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Thursday, August 07, 2008

Grueling Trail Run Up La Luz Pays Off

By James Barron
For the Telegraph
      Zach Rogers' goal was to finally be able to run with his dad in the La Luz Trail Run on Sunday.
       Dave Peterson simply wanted to finish the race while not further aggravating his twisted ankle.
       Rena Distasio was aiming to complete the 9-mile run from the base of the Sandia Mountains to the 10,678-foot crest in 2 hours, 30 minutes.
       Rogers and Peterson accomplished their wish, while Distasio ended up 22:16 short of hers. Yet, the three runners, all with roots in the East Mountains area, felt a sense of accomplishment for finishing what is hailed as one of the toughest trail running events in the country.
       “Once you've run it and finished it, you feel good,” Peterson said. “So, that is the payoff.”
       The trio was among a dozen participants from the local area who each drew one of 400 slots through a lottery system for the right to participate in the event. The best of the group was Ross Conrad, who finished 45th overall in a time of 1:54:06.
       Conrad, who lives in Sandia Park, is a 24-year-old Air Force first lieutenant from Wisconsin and is stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base. He is an optical engineer.
       Peterson, who also is from Sandia Park, took second place in the 60- to 64-year-old age group with a time of 2:20:48 despite the twisted right ankle. The injury occurred around the 3-mile mark, but Peterson, 61, marched on, taking his time in some areas to avoid setting his ankle at awkward angles. By Sunday evening, however, it began to swell and was wrapped on Monday.
       Zach and Richard Rogers planned to run the event four years ago. But Richard Rogers suffered a knee injury that took a couple of years to heal.
       Zach Rogers said the wait was worth it, though.
       “I really enjoyed it; it was an honor,” said Zach Rogers, who grew up in Edgewood. “I enjoyed getting up in the mornings and training with him.”
       Richard Rogers, 48, still has to be careful with his knee and walked the trail's downslopes while others zipped through it. Zach Rogers, 24, completed the race in 2:19:44, while his father came in at 2:30:10.
       Distasio, who resides in Tijeras, normally hikes the La Luz Trail to prepare herself for the ascent, but she couldn't do that for part of the summer since restrictions were placed on the trail because of drought conditions. It showed on Sunday.
       Distasio, 44, would also like to run the New Mexico Marathon later this month and maybe another 10-kilometer event to get ready for a try at breaking the 2:30 barrier next year.
       “They had the mountain closed for a long time this summer, and I was real busy with work,” Distasio said. “I'm not a professional runner … This is the only running I do all year.”
       Rachael Cuellar of Albuquerque and Simon Gutierrez, who lives in Alamosa, Colo., again dominated the race. Cuellar was clocked at 1:34:42, and Gutierrez's time was 1:22:40.
       

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