In just over 1 hour and 12 minutes, Ben Hanson of Denver crossed the finish line at the Idaho Springs baseball fields of the annual 21.1-mile race that started in Georgetown and this year raised $75,000 for area students and faculty, according to organizers.
According to Booster Club President Pam Ginter, the Clear Creek County Booster Club sponsors and organizes this race as a fundraiser for the high school and middle school in Evergreen.
The club is made up of parent volunteers who help the students and the school. Ginter said the booster club awards scholarships to students and provides capital equipment such as the new scoreboard at the baseball field in Evergreen.
“We try to set money aside to make sure the school has it when it needs it,” Ginter said.
This year, more than 1,100 participants registered for the mostly downhill race. Hanson was the first to cross the finish line with an average running speed of just over 10 mph.
“The course and the scenery are great,” said Hanson.
Hanson also said he used the race as preparation for another marathon in Berlin in September.
“I’ve been running a lot of miles. Last week I ran about 100 miles, so yeah, I’m a pretty serious runner,” Hanson said between breaths.
Alli Armstrong from Westminster took a close second place with a time of 1 hour and 17 minutes.
“It was incredible. I had never done this race before, but my father had done it 20-30 years ago and he really enjoyed it, so I thought it was finally time to come here,” Armstrong said.
As a first-time runner of this half marathon, Armstrong said she was fascinated by the course,
“The area is just incredible. I love that it stretches from one town to the other. Both are just super charming,” said Armstrong. “Great places to walk the dog, have a picnic or go trail running. You drive back and forth between the two all the time, but doing it on foot was really special.”
The fan club provided plenty of snacks, carbohydrates and fluids after the race, including several small pools full of sliced watermelon.
After the event, no one seemed to be in a hurry to leave. People stayed to relax and talk to the friends they had made along the way.
When talking to some runners, it became clear that this is a small, close-knit group that takes part in marathons all over the world.
Phillippa Keast, originally from New Zealand but now living in Idaho Springs, said she is also training to run the Berlin Marathon in September.
“It was so great, I had a really great day. The last part was so hard because they put a little hill in at the very end, which was nice,” Keast said.
She said the reason she runs is to relax.
“Honestly, my mind is very busy and I find that running is the only time it calms down. It’s my time to completely switch off,” she said.
After the race was over and the playing fields were cleaned, the support group began planning how to distribute the money raised to the schools and how to repeat the half marathon next year, Ginter said.
“I just love being at the school and knowing all the kids. Normally we are a core group that is involved in everything, but we are always looking for volunteers – we desperately need more volunteers,” said Ginter.
