The 45th annual Horsetooth Half Marathon kicked off Sunday morning under sunny skies and perfect spring running conditions. One of Fort Collins’ oldest running races and half marathons, the event takes participants from Hughes Stadium on a scenic route through the foothills and city, where it finishes at New Belgium Brewing Co. for a fun post-race party.
The course is not easy, however, as it gains 500′ in the first couple of miles before topping out at Monster Mountain where there’s a cash prize waiting for the first male and female. After that, runners can enjoy an undulating course featuring -237′ elevation loss over the entire route.
Attracting over two thousand participants and spectators, the event is popular among Colorado’s top talent. Perhaps it’s the $8,000 on the line to be distributed among the top finishers, or maybe it’s the famed New Belgium Finish Line Party; regardless of the reason, the event continues to be a regional favorite and competitive race.
In the Monster Mountain Top Challenge, Tyler McCandless repeated his 2017 win in 9:55, with Kyle Blakeslee winning for the women in 11:49.
In the men’s half marathon, Brandon Johnson took top honors in 1:08:15, followed by Gebrekidan Abadi in second in 1:09:02. Tesfaalem Mehari rounded out the top three in 1:09:36.
The women’s race was close, with the top three females finishing within 40 seconds of one another. Ann Marie Kirkpatrick crossed the line first in 1:20:17, followed closely behind by Misiker Demessie who took second in 1:20:33. Not far behind her was third place finisher Sam Rivard in 1:20:51.