Manitou legend Carpenter wins 5th straight Barr Trail Mountain Race

By JUSTIN SHAW
THE GAZETTE

Bryan Oller The Gazette Matt Carpenter won the Barr Trail Mountain Race for the fifth straight time.

Manitou Springs running legend Matt Carpenter won the 9th Annual Barr Trail Mountain Race with a time of 1 hour, 33 minutes, 27 seconds, in Manitou Springs on Sunday.

Carpenter, 43, has now won five consecutive Barr Trail races and seven of the nine races since the event began in 2000.

“From a running stand point it’s always nice to win, but this race is about much more than that,” Carpenter said. “We set a new record by raising over $19,000 for area high schools, El Paso County Search and Rescue and Friends of the Peak Organization."

All 425 participants paid an entry fee, and people were also free to donate whatever amount they wanted to the cause. Pikes Peak National Bank also sponsored the event and gave over $6,000.

“The field is topped out every year, and we don’t want to expand it too much because then the race would get too crowded,” race director Larry Miller said. “This is a very fun event for two great causes, and for the runners it’s good training for next month’s Pikes Peak Marathon."

Peyton Batliner, 24, of Boulder placed second with a time of 1:36:37, and Daryn Parker, 27, of Manitou Springs finished third at 1:36:44.

On the ladies’ side, Laura Haefeli, 40, from Del Norte was the first women to cross the finish line in 1:50:48.

“This was my first time ever running up Barr Trail, so I started a lot slower than I should have,” Haefeli said. “I was very nervous but once I got going I felt more comfortable, and my goal today was to just run a good race and I think I did."

Samantha McGlone, 28, of Colorado Springs finished second in the women’s division at 1:51:45, and Keri Ann Nelson, 27, of Leadville placed third in 1:52:46.

Of the 425 entrants in the race there was plenty of diversity amongst the age groups. The youngest competitors were 11- and 12 year-old Patrick and Daniel Morse, of Bennett, and the oldest competitor, 75 year-old Max Armstrong of Wichita, Kan., finished with a time of 3:12:21.

“The men’s and women’s overall winners receive some money, but we have several different age groups and the winner of each of those groups receives a cleaned up railroad spike,” Miller said. “Also the top three in each class receive a mini cog replica from the Cog Railway, and everybody that finishes gets a participant T-shirt."

For the first time in its nine-year history, the Barr Trail Run was featured as part of the La Sportiva Mountain Cup, a 13-race series throughout the U.S. and Canada in which runners earn points for good finishes.

“A lot of people are trying to do as many of the 13 races as they can to try to get points,” Carpenter said. “I might try to go to a few more and see if I can challenge to win the cup, but it’s hard since the races are all over the country."

The overall winner of the La Sportiva Cup will receive the lion’s share of a $25,000 purse.

Bryan Oller The Gazette Hundreds of runners made their way up Barr Trail on Sunday in Manitou Springs.