OPINION: Quick footsteps dash Utahan's victory hopes at Ascent

Hobie Call was ripping along, filled with the belief nobody could catch him as he climbed Pikes Peak.

He was alone in the lead of Saturday’s Ascent. At least, that’s what he thought.

Then he heard steady, quick footsteps. Then he knew he was doomed.

Matt Carpenter was about to pass him, and Call knew he had lost his chance at victory.

“I didn’t look back,” Call said with a good-natured grimace as he returned to the midway point of the 13.32-mile race. “I make a point of never looking back, but when he was a few steps behind me, I knew.”

The footsteps grew closer and closer. As the owner of the footsteps prepared to overtake him, Call yelled, “You must be Carpenter!”

He was right. Carpenter, 43, spent half the race chasing Call, but now the chase was over. For a few seconds, Call and Carpenter ran side-by-side.

Call kept asking questions. “What’s the pace?” “How are you feeling?”

Carpenter kept repeating the same blanket encouragement: “You’re looking good.”

Call, 30, laughed a sad laugh.

“Wow, man,” he said. “Don’t tell me I’m looking good. When you’re passing somebody and encouraging them at the same time, that’s the worst thing you can do.”

When the race ended, Carpenter didn’t even look tired. He accepted congratulations, posed for photos with several runners and talked nonchalantly about his victory over Call.

“I think he lost it a little,” Carpenter said, “and I kept my concentration and kept going.”

Call was second, finishing in 2 hours, 15 minutes, 12 seconds to Carpenter’s 2:12.56. Call won $1,500, and in many ways he’ll return to his home in St. George, Utah, a happy man.

He’s never finished higher than fifth in the Ascent in previous efforts.

Yet he wanted more. An ambitious vision has inspired him for several weeks.

He trained intensely near his home, enduring brutal runs to the peak of Pine Valley Mountain. Each time he conquered Pine Valley and its 7,000-foot elevation gain, one name pushed him to the top.

Carpenter.

As Call climbed Pine Valley, he was preparing for a taller mountain, for a greater challenge. He convinced himself he would swipe Carpenter’s title. He knew Carpenter had won a dozen Pikes Peak Ascent or Marathon titles.

He didn’t care.

“This mountain,” Call said as he stood on Pikes Peak’s summit, “has his name on it. I planned to take it away.”

He shook his head.

“Maybe next year.”

The instant Carpenter passed him, Call knew he had not a chance. Carpenter looked relaxed, as if embarking on an easy morning jog.

All those miles battling Pine Valley Mountain, all those visions of an Ascent victory. All of it was in vain.

“I consider myself a mountain man,” Call said. “That’s my greatest strength. I thought I was doing great. I was going strong. I was in my element and then ...”

He heard those dreaded footsteps.

Columnist David Ramsey can be reached at 476-4895 or david.ramsey@gazette.com.

Check out David’s blog, David Ramsey Says What? at daveramseysez.blogspot.com