Garden of the Gods 10M (Manitou Springs, CO)

Manitou Springs, CO (June 8, 2008) - When mountain running legend Matt Carpenter took over as race director for the Garden of the Gods 10 Mile in 2007, he had one vision in mind - return the race to the glory days of the early 1990s. In two short years, he has already succeeded in growing the race and gaining top notch competition. In 2007, the number of race finishers jumped nearly 400 runners and the race garnered the distinction as Colorado Runner’s Race of the Year. This year, there was a ten percent increase in finishers to 1,470, the largest number since 1993.

And the competition? It was the best in ten years. Both male and female course records were bettered and an astounding 18 age group records were bested. 19-year-old Ezkyas Sisay (left) and 20-year-old Belaynesh Gebre both came all the way from Flagstaff, AZ to take home the top honors. Both runners are natives of Ethiopia and both winners ran the fastest winning times since 1995, when the course was much easier. Sisay's new course record time was 52:26.

Josphat Ndeti of Santa Fe, NM finished second in 53:13.

Defending champion Celedonio Rodriguez of Alamosa, CO was third in 53:34.

Scott Lebo (1170) of Colorado Springs, CO set a new master's course record of 1:00:02.

Belaynesh Gebre of Flagstaff, AZ was the first female in a new course record of 1:01:20.

Camille Herron of Lafayette, IN was second in 1:05:28.

Stephanie Jones (501) of Colorado Springs, CO was the third female in 1:06:08.

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All photos by Derek Griffiths / www.runningmemories.com