If you thought a handful of interviews would cover the happenings of the Loon Mountain Race, then you’re wrong! We’ve got plenty more photos, videos, and literature from various members of the LVL Legion to keep you on your toes.
Joe Gray climbing The Boss courtesy of Scott Mason. Click on the photo to access Scott’s full library of the race and purchase a piece of his impressive work.
Joe Gray continued his astounding mountain racing career with another win at Loon and his fourth US Mountain Running title. Joe won the race by over a minute, breaking the tape in 49 minutes, 11 seconds over the ~6.3 mile layout. Snagging 2nd was Brett Hales, who traveled all the way from Utah to earn himself a top spot on the US Mountain Team. Finishing in the bronze medal position was Matt Daniels, who was also the top collegian in the field. A member of the Adams State XC/Track programs, Daniels popped a 3’59.89 mile at the Washington Indoor Open Meet in 2015 along with a handful of sub-14 5ks. Rounding out the 2016 US Men’s Mountain Team were Hayden Hawks, David Fuentes, and Andy Wacker. Close behind that group was Eric Blake, who had the 2nd fastest Upper Walking Boss climb on the day and placed 2nd at Mount Washington this past Fathers’ Day weekend.
The women’s race that followed saw quite the exciting action as well. Brooks star Addie Bracy may have been a rookie on the hills, but she rocked it on her mountain racing debut to take down a talented, experienced field for her first US Mountain Title. Addie opened up a respectable lead halfway through the race and hammered it home to cross the finish in 57 minutes, 24 seconds. 2nd overall was Bethany Sachtleben, who holds a solid share of spots on the all-time lists at George Mason University and finished this race as the top female collegian. Finishing third was acidotic Racing’s Kim Nedeau, who repped the host club well with one of the most electrifying performances of her career and snatching a spot on the US Mountain Team that will rep the Stars and Stripes in Bulgaria this September. Filling in that last spot on the US team was Ladia Albertsen-Junk out of Seattle, WA. Though only the top four women qualified for the team, we can’t leave out the Upper Walking Boss record performance of 5th place finisher Kim Dobson, nor the 6th overall race from Kasie Enman, coach of the Green Mountain Athletic Association in Vermont.
Another Boss shot, this time with Joe Viger behind the lens. Have a look at his galleries and pay him some support!
The respective age division master’s winners are summarized below with finishing times. Quite a few local representation in here, including a few members of the Central Mass Striders, who helped anchor both the men’s and women’s team to championship titles. Glad to see you New Englanders keeping it on the Level!
M40-44: Chris Grauch (56’19)
F40-44: Regina Loiacano (66’11)
M45-49: Todd Callaghan (57’07)
F45-49: Carolyn Dudokovich (70’02)
M50-54: Dave Dunham (60’13)
F50-54: Anita Ortiz (66’46)
M55-59: Jeffrey Litchfield (73’47)
F55-59: Sue Lachance (79’05)
M60-64:Len Hall (74’29)
F60-64: Lisa Doucette (83’18)
M65-69: Richard Miller (79’17)
F65-69: Elaine Dill (1h45’10)
M70-74: Vincent Rivard (1h39’42)
M75-79: Gary Reuter (1h46’24)
For full results, pay a visit to MillenniumRunning.com
Mike Giberti also hiked up to the finish from the gondola with cameras in hand to capture all the exciting action. Take a gander at the finish line footage, where we catch hundreds of finishers in each race:
The Women:
