would never take place.

Photo by Dianna Glenn Laura Haefeli, of Del Norte, was the first woman to cross the finish line Sunday.

He said the money PPNB donated to the race — around $6,000 — was enough to cover all of the expenses allowing the registration money to be awarded to charities and high schools around the area.

“(Pikes Peak National Bank) enables us to give away that money,” Carpenter said. “It’s not possible without them.”

This year was especially exciting for Carpenter and RunPikesPeak, Inc., who organizes the event, because they were able to donate a record amount of money to Friends of the Peak and the El Paso Search and Rescue as well as six area high schools.

The total donations the Barr Trail Mountain Race received tallied $19,093.10.

“That’s a record for us. That’s just people signing up,” he said. “The runners themselves gave more.”

Getting such great response from the community with donations had Carpenter feeling pretty good about the event.

“That to me is almost as exciting as the running part,” he said.

This year the race was also featured as part of the La Sportiva Mountain Cup. The La Sportiva Mountain Cup is a series of 13 races which accumulate points for finishes. Winners of the cup share in a $25,000 purse at the end of the series of races.