Joseph Gray ekes past Jonathan Aziz in Barr Trail Mountain Race, Ashley Brasovan wins on women’s side
Last year as Joseph Gray ran uphill toward the finish line, he did so with no one in his rearview.
At the 2024 Barr Trail Mountain Race on Sunday in Manitou Springs, Gray had a similar experience.
That’s because Gray and Jonathan Aziz ran side by side during the final stretch of the race.
Gray, sporting a pair of bloody knees, managed to touch the tape one second prior to Aziz to clock in at 1 hour, 33 minutes and 10 seconds to earn back-to-back victories in the 12.6-mile race.
Ashley Brasovan earned first on the women’s side and clocked in at 1:54.52.
“I was playing it safe on the descent,” Gray said. “We’ve both gotten a little stronger over the past year, but going down took a good chunk out of my time. Having to limp for a while after I got up from the fall was a little bit rough. But I’m happy to come away with the win.”
Gray built a cushion between himself and the pack most of the race but said a fall near the 10th mile hurt him and his time.
“After you fall hard, you’re trying to get your bearings back,” Gray said. “I felt stiff for a second because I hit some bone. And it took me a minute and I lost a lot of time on that.”
Gray had a more than two-minute advantage over Aziz during the 2023 Barr Trail race when he earned first place.
But this year, between the fall and his pace on the descent, Aziz closed the gap between the runners.
Aziz briefly took the lead as both runners made their final push up the hill and toward the finish line.
But Gray and his stringy build managed to outpace Aziz.
“It was tough because John is a solid runner,” Gray said. “I knew with him being on my tail and us coming in on that last section together it’d be tough. When he took that lead I was like ‘this is going to be a dogfight.’”
For Brasovan, she cruised to the finish line to earn another victory in the event. Brasovan’s time earned her 11th overall in the race, which featured 400 competitors.
Brasovan last competed in the event in 2019 where she also finished first and clocked in at 1:48.09.
The Barr Trail Mountain Race serves as the second of three events in the Garden to Peak Challenge.
In September, the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon will conclude the three-event challenge.
