We were honored to host over 200 runners and volunteers at the 2016 Winter Park Half Marathon and 5k this past weekend! The course spanned from Winter Park to Fraser and back again. It was a perfectly cloudless morning in the mountains, and the aspen trees had just started to shed the greens of summer for the bright yellow, orange and red of fall.
After changing the date of the race from late June to mid-September this year due to scheduling conflicts, we must admit that we were a little wary of the unpredictable weather this time of year. After all- it has already snowed and hailed in our neck of the mountains! Luckily, Mother Nature looked kindly on us and delivered us a perfect Fall day for running!
Here are couple of highlights:
- Our first place finisher, Joshua Merrick, is a newbie to the Fraser River Valley. He blew the competition away with a time of 1:23:28. That is a 6:20 minute mile- for 13.1 miles! WOW- way to go, Josh!
- Runner Jack Sepple, who finished with an impressive time of 2:09:24, vowed, along with a friend, to run the Winter Park Half Marathon every year for the next 25 years! We'll see you guys next summer, Jack!
- Meagan Zastrow, first time half-marathoner, had never run more than 6 miles consecutively in her life prior to Saturday's race! She came all the way over from Steamboat Springs to race this weekend, and finished with an amazing time of 2 :14:48! You're amazing, Meg!
- Runner Claudia Kirby finished the race with a time of 2:08:28. Claudia lives in Aspen and came all the way over to Grand County just to support Shining Stars and run in this beautiful fall race. Claudia and her entire family have been volunteering with and supporting the Shining Stars Aspen Winter Games program for years, and we're thrilled she was able to make it out and have such a successful run. Way to go, Claudia!!
Overall, we had an amazing day and we're so grateful to all volunteers, sponsors and especially our runners who came out to make this all possible. We can't wait until the 2017 race!
Click here to view all race results.
Click here to view photos from the race.
