Kastor, Culpepper roll at XC championships
By Barry Siff
Feb. 10, 2007 -- With names like Lessing and DeBoom in the amateur field, one knew this was going to be a big day of racing. Yes, Lisa Lessing (former pro triathlete and wife of Simon) and Todd DeBoom (brother of Tim and Tony) competed in the Master’s Division of the USA Cross Country Championships, held today at Flatirons Gold Course in Boulder, Colo., and finished admirably in 31st and 45th place overall, respectively.
The day belonged to the professional runners, though; and Deena Kastor (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) and Alan Culpepper (Lafayette, Colo.) ran to victory in markedly different ways. Kastor lead from start to finish. As the race announcer said, she set a pace early on, basically challenging anyone in the field to run with her … and pay the price. Shalane Flanagan (Portland, Ore.), who recently set a new American record in the indoor 3,000 meters, hung early, but couldn’t match Kastor’s 5:24 per mile pace over the muddy, twisting course at 5,430 feet altitude. Her winning time of 26:47 (for the 8K course) was just over a minute faster than Flanagan’s gutsy performance. Kara Goucher, formerly of Boulder now living in Portland, was a solid third.
The men’s race was much more dramatic. Former University of Colorado standout, Dathan Ritzenhein, took off like Kastor, challenging the others to go with him or else. Fellow CU alums Adam Goucher, Alan Culpepper and Jorge Torres ran solidly behind “Ritz” for the first several loops; but, with roughly 2km to go of the 12K course, Culpepper made an astounding move to pass both Goucher and Ritzenhein to take the lead, much to the approval and roar of the over 5,000 spectators who lined the entire muddy course. Culpepper, 34 years old, showed his maturity and smarts in running what appeared to be a very controlled race. His finish time of 37:09, though, reflects an amazing 4:59 pace. This is his third U.S. Cross Country Championship victory. Goucher ran an extremely respectable 37:15 (5:03 pace), while Ritzenhein, just 24 years old, hung on for third with a 37:47 (5:04 pace). The conditions of the course got so muddy and difficult during the men’s race that the lead vehicles (2 ATVs) could not maneuver on the course and had to exit at around 8km.
Over 800 athletes participated throughout the day, which included masters and juniors races, as well, in the morning. Interestingly for the triathlon crowd, documentary producer Peter Han (What It Takes – the triathlon documentary), was on hand filming his current project, Showdown. This effort follows five of the top distance runners in the U.S. in their training, racing and preparation for today’s championship race. Han did his homework: three of the top four finishers are to be featured in Showdown: Culpepper, Ritzenhein and fourth place Jorge Torres.