Top Moment of the Meet (1)
Cooler Temperature Brings Record Boys Race for Anna Banana
They say the fourth time is a charm -- or something close to that…
Montrose's Ian Meek has been flirting with the Anna Banana course record at Connected Lakes State Park in Grand Junction for some time now. Waking up to temperatures in the low-50's and an overcast sky, the conditions were certainly the best in at least a ten year stretch for a fast race. Add in a competitive field that included Durango's Harry Steinberg, Glenwood's Harry Barth and Soroco's Ben Kelley, not to mention possibly of Montrose having a bit of something to prove on the team side, all the fixings seemed in place for Palisade's Jake Erickson's time of 15:48 set in 2013 to fall.
The pace started out innocently enough. The lead pack, including all of the players listed about and Meek's teammate Evan Graff and Central's Jared Leblow crossed the first mile marker roughly at 5:00 flat. Not separating themselves significantly at this time, many hopefuls were not far behind. Perhaps this is one of the keys to the course. It has not been uncommon in past renditions to see the leaders come through 4:45-4:50 pace.
With 1000 meters to go the foursome of Kelley, Meek, Graff and Steinberg had broken away from the main field. Only Barth and the younger Graff, Sean, were in striking distance, trailing about 10 and 20 meters respectively. The final 800 meters is pretty much out of sight for anyone planning to view the finish. As is often the case, much can happen in within those few minutes and it's often a surprise when the runners come around the final turn for the final stretch to the finish.
It wasn't a big surprise to see Meek be the first one in sight. What was surprising was how much he had dropped the field. That is all, but teammate Evan Graff. Also surprising was not that the course record was going down, but that it was going to get demolished, by both Meek and Graff, 15:31 and 15:39. Steinberg held on to finish in 15:55. Barth passed Kelley and the freshman Graff rounded out the top six.