North Face 50 Mile Challenge

I just received this report from the recent North Face Endurace Challenge. My good friend Uli Steidl won in an exciting battle vs. Matt Carpenter (the undisputed champion of the Pike's Peak Marathon). Although I have never run an "ultra", they continue to intrigue me and tempt me from time to time.

Two weeks ago I ran my 2nd race of the year -- a small 5K cross-country race at Marymoor Park, sponsored by Northwest University. It took place in a steady downpour and was a good challenge for me (I hadn't run a really hard workout for ten weeks). I found myself competing for the lead with one mile to go and then pulling away for the win. It was a lot of fun and the business students from NWU did a great job putting it on, with the help of business proff and my longtime friend, John Bacon.

HAWKER, STEIDL WIN THE NORTH FACE ENDURANCE CHALLENGE CHAMPIONSHIP
San Leandro, CA, December 1, 2007— The North Face Endurance Challenge, a four-region, nationwide running event for outdoor athletes seeking to explore their personal limits, culminated in grand fashion north of San Francisco on December 1, 2007. The event featured distances of 10K, Half Marathon, 50K, and 50 Miles on courses that covered wide- and singletrack trails overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The 50-Mile race was a Championship event and featured the nation’s top endurance athletes battling for the largest prize purse in trail ultrarunning. The male and female winners each received $10,000.
A DUEL FOR THE AGES
The men’s 50-mile race brought in legendary speedsters Matt Carpenter (Manitou Springs, CO), Uli Steidl (Shoreline, WA), and a deep field that included past winners and course record holders of the world’s toughest 50- and 100-mile ultramarathons. After ten miles, it became apparent that it was a two-horse race, with Carpenter and Steidl running within seconds of each other, one on the other’s heels, for almost the entire race. As they left the Tennessee Valley Aid Station (Mile 44), girding for the final major climb of the race, Carpenter broke first, and Steidl maintained his pace up Marincello Trail before dropping down into Rodeo Valley.
At the finish line festival, surrounded by Monterey Pine and Eucalyptus trees, hundreds of spectators and runners—most of them finishers of the 10K and Half Marathon events—waited to see which 50-mile runner would appear first. Steidl rounded the final corner to a burst of applause and raised both arms in the air. He covered the course in an astounding time of 6:57:22. Afterward, he described the race with Carpenter as “a dogfight
Carpenter appeared several minutes later and finished with a final time of 7:10:10. Leigh Schmitt (Conway, MA), who won the Washington DC Endurance Challenge in August, placed third with a time of 7:51:06.