Runners were greeted to perfect race weather on Saturday morning for the Denver Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon and Half Marathon. The race, which winds its way in and around the streets of Denver, attracted thousands of participants from Colorado and as far as Japan.
In the men’s marathon, Kenyan Abraham Kogo won in 2:27:58. Top master and second place finisher Dave Scudamore of Denver crossed the line in 2:33:44, with fellow Denverite Matt Dewald rounding out the top three in 2:33:44.
In the women’s marathon, Japan’s Mizuho Nasukawa handily won the race in 2:37:05, breaking the All-Colorado Marathon record by exactly four minutes. Nicole Chyr of Englewood came in second in 2:51:24, and Littleton’s Paige Higgins rounded out the top three in 2:52:29.
The men’s half marathon race was quite a show, as Great Britain’s Andrew Lemoncello and Boulder’s Kenyon Neuman battled it out on the streets of Denver for the final eight miles. Eventual winner Lemoncello took the lead at mile eleven and crossed the finish line in 1:06:12. 25-year old Neuman came in a close second in 1:06:28. Crossing the line in third was Gunnison’s Josh Eberly in 1:07:30.
The women’s half marathon race saw a Japanese winner as well. 23-year old Rui Aoyama took top honors with a 1:14:35 finishing time. Coming in second was top master Nuta Olaru of Longmont in 1:15:00. Third place belonged to 22-year old Moeno Nakamura of Japan in 1:16:01.