‘Old man,’ teenager win titles at 28th 5K on St. Patrick’s Day
- Details
- Created on Saturday, 12 March 2011 20:47
- Written by Neal Reid
BY NEAL REID
OutThereColorado.com
A green-clad sea of humanity descended upon Acacia Park in downtown Colorado Springs on a picture-perfect morning Saturday for the 28th Annual St. Patrick’s Day 5K race. A record 2,389 runners participated in the event, which was held prior to the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Led by a four-motorcycle police escort, runners of all levels, abilities, ages and walks of life took to the 3.1-mile course, which wove up and down Tejon Street and onto parts of Costilla, Cascade and Cache la Poudre. The event is the first leg of the six-race Grand Prix of Running series, which will conclude in the fall, and runners from all along the Front Range came out to compete.
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Justin Chaston, a 42-year-old native of the United Kingdom who now calls Colorado Springs home, won the race with a time of 15 minutes 8 seconds, 3 seconds ahead of the U.S. Army’s Augustus Maiuo. Michael Weiss was third in 15:21.
“Not bad for an old man,” said Chaston, who works in the apartment business. “I wasn’t sure what to expect, and those guys at the front were really tough. I was just hoping to hang in there. Usually after two miles, I get weaker, but today I got stronger, gradually reeled them in and felt good at the end.”
The women’s division champion was at the other end of the age spectrum. Fourteen-year-old Aubrey Till of Canon City beat a tough group of female runners, taking the women’s title in a personal-best time of 18:29. Sarah Young was second in 18:51 and Sally Sever was third in 18:56.
It was the third time the eighth-grader has competed in the St. Patrick’s Day race, and she was thrilled to come out on top for the first time.
“I wasn’t sure I was going to do that and thought I’d be way back there, so I’m pretty happy,” said Till, who attends Mountain View Core Knowledge charter school in Canon City. “I just tried to keep going from one person to the next. Pass one person and keep go to the next. I’ve won my age group the last two times I’ve run this race, but this is the first time I’ve won overall. It’s very exciting.”
Chaston praised the event, which was followed by a children’s Leprechaun Fun Run to benefit Uncle Wilbur’s Fountain.
“It’s fabulous,” he said. “There’s a great crowd out here, a great atmosphere and the race went very smoothly. It was just a nice job by everyone.”
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