A surprising conclusion to UA Mountain Series 50k at Killington

I've been doing ultra and trail running for many years now, so it isn't often that I have a race result that surprises me.  However, I was pleasantly surprised at the conclusion of the UA Mountain Series 50k at Killington - and gosh darnit, it's nice to surprise myself from time to time!

A Ragged 3-Day Adventure

 

I have been eyeing the Ragged Mountain Stage Race for many years.  This race is the last legacy of the many ways that Chad Denning touched the New England trail/ultra scene, he started the race and it's first edition was only a few weeks before his untimely passing.  I've also been vacationing in the Sunapee region since as long as I can remember - I spent my childhood birthdays up at Lake Sunapee with my family.  Lastly, stage races are just so much fun...as close to 'running camp for big kids' as you can get!  However, my August schedule always tended to fill up with large goal races, so the Ragged Mountain Stage Race would just keep getting pushed back one more year.  Finally, my schedule aligned and Brian and I decided this was the year.

UltraRunner of the Year

There are many posts out there where UROY panelist describe their voting decisions, as it's a challenging decision to make!  How do you compare a top 10 finish at a competitive race such as Western States versus a win at other less competitive races?  How many other races to you need to win in order to make up for not racing (or placing well) at a highly competitive race?  If you run 3 truly outstanding results, is that a more impressive year than someone who had many solid performances? 

This year, I was honored to be asked to cast a ballot on the UROY voting.  I appreciate the trust that was placed with that decision - and understood the importance of this role.  I spent many training runs with friends having the debate over who had the most impressive year, and how to objectively rank these athletes.  I also spent hours culling through the long list of results that were provided to me - hoping these would somehow sort themselves into the 'correct answer'.