Typical tale on mountain

A third of the way into the Pikes Peak Ascent, Hobie Call had a one minute lead on Matt Carpenter.

But Carpenter, who said the course conditions felt a “little tough” Saturday, overtook Call by Mile 7 to win — his sixth title in his past eight Ascents — in 2 hours, 12 minutes, 56 seconds.

In the women’s race, two-time defending champion Lisa Goldsmith, of Nederland, and Cindy O’Neill, of Manitou Springs, finished second and third, respectively, to race newcomer Maria Portilla.

Both champions received prize money of $3,000 — a first for the event.

The Ascent is a 13.32-mile footrace, which starts in two waves in Manitou Springs and ends on Pikes Peak’s summit.

“He lost it a little and I kept my concentration,” said Manitou Springs’ Carpenter, who never has finished lower than fourth.

After the race, Carpenter, 43, said he was not sure whether he would compete in today’s Marathon, which starts at 7 a.m., for his first double attempt since 2001 and his fourth since he began racing Pikes Peak in 1987.

“A double is never a given,” he said, adding that it depends on his ability to recover.

Call, a 30-year-old marathoner from Toquerville, Utah, is preparing for the U.S. Olympic marathon trials in November and was a little more than two minutes off Carpenter’s pace.

Former University of Colorado-Colorado Springs distance runner Aaron William Rubalcaba-Lopez, 23, finished third, more than three minutes behind Call. Other area men finishing in the top 10 were Manitou Springs’ Daryn Parker (seventh) and Colorado Springs’ Alex Nichols (ninth).

Portilla, 35, bettered Goldsmith by almost seven minutes and O’Neill, who finished second in 2005 and 2006, by nearly 11 minutes.

Portilla’s time of 2:35:46 smashed an age-group record of 2:44:33, set in 2002 by Anita Ortiz.

Goldsmith, who tends to start conservatively, said she had no idea Portilla was ahead of her until she arrived at Barr Camp, 7.6 miles into the race.

There, race volunteers alerted Goldsmith that “someone” — no one seemed to know who Portilla was — had been through the station five minutes earlier.

At A-Frame, 10.2 miles into the race, Goldsmith pressed some friends who were there to cheer her on for more information.

“Maria who?” said Goldsmith, 42, before she continued on to break Ortiz’s 2004 record in the 40-44 age group with a time of 2:42.44.

Afterward, Goldsmith took comfort in her personal record.

“Maybe it was good for me that I didn’t know,” she said. “All day I felt like I was winning the race.”

A marathoner from Peru who plans to compete in the Beijing Olympics, Portilla, like Call, was a competitive entry to the Ascent.

Race organizers saved 20 spots in the race for 10 men and 10 women with exceptional race biographies.

Both Carpenter and Goldsmith lauded the decision.

“It’s great for the road runners to come out here and see what they can do,” Goldsmith said.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 476-4803 or kate.crandall@gazette.com

ASCENT TOP 3

Men

1 Matt Carpenter

2 Hobie Call

3 A.Rubalcaba-Lopez

Women

1 Maria Portilla

2 Lisa Goldsmith

3 Cindy O’Neill

MARATHON SCHEDULE

Today

- 7 a.m. Start

- 3 p.m. Awards presentation, Soda Springs Park 5 p.m. Finish line closes