MEDIA EXPOSURE FOR ROTHROCK TRAIL CHALLENGE
http://www.runnersworld.com/trail-racing/vargo-continues-to-rise-ultra-ranks-mcdougal-seizes-mountain-cup-lead-wolfe-regains
Rothrock Trail Challenge – State College, Pa.
After gaining 1,100 feet in just more than a mile to start the race, Gabe Rodriquez (Baltimore, Md.) had already separated himself from an all-star field. Near the race’s halfway point, Jordan McDougal (Warrenton, Va.) had finally gained contact with Rodriquez and soon dropped the early leader. Content to race for second, Rodriquez surprisingly regained first with 4 miles to go when a depleted McDougal was reduced to walking. McDougal wasn’t done though and the two seesawed in a battle for the remainder of the race, until McDougal secured the final lead on a downhill stretch to finish first in 2:41:47. Rodriquez was a close second in 2:42:43. Although 90-degree temperatures kept the course record in check, the two frontrunners claimed the race’s fourth- and fifth-fastest times ever on a nasty trail the includes 5,000 feet of climbing. The race was also the seventh of the La Sportiva Mountain Cup and McDougal vaulted back into first in the series rankings.
Matt Byrne (Scranton, Pa.) was 12 minutes off the lead pace, finishing third in 2:55:02. Byrne moved to third on the Mountain Cup leaderboard. Course record holder and reigning three-time champ Jacob Loverich (State College, Pa.) reportedly started the race, but appears to have dropped prior to finishing.
A year ago Ashley Moyer (Oley, Pa.) was 18 minutes back of race winner Megan Kimmel (Silverton, Colo.). This year it was much closer. Kimmel used a strong finish to secure a slim 20-second win over Moyer in 3:13:18. This marked Kimmel’s fifth Mountain Cup race of the year and with no other females completing even two races at this point, she has the $5,000 prize locked up. This will be Kimmel’s fifth straight series win. Prize money does go five deep however, so women are encouraged to make a run for some easy cash as the 2013 series winds up.
Meira Minard (State College, Pa.) ran 3:32:19 for third.
Full results.
A Duel to the Finish at RothRock
No landslide victories at the 7th La Sportiva Mountain Cup race
Competition heated up in Pennsylvania this week as the La Sportiva Mountain Cup’s seventh race of the series, the RothRock Challenge 30K, enticed many fierce competitors. With temperatures in the 90s on Saturday, the nearly 400 registered racers faced not only sweltering heat, but also snakes, including a massive four-foot rattler, soaking up early summer rays in the center of the singletrack.
Snakes and heat aside, the RothRock course is a challenging one, beginning with a 1.2-mile climb that gains close to 1100 feet—an average of 17-percent grade. Mountain Cup leader Jordan McDougal, 25, of Warrenton, Virginia, describes RothRock as “the most technically demanding course I’ve ever run.” Along with other top Mountain Cup contenders—Matt Byrne, Pat Casterline, Jason Bryant, Megan Kimmel and Alison Bryant—McDougal toed the RothRock starting line.
Defending her solid lead in the women’s Mountain Cup, Kimmel, 32, of Silverton, Colorado, led the women’s race—though Pennsylvania local Ashley Moyer, 25, gave her a run for her money. The women pushed each other the whole way, with Kimmel finishing in 3:13:19, and Moyer right on her heels 20 seconds later—both nearly 20 minutes ahead of third-place finisher Meira Minard, 39, of State College, Pennsylvania.
On the men’s side, the battle was an equally fierce one between the top two competitors. Gabe Rodriguez, 35, of Baltimore, Maryland, blasted off the start line and maintained his lead for the first dozen miles before McDougal caught him. As the two left the third aid station together, says Rodriguez, “Immediately we had to scramble up a mountainside—basically rock climbing for a couple of miles—and he was gone.”
Rodriguez describes catching up to an electrolyte-depleted McDougal again in the final few miles. They continued to battle for the lead, with McDougal once again seizing the lead on a rocky descent a few minutes from the finish. Rodriguez describes running a sub-5-minute-per-mile pace on the final road stretch in an effort to catch McDougal, but to no avail. McDougal came across the finish line in 2:41:48 for the win, with Rodriguez crossing 36 seconds later—more than 12 minutes ahead of third-place finisher Matt Byrne, 37, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, running on his home course.
Many runners dove into the lake at the finish to cool off after challenging themselves on such a tough course in grueling conditions.
See http://mountaincup.com for full series standings.
Full results from the RothRock Challenge can be found here
