For better or worse; couple wins grueling race

By NICK WALTER
THE GAZETTE

Oh, what an anniversary it was.

Kelli Lusk and Paul Low met at last year’s Barr Trail Mountain Race, Lusk was the women’s champion, while Low was the first male to complete the 12 mile race to Barr Camp and back.

The Manitou Springs residents, engaged to be married as of a month ago, repeated those first-place performances Sunday.

But not without cuts, bruises, a broken toe and enough blood to require a trip to the emergency room.

Low, who completed the race in 1:30:55 just behind the course record of 1:30:07 set by Matt Carpenter, was fine except for some scrapes which where hidden in the mud that nearly covered his entire back.

That was nothing.

As Lusk descended the mountain on wobbly legs, she kicked up a rock that broke her big toe. She fell and slid on her side, causing numerous gashes to her left forearm.

Lusk ran in that condition the final 1.5 miles, finishing in 1:53:50, just ahead of Kari DiStefano’s 1:54:32.

“I was kind of in a panic,” said Lusk, who received 10 stitches. “I had never fallen like that before, so I was shocked. Plus, I was in pain. I knew I’d better get going. I wasn’t going to lose the race now.”

She crossed the finish line and immediately wanted off the mountain. She needed a bath, some anti-bacterial soap and a hospital.

Her fiancé wasn’t about to argue.

“She’s a pretty strong-willed person,” said Low, who is working toward a masters and Ph.D. in biology at the University of Massachusetts. “When she gets like that I pretty much do whatever she wants.”

Low’ fall almost cost him the race.

He had finally been able to catch a glimpse of Carpenter, who was 1:30 ahead of Low at Barr Camp, the highest point of the race at an elevation of 10,200 feet.

Three miles from the finish, Low bumped a woman who was running up the mountain and met the dirt.

He still managed to catch Carpenter, a co-founder of the race, who finished second.

“I have two jobs,” Carpenter said. “To win the race and bring in the best runners.”

The race, which was sponsored in part by Pikes Peak National Bank, gives away 100 percent of its entry fees. This year’s race gave $9,588 to nonprofit beneficiaries.

[Note from webmaster: When the $7,000 for the high schools and the $500 for the PPRR van fund is added in the donation total is $17,088.]

Contact the writer: 636-0250 or sports@gazette.com