Each November, a few hundred lucky runners can be found at play on a road that climbs, winds, and falls off a multi-colored, geological sediment-cake that is the Colorado National Monument. Welcome to the Rim Rock Run.

This point-to-point course climbs more than two thousand feet and offers views that run deep into Utah and the adjacent counties of western Colorado. Out here the sky is huge and brilliant and embraces the rugged topography of the area that includes the deep furrowed ridge of gray Mancos clay known as the Bookcliffs. A look to the east offers the Grand Mesa - the largest flat top mountain in the world, and at every turn of this snake-like road the ragged edge of the National Monument stands before the runners in relief, looking primal, red and raw. In the low morning light the runner's shadows play out before them like wanting ghosts, and below, cutting through the gold foliage of fall and the sleepy town of Grand Junction, is the Colorado River. "It's all so much to look at," one runner commented. "It's hard to take in all at once."

Exactly. Which is why this race gives you nearly twenty-three miles to do it. It's the biggest little race in the west. The largeness characterized by the views and distance, the smallness characterized by the relaxed attitude of the area and the relatively small number of entrants that typically range from three to four hundred.

Every year a guest speaker is brought in for the pre-race pasta dinner. This year Dick Beardsley, a 2:08 marathoner in his prime, stayed to run the race. He joked pre-race about his fear of heights, and post-race about hugging the yellow center line of Rim Rock Drive, cautiously avoiding the perils of precipice to his right. Dick, at age forty-seven, was tenth overall. He was impressed with the course, calling it awe-inspiring and magnificent. Though perhaps even more impressive this year was the challenge from other masters runners.

The forty-and-over men ruled the day. Ten of the top thirteen men were masters, including the overall winner, Bernie Boettcher, 41, of Silt, Colorado. His time of 2:18:12 was less than a minute off the master's course record. Bernie's accomplishments continue to stack up, having won Imogene earlier in the year. "This was a day for the old guys," one spectator said, though the closest race was among the women.

Entering the race, the top three women seemed evenly matched, having personal best marathons ranging from 2:48 to 2:51. When it was all over, the race was that close, with just over two minutes separating them. In fact, it was the closest top three finish in the history of the event with Lisa Goldsmith, 39, of Nederland, Colorado crossing first in 2:40:25, followed by Anthea Schmid of Crested Butte, and Kathaleen Recker of Grand Junction. Lisa took the lead early but was nearly brought back by a hard charging Anthea Schmid who wasn't able to close the gap, having passed Recker at mile twenty-two. "She went by me like she was falling from the sky," commented Recker, who took one step beyond the finish line, placed her hands on her knees and turned into one giant knot. "That downhill did a number on my quads." Race director Katie Hill said, "We anticipated a great race among the women." And she was right.