Error of their ways not an issue at Colfax Marathon

For the second year running, field is led astray

By Angie Mudd, Special to the Rocky

Published May 18, 2008 at 3:28 p.m.

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Photo by Photos By Brian Lehmann / Special To The Rocky

Justin Mock, 26, of Boulder, raises his arms in triumph after winning the Colorado Colfax Marathon on Sunday in 2:43:26.

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The Post-News Colorado Colfax Marathon made an improvement with its new course Sunday.

Unlike last year, when runners were sent in the wrong direction, adding a half-mile to an already brutal 26.2-mile race, the top 30 runners only had to go an extra quarter-mile this year.

They were led off-course after the first mile because a bicycle pacer made a wrong turn. But within a few minutes, race officials knew the runners were headed in the wrong direction out of City Park and turned them around.

A total of 607 registered runners then followed the new course west through Lakewood before turning around, taking a detour around Sloan's Lake, heading through part of the downtown district and finishing at City Park.

Justin Mock won for the second year in a row, and he said the mix- up cost him about two minutes. Mock, who finished in 2 hours, 43 minutes, 26 seconds, said that despite the error, he still ran his best marathon time.

"Great to win the Colfax 'ultra' marathon two years in a row," said Mock, who will run two more marathons within the next month. "I liked it better, but it's definitely not the fastest course ever, unfortunately. It still climbs a lot from mile 5 to 12. Of course, you come back down that. It was a good run, not the fastest course ever, but I'm happy with it."

Women's winner Lisa Marie Goldsmith said she was slowed by only 20 seconds because of the error, running the race in 3:12:50 and bettering her second-place finish of last year.

"In the beginning, we had a little mishap missing the first turn, but that probably messed with the leaders more than me," said Goldsmith, 43, of Nederland. "But we straightened it out really quick. But besides that, I liked the course - I hope they keep it this way."

Jay Gershen, chairman of the marathon board, said one of the lead bicyclists got confused and went the wrong way between the first and second mile of the race.

"It impacted a relatively small number of runners, everyone else was fine," he said.

"And if any of those runners are elite runners and they are trying to qualify for another marathon, we will do everything we can to make the adjustments on the times so it won't impact them in a negative way."

But Gershen said he and the rest of the committee considered the race a huge success. More than 5,000 competed - the largest number of runners in the past three years. In addition to the 607 marathoners, there were 2,453 runners in the half-marathon, 2,141 in the relay event and 15 wheelchair athletes.

In the wheelchair division, winner Tyler Byers and Dawna Callahan were coming off fourth-place finishes at the Los Angeles Marathon in March.

Byers, who will compete in the marathon in Beijing for the Paralympic team, got his first win along Colfax after finishing second last year and third two years ago.

"I guess I'm moving up a little bit," said Byers, who completed the course in 1:39:48. "This was a really nice course."

Callahan has been the director of the event's wheelchair division for the past year. She said the Los Angeles Marathon was her first marathon. When she did well enough, she wanted to compete in her first Colorado Colfax Marathon, and she finished in 2:53:00.

"I thought it was hard," she said, adding that the hills around Invesco Field at Mile High were tough. "I know a lot of these racers, so it was fun to get out there and do it with them."

Peter Vail, 33, of Boulder, won the half-marathon in 1:12:12 and Andrew Smith was second in 1:13:01.

Nicole Chyr, 30, of Denver, won the women's half-marathon in 1:27:27.

"I didn't run the race last year, so I didn't have anything to compare it to, but I liked this course a lot, and there was a nice downhill at the end," she said.

RESULTS

Marathon

MEN

1. Justin Mock, 2 hours, 43 minutes, 26 seconds; 2. Tristan Mitchell, 2:47:45; 3. Mark Mulholland, 2:53:19; 4. Steve Krebs, 2:53:47; 5. Doug Wilson, 3:00:01; 6. Campbell Ilfrey, 3:02:44; 7. Tony Tochtrop, 3:03:18; 8. Charlie Kashiwa, 3:03:46; 9. Mark Dillard, 3:03:51; 10. Heath Hibbard, 3:04:38; 11. Jon Kinner, 3:06:36; 12. Eric Bindner, 3:07:11; 13. Scott Caruso, 3:08:52; 14. Noe Cuevas, 3:11:00; 15. Richard Curran, 3:12:56.

WOMEN

1. Lisa Marie Goldsmith, 3:12:50; 2. Beth Wyatt, 3:17:22; 3. Peggy Panzer, 3:17:44; 4. Tania Pacev, 3:20:30; 5. Amy Schneider, 3:22:53; 6. Denise Glenn, 3:28:22; 7. Carrie Stafford, 3:28:52; 8. Jessica Keiter, 3:30:53; 9. A.J. Keglovits, 3:31:41; 10. Hilda Judith Balan Velasquez, 3:36:07; 11. Lynde Johnson, 3:36:59; 12. Julie Garretson, 3:42:48; 13. Sharon Argenio, 3:43:58; 14. Beth Rice, 3:44:56; 15. Kristin Louderback, 3:45:31.

Wheelchair

MEN

1. Tyler Byers, 1:39:48; 2. Tony Nogueria, 1:54:02; 3. Brad Ray, 1:59:07; 4. Jacob Heilveil, 2:03:25.

WOMEN

1, Dawna Callahan, 2:53:00; 2, Ryan McLean, 3:09:16.

Half-marathon

MEN

1. Peter Vail, 1:12:12; 2. Andrew Smith, 1:13:01; 3. Bob Weiner, 1:13:20; 4. Kyle Barnes, 1:16:18; 5. Joseph MacAluso, 1:23:01; 6. Andrew Loizeaux, 1:23:12; 7. Todd Baldini, 1:23:41; 8. Kyle Beaird, 1:23:42; 9. Ricky Denesik, 1:24:10; 10. Zebulon Lang, 1:24:16.

WOMEN

1. Nicole Chyr, 1:27:27; 2. Terry Mandziak, 1:28:06; 3. Laura Eakin, 1:29:30; 4. Darby Warr, 1:30:55; 5. Angie Anderson, 1:31:10; 6. Heather Hutchison, 1:32:29; 7. Whitney Kube, 1:33:28; 8. Megan Hutchison, 1:34:29; 9. Michelle Sloan, 1:35:23; 10. Angela Mendez, 1:35:31.

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