May the 4th be with you...

This past weekend there was some predicting going on, course records fell and God held a race in his Garden.

Simon Gutierrez started the winning weekend off at the Take 5 in the Garden 5K, held in the picturesque Garden of the Gods, with his victory in the hilly 5K in a time of 17:00.

No, it's not a shadow...those shoes are HUGE!!!  As large as Pikes Peak in the background!     photo: PikesPeakSports.us

PikesPeakSports.us story

Greenland (not to be confused with the country of...) Trail Races

Another picturesque view of the snow-covered Pikes Peak from the Greenland Open Space     photo: Nora Duane

Big McD runs away with a new 25K course record as well as with some stomach issues     photo: Nora Duane

Neil "Big McD" McDonagh took down the Greenland Trail 25K despite suffering some gastro-intestinal issues and having to take a few pit stops during the second half of the course, or what we call in the industry an "assplosion", which cost him a few minutes. Neil stated that he "even had time to stop and smell the flowers 3 times during the race (code for bathroom stops)!"

Big McD looking happy before his unscheduled pit stops            photo: Steve Glass

Considering that, he ran 1:32:22 to break the old course record of 1:34:18 set in 2012. Had he not eaten those Big Macs before the race, Big McD would have destroyed the record!

Neil talks with Tim Bergsten from PikesPeakSports.us.

In the Greenland 50K race, Peter Maksimow was the race favorite going into it, as he has won the previous two years and bested fellow Team Colorado member Justin Ricks' 2008 record in 2012 with a 3:22:09. Not expecting to run anywhere near that time since dealing with a nagging achilles injury and a prolonged Plantar issues have extremely limited his running, Maksimow instead tried to make up for it by wearing the most colorful Inov-8 attire he could find. And it seemed to work!!! Maybe it was the emergency orange prototype X-Talon 190's?

The lack of beard and color of his clothing helped Maksimow acquire a new CR           photo: Steve Glass

First time Greenland 50K runner and professional triathlete, Brad Seng, really helped push the pace and keep it on track for a new course record. This prodded Maksimow to "keep it real", as they say, and  hold on for the new CR of 3:21:11 and become the back-to-back RRCA Colorado State 50K Champion. May the 4th was with him!

Maksimow claims that the aerodynamics of his mustache (vs. his large bug-catching beard of 2012) helped him propel to a new record.

Greenland 50K Report

May the 4th be with YOU!!!