On Sunday morning, nearly 900 runners bolted from the start line at the seven-mile Ugly Mudder trail race in Reading, Pennsylvania in the third race of this year’s La Sportiva Mountain Cup. The Ugly Mudder is hosted by Pretzel City Sports, which has previously hosted the La Sportiva Mountain Cup at its Mt. Penn Mudfest and Half Wit Half races. I’ve yet to run a Preztel City Sports race, but if their website is any indication, they must be too fun a crew to pass up.
iRunFar reader and top 40-49 year old Ugly Mudder Johan Anestad offers this course report:
Though short, the course did challenge, or treat, the collected faithful to a helping of typical East Coast rocky, rooty, technical trails almost from the gun. A short road section led to a 90-degree, right-hand turn and the entrance of the singletrack. This “entrance” consisted of squeezing between two trees before scrambling up a leaf strewn embankment and finally on to the trail proper. From there on in, the course featured short, tough climbs, longer descents and plenty of rocky, muddy rollers in between.
I can offer a personal perspective on this year’s race as I made a short drive west for my first return to the Mudder in six years. Unusual for this event, the trails were clear of the ice and snow that runners have been treated to at the last four or five editions. The sun was shining brightly and temperatures were typical of the winter that wasn’t in 2012: balmy and mid-30’s at the start rising to the upper 40’s by the time the last finishers climbed Mt Whadafug. The warmth and sun was also welcomed for the post-race breakfast of eggs, pancakes, and a choice of beverage at the Liederkranz German Singing & Sports Club.
We’ll begin our LSMC race coverage by filling you in on how the race played out. Next, we’ll give you an update on the Mountain Cup standings. We’ll then move on to our weekly giveaway contest(s) before calling for your comments and finishing up with the full La Sportiva Mountain Cup schedule.
The Race
Men’s Race
Matt Byrne led off the line, but couldn’t hold off Ryan Woods in a tight race. Both runners broke the existing course record. Jason Bryant worked his way up from fifth place a mile into the race to third place at the finish. Not far behind, locals James Stoltzfus and Ryan Bair finished fourth and fifth.
- Ryan Woods (Inov-8) –47:24 – Course Record
- Matt Byrne (La Sportiva) – 47:47
- Jason Bryant (La Sportiva) – 52:33 (race report)
- James Stoltzfus – 52:52
- Ryan Bair (Brooks ID) – 53:01
Jason Bryant en route to finishing third at the Ugly Mudder.
Women’s Race
Although Gina Lucrezi is making a play for the series, there’s no shame in finishing behind Maria Dalzot. A native of West Virginia, 23-year-old Dalzot won the North American Central American Caribbean (NACAC) Mountain Running Championship last July.
Dalzot reports that she lost a shoe early in the race after another racer stepped on it. That dropped her way back in the field, but she fought her way back up. She caught Lucrezi around three miles and kept building her lead to the finish.
- Maria Dalzot (Inov-8) – 58:56 – Course Record (
race report) [broken link to US Inov-8 team blogpost entitle “Ugly Mudder 7.25 Mile Maria Dalzot” removed]
- Gina Lucrezi (Inov-8) – 1:01:31
- Kristin Zielinski – 1:04:00
- Katie Jury – 1:05:13
- Mary Braverman – 1:06:30 (top master)
Full Results
La Sportiva Mountain Cup Standings
Men
Ryan Woods continues to build a big early season lead in the Mountain Cup. He’s run all three races to date and it shows with him having nearly double the point total of his nearest competitor, Jason Bryant. Bryant’s third place at the Mudder moves him into second. He and Woods are the only Cup contenders to have run more than one series race this year.
- 1 – Ryan Woods – 57 points in three races (22 points from the Mudder – 20 pts for the win and 2 bonus pts for beating Bryant)
- 2 – Jason Bryant – 30 pts in two races (15 pts from the Mudder)
- 3 – Rob Krar – 22 pts in one race (did not race the Ugly Mudder)
- T-4 – Jared Scott and Matt Byrne – both 19 pts in one race (neither raced the Ugly Mudder)
Women
Gina Lucrezi moves into sole possession of the Mountain Cup lead on the strength of her second place performance at the Mudder. Maria Dalzot jumps into second place in the standings with her win over Lucrezi. Dalzot looks to be competing for the Cup.
- 1 – Gina Lucrezi – 28 pts in two races (17 pts from the Mudder)
- 2 – Maria Dalzot – 22 pts in one race (22 pts from the Mudder, 20 pts for the win and 2 bonus pts for beating Lucrezi)
- T-3 – Alison Bryant & Heidi Rentz – 20 pts in 0ne race
- T-5 – Jessica Durrant & Christina Bauer – 17 pts in 0ne race
iRunFar.com La Sportiva Mountain Cup Contest
Matt Buschman of San Diego, California you won yourself a pair of La Sportiva Vertical K from our Red Hot Moab giveaway. Contact us to claim your prize.
We can’t remember the last time we gave a pair of La Sportiva Wildcats, so they’re up for grabs this go around. The Wildcat are a plush, easy ride on the trails while providing more than enough security.
Want to try a pair of the Wildcats? Well, to win a pair, just leave your name and town (in the US or Canada) in a comment before we write about the next Mountain Cup race to be run at Washington state’s Hillbilly Half Marathon next weekend on March 3. As a reminder, if you enter to win the Wildcats, you’ll also automatically be eligible to win the grand prize – any three pairs of La Sportiva trail shoes and some sweet Sportiva schwag at the end of August.
Call for Comments
If you ran the Ugly Mudder this weekend, please leave a comment letting everyone know how you did and what you think about the race. Past racers are invited to comment, too.
