Top 10 race finisher sets his sights on triathlon
A crisp wind cooled Colorado Springs early Saturday as runners stretched and jogged at St. Mary’s Grace Center in preparation for the start of the Top 10 race. But runners said the temperature in the high-50s was ideal for a 10-mile trek through Colorado Springs.
Craig Schmidt, 28, glided across the finish line nearly a minute ahead of his nearest challenger 54 minutes and 45 seconds after the sun began to light the fog hanging over the Front Range at the 7 a.m. start.
“Didn’t really attack it the first three miles, kind of went out even, smooth,” said Schmidt, of Denver. “Just trying to make sure I got a comfort level for the race, for the weather, for where the wind was at.”
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Saturday’s race comprised less than one-third his training goal: the Austin Half-Ironman in late October. After disappointing finishes in his last three marathons, Schmidt decided to train for the grueling 70.3-mile test that involves a 1.2-mile swim, 56 miles on a bicycle and 13.1-mile run.
At the front of the pack in the race’s opening loop at the Grace Center track was a runner identifiable by his long, curly golden coils. Bryce Gregoire, 18, of Falcon, lost his early advantage between the course’s third and fourth mile but managed a second-place finish.
He comfortably eclipsed his expected time of 58 or 59 minutes, crossing the finish line along Monument Creek in 56:41.64. The recent Falcon High School graduate will start racing for Adams State in Alamosa this month.
“Usually you just get yourself out of the mindset saying, ‘Oh, this is going to suck,’” he said of maintaining a quick pace from the starting gun. “Think of some other stuff and don’t worry about it, and then you’ll just fly right through.”
First through the finishing gate among the women runners was Elizabeth Watkins, 29, at 1:04:23.95, followed just over a minute later by Amanda Ewing.
Ewing, who is training for the Pikes Peak Ascent on Aug. 18, said she hung with Watkins for the first three miles before allowing Watkins to assume the lead.
“(Elizabeth) looked so strong and she was relaxed and she just took off,” said Ewing, 31, of Colorado Springs. “I didn’t have a chance to keep up … she ran phenomenal today.”
With a 5:29 pace, victory was never in question for Schmidt, who stretched his already dominant lead with long, powerful strides through the finish line.
The five-time marathoner knows that he will face a more ferocious beast in October.
“Didn’t really taper for the race, just trying to build a base for (the Half Ironman),” Schmidt said. “I think marathons are one thing, but you still (complete) a 1.2-mile swim and 52 miles on the bike, it’s a whole different race.”
