Almost 1,700 runners reached the finish line of the Pikes Peak Ascent atop the 14,115 mountain on Saturday morning, but the story of the day had to be the incredible performance by Kim Dobson.
Dobson, a Runners Roost Mountain Ultra Team Athlete and new resident of Grand Junction, CO, smashed the previous course record set in 1981 by Lynn Bjorkland. While Dobson came close to breaking Bjorklund’s 2:33:31 record in last year’s race, this year proved to be much different. Her winning time of 2:24:58 gave her the women’s win, women’s course record, 6th place overall, and a $5,000 prize purse for capturing the Ascent Bounty prize for the first woman to eclipse the 2:32 mark.
In the men’s race, Golden resident and Boulder Running Company Athlete Jason Delaney took top honors in 2:13:18 for his first overall victory in his third attempt at America’s Ultimate Challenge. Mountain racer Rickey Gates came in a close second, crossing the finish line in 2:15:42. Colorado Springs’ own Ryan Hafer rounded out the top three with a time of 2:16:34. First-time competitor Sage Canaday of Boulder set a quick pace early on in the race, and paid for it later on. Canaday finished up in fourth in 2:21:16. 21-year old Steven Stoot of Colorado Springs came in fifth in 2:22:48.
While Kim Dobson did steal the show atop Pikes Peak on Saturday, there were some other extremely impressive female competitors out there that made a great showing themselves. First-time competitor Ellie Keyser of Fort Collins placed second in 2:38:11, and 2010 Ascent Champion Brandy Erholtz came in third with a time of 2:45:10. 47-year old Lisa Goldsmith of Nederland finished fourth in 3:03:29 with Amanda Ewing of Colorado Springs hot on her tail for a fifth place finish in 3:03:36.
Photo courtesy of Pikes Peak Sports.
August 18, 2012 by Amanda Hodges
Regional News