THE TOP 

ATHLETES OF 2007
SUE HAYWOOD 

COMEBACK KID

In 2004 Sue Haywood’s Olympic dreams were shattered after a widely publicized points controversy between her and Colorado’s Mary McConneloug. Haywood was initially awarded the team spot, but after a protest by McConneloug, an arbitration panel removed UCI points from Haywood and awarded the spot to McConneloug.

But since the devastating decision, Haywood has shifted her focus to endurance riding and has become an even better biker. Last year she won the 24-hour solo women’s world championship, along with the NORBA National Short Track and Super-D Championships. This year the Harrisonburg, Va., resident defended her title and set a new course record at the venerable Shenandoah 100 in Virginia’s Allegheny Mountains and also won the TransRockies, a seven-day stage race in British Columbia that has been called the toughest mountain bike race on earth for its tough climbs, relentless mud, and fast-changing weather.

FAVORITE RACE

“The Shenandoah 100 was really fun, especially because it’s in my hometown now. There’s something really cool about going really fast over the trails that you know all day and having a bunch of friends there. Having Floyd Landis out there gave a lot of publicity to the race this year. He’s a really nice guy with an interesting personality, but the verdict was still out at the time, so it was an awkward situation.”

BALANCING LONG & SHORT

“I need to find the balance. Short track was not as good for me this year, whereas the longer stuff was. As riders get a little older, they gravitate toward the longer stuff. If the trails are good, the longer stuff is just much more fun, so that’s where I am right now.”

TRANSROCKIES

“It wasn’t the hardest race on earth for me, but we were lucky because the weather was so nice. Add some rainy days or some snow, and it would get really tough. I am trying to check out more of these stage races, because I think that’s the way things are moving with the sport. You get more bang for your buck when you get to race for three to seven days. Every day you wake up and race in beauty, and you don’t get to pre-ride the course, so it always feels new. It gets back to why I started mountain bike racing—for the epic adventure.”

LOOKING BACK AT ‘04

“It took some things away from an appreciation for the elite level of racing. I look at it as a failure, and it’s hard to deal with that sort of failure as an athlete. For some people it would motivate them for revenge, but it made me realize that there are a lot more parts of the sport that are more fun. It brought me back to the essence of riding.”

BEIJING PROSPECTS

“Right now I think it’s an outside chance. They are going to name eight girls to this Olympic long team. The door is still open a little bit.” —Jedd Ferris
ALAN WEBB 

FASTEST MAN IN AMERICA

In late July Reston, Va., runner Alan Webb broke the American record in the mile, clocking an amazing 3:46.91 at the Atletiek Vlaanderenmeet in Brasschaa, Belgium. The mark bested the previous record of 3:47.69 set by National Track & Field Hall of Famer Steve Scott in 1982. 

“I felt really, really good,” said Webb at a post-race press conference. “I had two pace-setters. I just got right on their tails, and one guy went through 800 and another guy through 1200. We were about 2:49 at 1,200 meters. At that point, I gave it everything I had. The chips fell where they were, and here we are.”

The new record capped off a solid year of accomplishment for the national team speedster, who posted eight victories during the outdoor season. 

Webb has been on the world running radar since he was a teenager, when as a young phenom he set the national high school mile record with a time of 3:55.3. He also has high school records in the indoor mile and 1,500m. 

Web turned pro in 2002, and despite winning four major races in 2004, inexperience marred his Olympic performance, as he failed to advance out of the first round. Then, low iron levels in his blood cut his 2006 racing season short. But now Webb, still only 24 years old, appears to be in the top form of his career. 

This year he has made good on the promise that he showed in his youth, as in addition to the mile record, he also won his first U.S. indoor title in the mile and captured his third USA Outdoor 1,500m Championship. On July 6 in Paris he ran a personal-best 1,500m time of 3:30.54, the fastest time in the world in 2007. 

Webb has his eye on Olympic redemption and the world record for the mile, currently held by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco with a time 3:43.13.

“There’s only one more record that I really want, and that’s the world record,” said Webb. “That may be more of a long-term goal, but it’s been the goal my whole life.”

—Jedd Ferris

HOWARD NIPPERT AND 

SHILOH MIELKE 

SOUTHEAST RUNNERS TAKE ON THE WORLD



September was an exciting month for the Southeast as two area runners represented the U.S. in international competition. On September 9, Howard Nippert (Fork Union, Va.) led all Team USA finishers at the IAU 100K World Cup in Winschoten, Netherlands. Nippert’s eighth place finish in 6:49:31 led the U.S. team to a bronze medal behind Japan and Russia respectively. Six days later, on September 15, Shiloh Mielke (Weaverville, N.C.) was the 2nd American and 37th overall with a time of 57:10 at the World Mountain Running Trophy in Saillon, Ovronnaz, Switzerland. Blue Ridge Outdoors caught up with both Nippert and Mielke following their successful races.



BRO: Congratulations on a great performance. How does international competition compare to that in the U.S?

NIPPERT: International competition is what I have geared my entire career for. The competition is much more fierce internationally, and you’re up against the world’s best at the World Championship. Performing well there and placing means you’ve proven yourself against the best athletes in the world, not just the best out of a smaller pool at a local competition.

MIELKE: The world level is much more competitive. Mountain running is just catching on in the U.S., but in other parts of the world, Europe for example, it is more mainstream.



BRO: What were your goals going into the race?

MIELKE: To improve on last year’s performance (Mielke was 5th American, 77th overall in last year’s race) and to be one of the men to score for the U.S. team.

NIPPERT: My goal is to finish in the top 10 in the world every year. I have been fortunate enough to have finished in the top-10 four times now, with a 5th place finish in Korea in 2006. 



BRO: How many miles or hours per week do you train, and on what terrain?

NIPPERT: I don’t measure anything in mileage terms except track interval workouts. I do my workouts based on time. I have a number of workout types that I feel are essential to get accomplished in a week. I vary those workouts in time, pace, and terrain depending on where I am in my preparation phase for a race. At the end of the week I know I have accomplished what I needed although I have no quantification of it. I always felt that putting numbers to a quantity of workouts just leads me to try to accomplish posting numbers at the end of the week. I’m more interested in getting necessary work done than I am about measuring the amount. I guess generally I work out for two hours each morning and an hour in the afternoon Monday through Friday and a little less on Saturday, but a bunch more on a Sunday.

MIELKE: About 80 miles per week on all terrain…road, trail, track.



BRO: What kind of shoe did you race in?

MIELKE: Inov-8 roclite 285.

NIPPERT: Nike Air Skylon.



BRO: What was your pre-race meal?

MIELKE: Eggs and boiled potatoes and toast.

NIPPERT: I had to eat my pre-race meal twice this time because I threw the first one up. I had a cup of coffee, a quart of Gatorade, and two slices of bread with butter. Then I had it again because I lost the first one. I get sick before race time.



BRO: What did you eat or drink during the race itself?

NIPPERT: I drank half to a full 20 oz. bottle of Gatorade, took a PowerGel, and a Succeed electrolyte tablet every 5K. There were 19 aid stations that I drank and ate at. It was a lot.

MIELKE: Just water…it is hard to eat or drink when you are breathing that hard.



BRO: How did you celebrate after your race?

MIELKE: With a massage for my sore quads. I was very happy but didn’t really celebrate.

NIPPERT: I celebrate with a cup of coffee and French fries. I don’t drink alcohol at all. I also think I’ll get a new tattoo.



BRO: What’s next for you competitively?

NIPPERT: I have trained the past eight months in excruciating pain from a sports hernia. I promised myself that if I could make the finish line at the World Championship, I would not run another step until I got it fixed. I have no race plans because I don’t know the time frame until I can get healthy again. The only race I have planned in the future is the 2008 World Championship, which is all right because I don’t race often anyway and the World Championship is the only race I really care about.

MIELKE: My favorite race of the year, the Shut In Ridge Trail Run, is on November 3. It should be an interesting race judging by my performance this season…this is the best shape I have been in.

—Anne Lundblad
ALL-STAR PARTNERS 

BLUE RIDGE HUSBAND & WIFE WIN NATIONAL 50-MILE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Mark and Anne Lundblad of Swannanoa, N.C. won the men’s and women’s divisions with times of 6:03 and 6:38 respectively. Mark pulled away from Virginia’s Eric Grossman, one of the country’s fastest and most respected ultra runners, to win by nearly four minutes. Mark’s time was the second-fastest ever recorded on the course. Anne went relatively unchallenged, yet still pushed herself to shatter the course record by eight minutes. 

—Will Harlan
