Golden Leaves in Aspen - Stevie is Queen, Rickey is King

Last weekend we had two Team Coloradans each capture a win at the 2013 Golden Leaf Half Marathon in Aspen, CO. In the women's race, Stevie "Sunshine" Kremer out-shined the competition to win in 1:37:09 and place 8th overall amongst the men! This is her fourth win at the event. She one-upped a hat trick...we don't even know what to call that! Quadradical?

On the men's side, Rickey "Heavenly" Gates "and his red mustache" takes the win in a time of 1:26:33, after a history of four 2nd places finishes at Golden Leaf (otherwise known as a quadisappointment). Heavenly is prepared to duke it out at UROC this weekend. Watch out Rickey, we hear Killian is growing a mustache, or a "bigote", as they refer to it in Spain.

We have thus awarded Rickey and Stevie Prom King and Queen of the Golden Leaf Half Marathon (they can each choose which title they want, we are all inclusive here at Team Colorado). We hope J. Marshall Thompson doesn't get mad!




At the race, they even had the archways and red carpets (actually, black timing mats is the running equivalent to red carpets).

Stevie was kind enough to take a break from teaching little children and running in the mountains to talk with us about the race and other random things.

Team Colorado: Congrats on your Golden Leaf Half Marathon win this past weekend in Aspen. Tell us about the race.

Stevie: The race was nothing short of awesomeness! I know that is a cheeseball word, but I cannot think of a better way to describe it. Being the 5th time I have run this race, I knew what to expect, but seriously every year it gets better. Not only is the course the most beautiful course I've ever run, but the supporters, other runners and volunteers, (not to mention the raffle) make the race the best race ever. No joke! In terms of my race, I felt great the whole way through! I'm pretty sure I had a smile on my face the entire time (minus the first 1.5 miles).

Stevie always has a smile on her face!                                 photo: Joe Viger

Team Colorado: We heard you met Team Colorado's Chef l'équipe, Amy Perez, at the race..but then it wasn't Amy Perez! What happened?

Stevie: I was so excited when I heard someone say, "Hi Amy!" and then "Amy" started talking about her good friend Kim Dobson and I put two and two together and thought that I was finally meeting THE AMY PEREZ...after a good 10 minutes of lovely conversation, she realized I thought she was someone she wasn't-oops:-) Nonetheless, she was very nice and I am stoked to have met one great Amy, can't wait to meet the other!

Team Colorado: You had a bad race at Jungfrau Marathon a few weeks ago but most of your races have been pretty stellar this year. What else is on your race calendar this year?

Stevie: Yes, I had a pretty darn tooting bad race...more because I just never felt good. Through water stops and gel intakes, I still couldn't muster up enough energy to get my toques up that long hill. It was a beautiful race, but I could not enjoy it like I wanted to. I have had some other incredible races, that I was able to thoroughly enjoy, though:-) I will be heading across the pond again in mid October for the Limone Skyrace. I am already nervous...

Team Colorado: The races you have done are long, mostly marathon distance. Are you used to doing a lot of long races? What is you weekly mileage?

Stevie: I would say my "favorite" race distance is anything between a half marathon and full marathon. It takes me at least 4 miles to get warmed up, so I love having more distance to make up for my slackerish start. I don't know my weekly mileage per se, but I try to run anywhere from 1-2 hours each day and more on the weekend when I have more time.

Team Colorado: You know, if we were in junior high school we would automatically pair you and Rickey Gates up since you both won the race, sort of like King and Queen of the Golden Leaf. But we are all grown up now and we are not doing that because it would be awkward. Not really a question there, just pointing out what we would do if we were in junior high school.

Stevie: Not to toot my own horn, but I was the Homecoming Queen of Darien High School. Just saying. (P.S. I'm TOTALLY kidding, I'm not that cocky I promise. I literally begged the underclassmen to vote for me...not kidding!)

Team Colorado: We're happy to have you on Team Colorado, thanks for always being so happy!

Stevie: I'm thoroughly LOVING BEING on the Team. Thank you for inviting me:-)  

Team Colorado: We can tell there is something on your mind, Stevie, what is it?

Stevie: I really appreciate you not judging me for not getting my fat rear up the JungFrau Marathon. Thank you.

Team Colorado: That's what we are here for! You're welcome.

Ditto Gates.

The Aspen Times Article

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