Notes
Well it was an interesting race. I had a goal to place in the top 24 overall since that's what I placed the last time I raced this event back in 1998. Twenty years later, the best I could do was 30th overall in a time of 27:30. I was 5th Master (over 40) and first in the Super Master (over 50) division. Actually, the results weren't as terrible as they felt in the race. It turned out that I was ahead of Kyle Strode and David Morris, both whom are very good competitors. I didn't feel great in the warm-up, but I had faith in the old adage, "when the gun goes, the adrenalin flows". That's pretty much what happened. I started a bit conservative at the very start since it was uphill, but then used the following downhill to move by a fair amount of runners. From there I passed runners most of the way until the final mile. At that point it was a matter of closing the gap on the runners ahead, and not let anyone catch me. There were an unbelievable amount of hills, the really steep kind of hills. I ran them well, and really pressed the downhills. This tactic allowed me to run down a lot of people, and kept the strong hill runners from reeling me in. Since I ended up in the top seven of the masters division, I ended up with a Mug with the Montana Cup logo on it, and was recognized at the Award ceremony, so that was nice. Overall, I was pleased with the results. I would hope to continue to move up in the standings if I run the event next year, but I'm not going to lie, there were some really good racers on the course today. It bodes well for Spokane in early December.