Stevie Kremer qualifies for US Mountain Running Team

“I never in my wildest dreams thought I could do this”

After running five miles practically straight up hill, Stevie Kremer pushed through to the finish line to finish in fourth place at the Loon Mountain race and qualify for the US Mountain Running Team headed to the World Championships in Ponte di Legno, Italy in September.

While the racing schedule for Stevie Kremer has been somewhat subdued this summer, it has been extremely successful.
With a litany of lengthy running races throughout Colorado available all summer long, Kremer made a decision going into this season to cut back on events.
“I actually haven’t raced that much,” says Kremer. “I just found the races I was excited for and signed up for them.”
One such race was the Mt. Evans Ascent back in June. Kremer not only won the women’s race, but also finished in fifth place overall and set a new women’s record climbing the 14.5-mile course in a time of 1:57:49.
“I was definitely pleased and surprised,” says Kremer. “I was more excited about my time—that was totally unexpected.”
Since then she had not stepped up to a start line until this past weekend, when she lined up for the Loon Mountain Race in New Hampshire on Sunday, July 8.
The Loon Mountain Race was the official qualifier for the US Mountain Running Team (USMRT) this year, attracting the top runners in the nation for a shot at making the team. The women’s field included last year’s world champion as well as several other previous members of the USMRT.
For Kremer, it took some prompting to get her to sign up and race.
“I had to go back east anyway,” explains Kremer. “I talked to a friend and she said, ‘You’re out there, you might as well give it a try.’”
Ellen Miller is the manager for the USMRT women’s team and says Kremer has been on her radar.
“I have been trying to recruit her for the past year after seeing her at skimo [ski mountaineering] races,” says Miller. “I kept saying ‘Just try it.’”
While the courses for the USMRT qualifying races change every year, the course this year, a five-mile hill climb, was picked specifically for its style.
“The course mirrors the race course we’re going to in Italy,” explains Miller. “This one has some steep, steep vertical gain.”
Despite Kremer’s success the past several years, she still had some trepidation heading into the Loon Mountain Race. Kremer’s strength is longer races.
“I usually don’t warm up until the fifth mile,” says Kremer.
With that in mind, as well as some sound advice from coach/friend Shari Sullivan-Marshall, Kremer made a point of warming up a solid 45 minutes prior to the start in an effort to hit her race stride once the gun went off.
In addition, Kremer had not previewed the course so she received further advice for her race strategy.
“I was told by a lot of people the first mile is flatter and that it’s going to be a fast start so stick with the front of the pack because the course is too short to make up time later,” says Kremer.
Kremer put herself right in the mix from the start, waiting for the first major climb to break the field apart. Midway through the race, the course jacked uphill and runners started peeling off and Kremer settled into third place.
“We were going straight up the ski mountain,” says Kremer.
As Kremer climbed up to the four-mile mark and an aid station, she unknowingly veered off course and had it not been for her father, she could have lost her shot at the team.
“All of a sudden I hear this German accent screaming my name telling me I had made a wrong turn,” says Kremer.
She lost time on the women in front of her and had last year’s world champion reeling her in as a result.
“When I saw she was right behind me, I decided to just push it that last mile,” explains Kremer.
At mile four, the course drops nearly straight downhill for .4 miles, putting a little extra hurt on the runners.
“There was really no trail and it was steep and fast,” says Kremer. “My quads were burning more than on any of the uphills.”
At that point the course turned straight back up hill for the final .6 miles.
“It was like running up something equivalent to Upper Keystone,” says Kremer.
Kremer managed to rebuild a gap on her closest competitor and hold on to fourth place at the finish line and qualify for the team.
Miller is excited to have Kremer part of the USMRT and believes they’ve got a shot at the podium this year as a team after finishing in fourth place the last two years.
“She’s bringing in not only athleticism but positive energy to the team,” says Miller. “This year I really do feel like we have what it takes.”
Kremer’s plan now is to run “as many hills as Crested Butte has” and then head over to Europe for a 31-kilometer race in mid-August and the World Championships on September 2, and spend the year in Italy on a teaching exchange.
“I never in my wildest dreams thought I could do this,” says Kremer.