USA's Joe Gray wins the 2013 NACAC Mountain Running Championships (© Nancy Hobbs)
Host nation USA filled the podium for both the men’s and women’s race at the 10th NACAC Mountain Running Championships in North Conway, New Hampshire, on Sunday (21).
Athletes from Canada, Mexico, and USA participated. Team scoring for the women included up to four women per team with the top two scoring, while the men could run up to four men on the team with the top three scoring.
World mountain-running bronze medallist Morgan Arritola covered the 8km course in 42:31 to win the women’s race, followed by team-mate Megan Lizotte in 46:03 for a team score of three points.
Canada finished in the silver-medal position with Meggan Franks and Sarah Bergeron-Larouch in fifth and sixth position to score 11 points. Mexico’s Ana Rosa Gomez Velazquez and Sandra Lizeth Lopez Navarro scored 19 points to earn the bronze medal.
Joe Gray won his fifth NACAC Mountain Running Championships title, crossing the 12km course finish line in 56:23. He was followed by team-mate Max King, the 2011 World Mountain Running Champion, who finished in a time of 56:45, followed by Glenn Randall in 57:58, giving the US team the best possible score of six points.
Canada and Mexico both achieved a score of 22, but Canada’s third-scoring member finished one place ahead of Mexico’s third-best runner. First for Canada was Jeff Gosselin in sixth position followed by David LePorho in seventh, and Allister Gardner in ninth.
For Mexico, Jose Alberto Madera Vega finished in fourth with Victor Manuel Mercado Mirands in eighth. Fabian Vera Gutierrez, and Jose de Jesus de Los Angel finished in tenth and eleventh respectively.
In addition to the NACAC competition, the event hosted the USA Mountain Running Championships and team selection race for the 2013 US mountain-running team.
Nancy Hobbs for the IAAF
