The wind was the topic of the day on Sunday morning as hundreds of participants converged on Harlow Platts Community Park in Boulder for the Fast and Flurry-ous Cross Country 4 Mile, hosted by the Boulder Running Company.
The race course design and format made the event extremely exciting to watch. The 4-mile men’s and women’s races were separated into two different heats, each consisting of three loops. Each loop headed west around Viele Lake and back across the bridge. Participants then skirted the South Boulder Rec Center and up the hill through the frisbee golf course, looping around the soccer field before heading back behind the Rec Center to the start area.
The women’s race was a fight to the finish. Boulder Track Club’s Ellie Keyser and Newton Running Elite’s Kristen Arendt went stride for stride from the gun. Keyser inched ahead on the last loop and out-sprinted Arendt to the finish for a winning time of 23:16. Arendt crossed the line in 23:20. Third place belonged to Rachel Gioscia-Ryan of Boulder who finished in 24:08.
The men’s race was a runaway win by local favorite Brent Vaughn. Vaughn lead from the gun and increased his lead exponentially throughout the race, finishing with a time of 19:23. Newton Running Elite’s Tyler McCandless grabbed second in 20:18, with Boulder Track Club’s Austin Richmond rounding out the top three in 20:33.
There were a plethora of Colorado’s top runners out on the course today, including former Olympians and National Champions alike. Check out the complete women’s results here, and the men’s results here.
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