Official 2023 Pike's Peak Marathon Discussion Thread

Ketones go home devastated

She got 20th in 3:04

Kilian has had two cracks at Matt's record, both times in his prime, and didn't come remotely close to it. Off the top of my head I can't remember how many times Remi has run Pikes, but he just broke the record. Credit where credit is due.

For some boots on the ground perspective, I think conditions were pretty good. The lower mountain was wet and tacky trails. The snow up top wasn’t bad at all, easy to run on and packed down. And temps were as cold the entire race.

Very impressive by Remi, but damn I bet he wishes he found 20 more seconds somewhere to go sub 2. He only beat me by 45ish minutes, always next year.

Someone can correct me if I’m wrong here but Remi is also the current vertical skimo world champ. I think his ability to climb is probably without par at the moment. He took this record out, did the manitou springs incline the other day, he’s got the record on that ridiculous climb up the Swiss hill in Fully (which Kilian has had a crack at). As you said, credit the man!

1. Kilian never did the Ascent race at Pikes so it's not really an equal comparison.

There is still a difference between going up in 2:09 as a split en route during the marathon (which Kilian did in 2019) vs blasting all-out up the climb only when you know you are finishing on the summit instead of way back down in Manitou.

2. Remi's best Pikes Peak Marathon time is 3:37...which he ran when he won in 2017. For comparison my best time is 3:39 and that was the same year (2019) Kilian won and ran a 3:27 (Remi was also in that race that year and finished way behind us in 4:05).

3. I can't recall a running race head to head where Remi beat Kilian?

I found it interesting that Remi credits "spending 20 days in an altitude tent" to give him an extra edge for his performance this year. It takes about 21 days + for new red blood cells to actually form from "high altitude training"

Correction on my last post:

By saying "it takes 21 days to form new red blood cells" I may be wrong. There are some nuances with hemotocrit increases and response/other body adaptations to high altitude training that take several weeks (and often ideally more like 40 days depending on exact elevation and protocol), but an actual red blood cell maturity may be a bit faster than what I wrote above.

Another point worth mentioning: The "impossible Carpenter record" is the 3:16 marathon time. Sure his Ascent Record was a split en route that was part of that (2:01)....but the 3:16 is the super ridiculous one. Even with all his wins and times there it is a big outlier of a time for him!

Some Marathon times at Pikes:

Kilian's best: 3:27

Remi's best 3:37

My best 3:39

(to name a few).....not even close!

Carpenter himself: (besides that one 3:16)....his next best time was only 3:33!

Ricardo Mejía ran 3:21, 3:24, 3:29 and 3:30 in a 6-year stretch so it seems like the record is not completely impossible with the right runner on the right day with the right conditions.

What are you getting at?

Full PP ‘Thon about to start. Did Seth double butter his Bobo this morning?

It’s weird that you don’t mention Seth Demoor 3:36 twice, quicker than you and Remi best , when noting some top efforts

especially considering Seth ascent time in marathon was 2:09 , same as Killian - and much quicker than your 2:15

I am certain he has before. Seth has done well on some FKTs, Pikes Peak and Kendall Mountain, but that is it. His training and nutrition really hold Seth back. Also, you can’t really just compare times like this when there are other factors that determine race results. Sage actually raced a full schedule. Seth hardly races all year, usually. This is his A race and in the past spent a lot of time at Pikes Peak training. If Sage did not have a full schedule in those years and dedicated his time training on the mountain like Seth does I’d say he would’ve beat Seth’s time. It’s not that far off.

The live coverage in this event is severely lacking. I can understand no live pictures, but no splits yesterday and no splits today. I'm guessing we'll get the ascent split and that's it, really poor.

My bad - Seth ascent in marathon was as quick as 2:06

For a guy that isn’t professional - sponsored etc

that’s damn significant

for as shotty as most on here constantly say Seth trains - it’s seemingly miraculous

This is not the UTMB, this is the USA. Everything is done on the lowest possible level.

I see some major slipping and falls coming as runners make the turnaround today.

Yeah, and let's not forget a couple more salient points, such as:

***Al Waquie - 3:26 (1981). So nearly 40 years later, armed with supershoes, vegan diets, virtue-signaling "green" lifestyles, and mountains of social media fawners, the most sponsored mountain runner in history couldn't even beat perhaps the least sponsored mountain runner in history:

latimes.com

Running the High Country--It Has Been a Religion in Jemez Pueblo : Al Waquie, 33, Has Few Peers in High-Altitude Racing Because He Has Run in the Mountains of New Mexico All His Life

He runs like the wind, like the jack rabbits, antelope, deer, wild cattle and wild horses he chases.

Open link

***Matt Carpenter - 3:33 (2006). Funny how Sage forgot to mention Matt was 44yo when he beat Sage's PR by 6 minutes set in his prime.

Carry on...

Seth is kind of a 1 trick pony. High altitude is only place he's done well. I mean even his best times at Rendezvous hill climb are 2-3mins (?) Slowe than Gray and a road runner focused guy. When he showed up to nationals for usa he was no where near the top guys and don't even mention the world Champs, seth was 4 mins back from top guys in a 15k. Sage has at least crushed other distances so I don't blame him for not crediting this guy who excels only at 1 event

I think that's part of the frustration a lot of people here have with him, aside from the gimmicky quirks in his videos. He clearly has immense talent, work ethic, mental and physical endurance, and time to devote to training. So it's painful to watch him train in a seemingly nonsensical way, because as much as I love making dumb memes and stories about him I truly believe he could be (have been?) one of the greatest, at least in this little niche of running. And I truly mean no actual offense to him - Seth, if you are the one who got my story removed, I want you to know it was pure satire and I meant no personal offense at all.

Its a good lesson of the importance of aerobic base though. Seth barely ever seemed to run above marathon pace, but that huge base of lifetime miles carries him really far. Any time I find myself needlessly worrying about specifics of a workout I try and remember that just getting out and enjoying running and exploring around at a moderate effort or whatever will get you pretty close, at least for a hobbyjogger like me