NB Podium Ascent: Montgomery Runs Away with It

• Ryan Montgomery won the NB Podium in 44:00 — a full 17:48 clear of second place, averaging 12:12/mi up a course that climbs to nearly 9,000 feet.
• Montgomery posted the fastest split on the KT 22→Finish segment among all three NB Podium finishers, sealing the win with authority all the way to the line.
• Kahle Mercer edged Calvin Deutschbein for second, 1:01:48 to 1:03:46 — a 1:58 gap across a three-man podium that held its order from start to finish.
• All three athletes held their positions wire-to-wire: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd never changed hands throughout the race.

Ryan Montgomery made this one look straightforward — and in a three-man NB Podium field, that's saying something. His 44:00 finish at 12:12 per mile is a striking effort on a course that ranges from 6,257 to 8,845 feet above sea level, where thin air turns every steep pitch into a negotiation. Montgomery didn't just win; he won by nearly 18 minutes, which on a sub-45-minute race is a margin that borders on a different race entirely.

Behind him, Kahle Mercer (Denver, CO) and Calvin Deutschbein (Portland, OR) ran a much tighter contest. Mercer came in at 1:01:48 and Deutschbein at 1:03:46 — close enough to keep the battle honest, but Mercer never relinquished second. Mercer's 17:08/mi average edged Deutschbein's 17:40/mi, and the split data tells the same story: Mercer claimed the second-fastest KT 22→Finish split, Deutschbein the third. The order was clean and consistent.

The overcast skies and mild 61°F kept conditions manageable, but the elevation is a constant — and for Deutschbein coming from Portland and Mercer from Denver, that thin Tahoe air at race altitude is a factor neither can fully ignore. Montgomery, from Hanover, NH, showed no signs of being slowed by it. His dominance from gun to tape left little room for drama at the front — the real story on this course was whether anyone could make the podium a contest. Mercer and Deutschbein did their part. Montgomery simply didn't let them close the door.