Results

Matt Engler ran back a deficit of 1:30 on the last three laps to take the win by just 10 seconds.

On lap 13, Engler just made the time cut at 6:27 pm by 1 second to start lap 14. At the finish of 14, he made the time cut by 10 seconds again. But then, Shane Houghton, who cleanly made the time cut, dropped out due to chaffing. That left Steve Tignor and Engler for lap 15. Tignor made the time cut ahead of Engler on lap 15, but, again, Engler only made the time cut by 10 seconds. Tigman, citing fatigue, did not start Lap 16. Engler could have also opted not to start, but then there would not have been a winner of the race. Engler’s competitiveness took over, and he went for it on lap 16. It was a challenge that few thought was possible, including Engler. Indeed, with 4 minutes remaining on the lap, he was seemingly out of the running, which would have placed him ahead of Tignor for starting, but he could not have won the race without making the time cut. Then, with 90 seconds remaining, he made it onto the last lawn by the pavilions. We yelled, “90 seconds!” and his pace increased. “60 seconds!” and his pace remained steady, but his form was wobbly as he eeked out as much speed as possible. With 30 seconds remaining, he made it to the final 200′ to go – a falseflat 1% gradient that seemed like a mountain after 25.5 miles and 3.5 hours of elapsed time. He sprinted to the finish with everyone, including his wife and kids, cheering him on. And amazingly, he crossed the finish line with 10 seconds to spare – again! By meeting the final lap time cut, he met the standard to take the outright win in our second-ever Sundown Rundown.

Summer Sundown Rundown