The 2014 Lone Gull 10k appears to be wide open. According to USATF-NE president Tom Derderian, last year’s Champion Sean Duncan is sitting out due to injury. The status of the defending women’s champ Steph Reilly is uncertain, although she was last spotted kicking some serious ass at the Level Renner 10k back in mid August.

Duncan’s out, Reilly is uncertain…so who’s it going to be? 2013 runner up Nick Karwoski moved across the country to train with the US Triathlon team. Eric Ashe is focused on the Twin Cities marathon and a shot at the OTQ. Looking at the current standings, Sança, Veiga, Vassallo, Jenkins and Mish are names that jump out. We won’t make the same mistake twice though…we should probably name Jeff Veiga as the favorite. But, he seems to win when we snub him so perhaps we’ll go ahead and name Brad Mish the favorite (the guy gives a pretty entertaining interview).

For the ladies, Jess Minty and Alyse Rocco finished 2-3 last year, respectively, and both could be contenders tomorrow. Alyse just won the XC Grand Prix opener and seems to be ready. Can’t rule out Nicole Casey, who is currently sitting atop the standings. The race for the proverbial season series cup for the ladies is wide open, and the fact that none of the top 4 point getters picked up any at the 5 miler only made things closer. Jesseman, Sandahl, and Paulson are a few more names to watch, especially on the heels of Paulson’s recent 15k title.

For now, here’s our coverage from last year, including Sean Duncan’s victory dancing. Who will be busting some moves in the parking lot this year?