Colorado Runner

Almost 1,000 participants came out on Sunday morning to celebrate Mother’s Day at City Park by taking part in the Third Annual Mother’s Day 5K.  Runners and walkers took advantage of the pristine running temperatures and posted some fast times, including a new women’s course record. In the men’s race, Lenny Laraio took top honors with a finishing time of 17:27.  John Klish came in second with a time of 17:58, and third place finisher Anthony Beeson crossed the line in 18:18. In the women’s race, the Mom’s were out in full-force, posting some incredible finishing times.  First place finisher, [...]

There was an intense air of anticipation leading up to Saturday’s 8th Annual Greenland Trail Races.  The combination of top Colorado runners coupled with a weather and heat advisory lead to a palpable feeling of unknowing and excitement that some may say made Saturday’s races even better. Out of all three distances: the 8 Mile, the 25K and the 50K, all but one course record was broken on Saturday.  Peter Maksimow broke the men’s 50K course record in a time of 3:22:09 while Kerrie Bruxvoort broke the women’s 50K course record in 3:51:25.  Daniel Kraft broke the men’s 25K course record in a time [...]

Pristine weather conditions set an exciting tone for Sunday’s 30th Annual Cherry Creek Sneak event in Denver.  Thousands of runners converged in the Cherry Creek North area to take part in the popular Spring races including a 5 Mile, 5K, 1.5 Mile, and new to this year’s event, a 10 Mile race. Not only was there a mix of recreational runners and speedsters alike, but the multiple races also attracted a large handful of local elites and racing teams as well, leading to some impressively fast top finishing times. In the inaugural 10 Mile race, Tate Behning of Boulder took [...]

All photos by Steve Glass. Photos from the event for sale here.

Great conditions for Sunday’s Boulder Spring Races made for some impressive finish times in not only the USATF 5 Mile Colorado Championship, but in the Boulder Spring Half Marathon and 10 Mile as well. The inaugural 5 mile distance at the Boulder Spring Races served as the USATF 5 Mile Colorado Championship – the second race in the USATF Colorado Grand Prix Series.  Top runners and elites were gunning for a large prize purse of $2,500.  Here’s how the top finishers stacked up:   Top Males 1.  Jason Hartmann (31, Boulder) – 24:20 2.  Clint Wells (36, Louisville) – 24:58 [...]

The 5th Annual Running for Rachael Brain Booster 5K took place at the United States Air Force Academy north of Colorado Springs on Saturday morning.  Race participants gathered at the Cadet Field House and were treated to beautiful race conditions, albeit warm and slightly windy. With a change in the race course from previous years, runners took on a more challenging endeavor as they faced multiple hill climbs and sandy dirt trails.  And while they may have been breathing a little harder on this course, there was no lack of aesthetic appeal to the gorgeous views of Northern Colorado Springs and the [...]

It was a perfect March morning in Colorado Springs for the annual 5K on St. Patrick’s Day. Nearly 3,500 runners registered for the race, which is followed by the biggest free event in Colorado Springs, the St. Patrick’s Day parade. Tommy Neal of Colorado Springs took the victory in 15:27. He was followed by Sean Brown in 15:45 and Kenny Foster in 15:46. On the women’s side, Amanda Ewing of Colorado Springs finished first in 19:08. Elizabeth Watkins (19:21) and masters runner Rochelle Persson (19:26) rounded out the podium. Videos courtesy of PikesPeakSports.us. All photos by Dee Budden.

From Olympic Gold Medalists to elite Colorado runners to those coming out to celebrate the upcoming Irish holiday with a 7K run around Denver, the field was definitely stacked at Sunday’s Runnin’ of the Green Lucky 7K. One of the highlights of the Colorado running scene is the immense amount of talent you can find at any given local race.  One of the biggest highlights of Sunday’s race was the presence of Constantina Dita, the 2008 Beijing Olympics Women’s Marathon Gold Medalist.  Also in Sunday’s lineup were several podium finishers from last year’s Runnin’ of the Green – back to [...]

Race conditions were pristine on Sunday at BKB Limited’s fifth event of their RunDenver race series.  That Dam Run 5K and half marathon took place at the Cherry Creek Dam and drew almost 1,000 participants.  With temperatures already in the 50′s at the start of the race, runners were treated to a sunny and picturesque course over the Cherry Creek Dam Road and through Cherry Creek State Park. In the men’s 5K race, Matt Peharda took the win in a time of 17:34, with second and third place finishers Ryan Wess and Eric Rine coming in at 18:46 and 18:52, [...]

For Vail’s Josiah Middaugh, winning the United States National Snowshoe Championship has become common place. On Saturday, Middaugh continued his dominace in the sport, capturing his fifth national title, making him the winningest snowshoer in the 12-year history of the sport. Middaugh took to the course at Farmer’s Korner in Frisco with force. He took it out hard, hoping to sap some of the athletes from lower elevations early and often. But, the flatter than normal course kept the race somewhat close. Middaugh covered the 10K course around Summit High School in 42:24, 21 seconds up on Jared Scott of [...]

Grand Junction‘s Kevin Koch and Greenwood Village‘s Sonja Wieck took home the top honors in the Moab’s Red Hot 55K on Saturday, February 18th. The challenging ultra race took 200 finishers from the Gemini Bridges trail head to Poison Spider trail head over Moab’s famous red rock formations. With outstanding vistas of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Dead Horse Point State Park and the La Sal Mountain Range, it is one of the most beautiful courses in all of Utah. Behind Koch’s winning time of 4:12:27 was Eric Bohn of Flagstaff, AZ (4:17:08) and previous winner Karl Meltzer of Sandy, UT (4:19:43). Helen Cospolitch [...]

Josiah Middaugh of Vail, a five-time winner of the Ultimate Mountain Challenge in the summer Teva Mountain Games took on two of the events in the  inaugural Winter Teva Mountain Games presented by Eddie Bauer. At the Eukanuba 10K Snowshoe Race presented by Ruff Wear on Saturday night, Middaugh, who is also a seven-time North American Snowshoe Champion, bested 2009 North American Snowshoe Champion Scott Gall by 23 seconds with finishing time of 47:16. Adventure racer Travis Macy of Evergreen was in third at 47:44. In the women’s 10K race, professional Xterra athlete Sara Tarkington of Boulder finished first in 57:56, ahead of Jeanne [...]

More than 500 runners and race-walkers braved the cold Sunday morning for the Valentine’s Day 5k at Wash Park in Denver.  Temperatures hovered around a brisk 25 degrees, and while there were some snow and ice patches on the course, that didn’t stop some of Colorado’s fast locals from coming out and posting some impressive times. In the men’s race, Brandon Williams took the win in 17:28 with second place finisher Todd Straka coming in close behind in 17:35.  Lenny Laraio finished in third with a time of 17:51. Team Runners Roost dominated the women’s podium with Heather Utrata solidifying [...]