By Bob Stephens
PikesPeakSports.us

Renowned mountain runner Jonathan Wyatt, who has excelled in all kinds of distance races all over the world, waited until he was 43 to run the Pikes Peak Ascent.

The wait, he said, was worth it.

Wyatt finished 11th in 2:34:16 – he was first in the Masters Division – and said he hopes to make a return appearance.

“It sure is beautiful here,” he said while gazing out from the summit. “I’d love to come back next year. It reminds me a lot of the Mount Washington with the view at the top.”

Wyatt holds the record of 56:41, set in 2004, for the 7.6-mile race on Mount Washington in New Hampshire. He is also a six-time world mountain running champion and an eight-time winner of the world mountain running grand prix series. Wyatt represented his native country of New Zealand in the 2008 Olympics in Athens, Greece, while finishing 21st in the marathon. He lives in Italy, with his wife, Antonella Confortola, who has competed in Nordic skiing in the Winter Olympics four times, and won a bronze medal in 2006.

He was impressed with the trail up Pikes Peak.

“This would’ve been a fantastic course for me about 10 years ago,” he said. “The trail is so beautiful. It’s nice and flowing, and never really that steep. I was surprised how flat it was and nice to run on. You can get in a flow, and then work on the steep parts. I can see why it’s such a popular race.”

Still, he found the trip up America’s Mountain rather difficult.

“For sure, it tested me,” he said. “It’s a half-marathon, and uphill. It was a big test. I knew I’d have to respect the altitude and the trail. I got sick – it’s just a cold – on the flight over from Italy, and I’d never raced at more than 3,000 meters altitude. This was more than 4,000 meters and it makes you go a little slower.”

Wyatt noted the ascent record (2:01:06) set in 1993 by Matt Carpenter, who also set the Pikes Peak Marathon record (3:16:39) in the same race.

“If I’d really tried 10 years ago, and trained at altitude, I might’ve gotten close to that record,” Wyatt said. “But it’s a legendary record, I’d say.”

Blake returns to Pikes Peak podium

Eric Blake, the 2013 Pikes Peak Ascent champion, missed the 2015 race due a hamstring injury, but made his presence felt again Saturday with a third-place finish. That was a satisfying achievement for the 37-year-old coach of the Central Connecticut men’s and women’s cross country teams.

“I’m happy with it,” said Blake, who was fourth in the 2014 ascent. “I fell three times, the last time about 200 meters from the finish.”

He showed off a bloody arm and hand, plus skinned knees, but did it with a smile. He flew into Colorado Friday and will fly back out early Sunday morning.

Blake said he occasionally runs with the athletes on his Central Connecticut teams, and that many of them are interested in his running exploits. He’ll compete Sept. 10 at the Jungfrau (Switzerland) Marathon.

“It really works both ways,” he said. “On Monday when they come back to school, some of them will say I motivate them, but they definitely motivate me.”