Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

Photo by Bob Kane, Design Photography

By KEVIN CARMODY, THE GAZETTE

Maria Leyba and Tim Dolan didn’t always have such the catbird seat. In past years, the volunteers of Pikes Peak Road Runners races found themselves at isolated aid stations, quickly handing out refreshments to runners rushing by.

Recently, the pair has elevated through the volunteer ranks. On Saturday at El Pomar Youth Sports Park, Leyba and Dolan worked the post-race hospitality station, complete with cups of dry mixes of hot chocolate and hot cider, four urns of hot water powered by two generators, pre-packaged bags of donuts and mini crullers and complemented with large coolers filled to the brim with water and Gatorade.

Photo gallery 1 ... photo gallery 2

“We’re able to talk to the runners after the race, and now when they get here, they’re happy to see us,” said Leyba, who spends her weeks as a quality rating specialist for Qualistar Colorado, a non-profit organization that provides free child care referrals. “It gets pretty crazy, but with the two of us, we keep up.”

Nearly 800 runners competed in the second part of the 33rd annual PPRR Winter Series on a crisp, mid-20s morning, so the warm amenities proved beneficial for most.

“Is that hot chocolate?” remarked UCCS senior and running club member Danny Dauwe. “You guys are amazing.”

“The water I needed, but the hot chocolate is just a treat,” said Lisa McCone, an advanced placement psychology teacher at Pine Creek High School. “The volunteers always do a great job. They take care of us.”

Professional triathlete James Burns led the pack into the recovery zone, blazing to a 4-mile time of 20 minutes, 33 seconds to win the first race by 46 seconds. Cheyenne Mountain Middle School eighth-grader Katie Rainsberger hit the finish line first in the female division in 25:04, her second PPRR victory in a row. Both first-place finishers set age-group records.

“I enjoy running, but I didn’t find being a straight-up runner was for me,” said Burns, 23, who holds a biology degree from George Mason University and plans on entering medical school later this year, following the footsteps of his uncle and aunt, both surgeons, and nurse mother. “I’ll always have triathlon for myself, but I feel like I don’t want to look back and see I haven’t done something to help people.”

Results: Men's 4M ... women's 4M ... men's 8M ... women's 8M

In the 8-mile race, Colorado Springs athlete Ryan Hafer claimed his second consecutive series victory, doing so in a record 42:33, smashing 87 seconds off the previous mark. Stephanie Meredith won the women’s race in 53:28.

And as the waves of runners finished their respective races, they converged on a stand of four tables lined side by side along the south end of the playground. One by one, the runners, some competitive and others just there for the fitness and camaraderie, went away happy.

“You have to move quickly,” said Tim Dolan, a fourth grade teacher at James Irwin Charter Elementary School who has worked with Leyba at the station for the past four years. “You don’t want disgruntled runners.”

That wasn’t a problem on this day.

“I have no complaints,” said Weikel Elementary School third-grade teacher Stacie Hogue, waiting patiently while the Gatorade stand was refilled. “This is a good setup and a good series of races.”