Blood, guts and glory at Pikes Peak

After graduating in May from Western State, 22-year-old Salynda Fleury knew just how she wanted to spend her summer.

Forget backpacking through Europe or lounging poolside.

“I just wanted to run,” Fleury said.

With the goal of winning the Pikes Peak Marathon, Fleury waited tables in Crested Butte and lived out of her 1999 Subaru Outback, rotating among campsites in the Gunnison Valley.

The arrangement allowed Fleury to run as many as 105 miles per week through various areas of Gunnison National Forest with her dog, Pepper, a Rottweiler-Husky mix.

A fearless descent Sunday left Fleury bloodied and crusted with dirt, but victorious with a time of 5 hours, 42 seconds.

At Mile 23 of the 26.2-mile race up and down Pikes Peak, Fleury overtook second-place finisher Keri Nelson, who suffered from cramps and vomited five times on the descent, and pulled away to win by more than 10 minutes.

Heat was a factor for early finishers as clouds did not gather until after noon.

Manitou Springs’ Matt Carpenter, who claimed his second consecutive Marathon title a day after winning the Ascent — a 13.32-mile race up the mountain, had to be carried to the medical tent after a brief cooldown in Soda Springs Park, across from the finish in Manitou Springs.

Carpenter, 43, said he felt pressure from runner-up Dave Mackey and sprinted the final 2.5 miles, which caused him to hyperventilate and become dizzy.

Mackey, a professional endurance runner from Boulder, estimated that at one point he closed the gap to about 30 seconds.

“I was already pushing as hard as I could,” he said. “I bet when he heard the volunteers at the aid stations cheering that put a little fire in his steps.”

Although Carpenter’s time of 3:48:41 was about 15 minutes off his 2006 time — an age-group record — he bested Mackey, 37, by nearly two minutes.

“He’s gotten a little faster in the last few years,” said Mackey, who finished second to Carpenter in 2001, the last time Carpenter ran both the Ascent and Marathon. “I don’t know if age is going to catch up with him. He’s also got the hometown advantage. This is his domain.”

Surrounded by piles of bloody gauze after the race, Fleury said she had been afraid to run hard downhill last year during her first Marathon, when she finished seventh and won her age group.

“I was the fourth or fifth female at the top and got passed; it wasn’t going to happen this year,” said Fleury, who considers herself a climber.

From one fall on the way up and two on the way down, Fleury’s left shoulder and left knee oozed. The only time Fleury lost her toothy grin all day was when medical personnel wiped the cuts with peroxide. Fellow runners congratulated Fleury and thanked her for her encouragement on the trail, something Fleury’s father, Jim Kemper, wasn’t surprised to hear.

“She’s always energetic and smiling at people,” he said.

When asked about Fleury’s summer training, Kemper just shook his head.

“What’s a dad supposed to do?” he said, laughing. “I’m so proud of her. She did this all on her own."

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