A jubilant marathon weekend was darkened by the death of Ryan Shay during the Men’s Olympic Marathon Trials in New York’s Central Park in November. The 28-year-old runner collapsed a little over five miles into the race.
I was at a local road race when I heard the news. I was stunned. Ryan had spent some time training in Colorado and I actually saw him running loops around our neighborhood in Ken Caryl a couple of days before the USATF National Cross Country Meet last February. Our thoughts and prayers are with his widow Alicia, a native of Gillette, WY, and his entire family.
Nearly 40,000 runners and walkers hit the pavement at this year’s New York City Marathon, the day after Shay’s death. As the sport’s popularity has increased, so have the injuries. Hundreds of marathoners are taken to the hospital every year for various injuries, from dehydration to overhydration, from knee pain to back pain. While many deaths during marathons are from people who have previously undiagnosed heart conditions, I think a tragedy like Shay’s death puts the sport into perspective.
On a different note, the lottery for the Western States Endurance Run took place on December 1. As interest in this event and many other ultrarunning events has grown, more and more people are being turned away. However, Western States is being billed as the “Ultra Cup World Championship Race.” When I see this, I think that all of the top runners will be there. However, this will not be the case in 2008 as two of the sports best runners, Anton Krupicka and Karl Meltzer, were not selected in the lottery. Krupicka is a two-time Leadville 100 defending champion, and Meltzer has won more than 40 ultras. According to the race website, “The Board of Trustees reserves the right to grant admission to runners who would greatly enhance the competitive aspect of the race.” Wouldn’t these two qualify?
A race here in Colorado, the Pikes Peak Marathon, went through this in the past. With strong opinions being made by a few people, changes were made. Now, Pikes Peak holds spots for top runners and also offers $30,000 in prize money. Maybe it is time for the top ultrarunners to take a stand and decide for themselves which race will be their “World Championship,” and not allow a cooperate sponsor to control the decision making. Western States calls itself the “World’s Premier 100 Mile Race.” How can that be true if the top runners are not allowed entry?
Now onto happy news… the Colorado Runner Racing Series will be in its fourth year in 2008. We have an exciting change to announce. In the past, winners of the series got mentioned in this magazine and received apparel and shoe awards from the Boulder Running Company. Now, Avery Brewing Company in Boulder has decided to offer a total prize purse of $3,600. Because the older age divisions have always been very competitive among the top two or three racers, we have partnered with Avery Brewing Company to create more age divisions among the grand masters and senior runners. Isn’t it great to be old? The winner of each division will receive $300. Check out page 23 for the races that will be in this year’s series. After a lot of feedback from runners, we have changed most of the races to offer a new variety of events around the state. For motivation, read about this year’s winners, beginning on page 18.
Happy trails!
Derek