Dear Amy

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to respond to my Peaktus Interruptus article that appeared in the October issue of Rocky Mountain Sports.

I have written many articles for many publications and it is an unfortunate fact that this is the first article that has generated letters to the editor. Unlike others however, you did not turn your letter into a personal yet public attack on me but instead tried to focus on what I wrote. I truly appreciate that.

I posed a simple question — “has Peaktus Interruptus left you unfulfilled?” — and you gave a simple answer — “it certainly does not feel like half winning!” I am sorry if like others you somehow interpreted MY feelings about MY race as belittling YOUR (and the other people you spoke for when you used the word “our”) accomplishments.

The “our” you wrote about includes me. I have done them both (have you) so I feel it is more than “fair” for me to write about the differences between the two events. Unfair, in my opinion, is using the experiences of others to draw conclusions about the Round-Trip. There are plenty of people, myself included, that can run just fine the day after the Round-Trip.

One must be careful when writing letters and trying to come off politically correct. When you wrote that you (and others) can run the Ascent and “join others the very next day for a run” some might interpret that as belittling or judging those who do not feel so good the day after the Ascent or heaven forbid those who did not even finish. Before you laugh and call this stretching it, just remember there are plenty of people who can not come close to winning their age-group who will gladly tell you that you have better genes, more time to train, live closer to the peak etc. I know, I have gotten those letters too!

You essentially did the same thing I did, you just drew a different line in the sand. Not to beat a dead horse into the ground, but I was not writing about the experiences of others, I was writing about MY OWN. Yes, I did mention some people who agreed with me but the experiences were MY OWN.

Respectfully,

Matt Carpenter

PS Congratulations on your 4th place age-group finish in this year’s Ascent. Train hard and keep your focus — Ellen was only 5 seconds in front of you and second place was only 1:43 ahead. Next year don’t worry about being able to run the next day and kick their butts — I know you can do it.


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