Participants, spectators and locals alike couldn’t have asked for a better weekend for the Steamboat Marathon. Beginning Friday afternoon, the town of Steamboat began to buzz as visitors arrived and the town woke up from its winter slumber. Thousands of people converged on the town, with almost 1,500 taking part in the Steamboat Marathon races. The event hosted a full marathon, half marathon and 10K. Both the marathon and half marathon were a point-to-point, net-downhill course along the Elk River, and the 10K wound around the town, finishing at the city Courthouse.
The event’s headliner was the marathon, with Boulder’s Scott Howell taking the title in 2:53:52. Flatlander James Sullivan of Chelmsford, MA finished second in 3:07:00, with 41-year old Michael Bigelow of Golden rounding out the top three in 3:09:01.
The women’s marathon winner received high praise and loud cheers as she crossed the finish line. Andrea Wilhelm of Steamboat Springs threw her arms in the air as she approached the finish, celebrating a local’s win in 3:16:41. Aspen’s Julia Rowland finished second in 3:18:29 with 42-year old Candy Granger-Underhill filling out the podium spots in 3:29:49.
The half marathon saw the most finishers, with the men’s winner, 18-year old Sam Long of Boulder, crossing the line in 1:15:30. Boulder’s Billy Edwards finished second in 1:17:57, with reigning 2013 champ Lucas Crespin grabbing third in 1:19:46.
For the women’s half marathon, 40-year old Bean Wrenn stole the show in 1:24:58. Denver’s Kari-Anne Samuelson finished second in 1:27:39, and 44-year old local Heather Gollnick rounded out the top three in 1:34:27.
The men’s 10K saw Boulderite Arnaud Du Pasquier taking the win in 37:05. 36-year old Justin Liddle finished second in 37:50, and Colorado Springs’ Brad Poppele rounded out the top three in 38:48.
For the women, Ruth Waller took top honors in 40:33. Boulder’s Eliska Hajkova crossed the line in second in 43:40, and 38-year old Cecilia Pascual GArrido grabbed the final podium spot in 44:43.