The Durango Running Club hosted the Vallecito Lake Heavy Half marathon for the first time on Saturday after taking over the race from Rocky Mountain Races.
With some good weather and lots of support, the transition went smooth.
“The terrific support I received from our volunteers, sponsors and the Vallecito community helped make the race a success,” race director Tim Funk said. “The great weather that morning helped as well.”
The race had 111 runners, up from 99 last year, take on the 13.7-mile challenge, running around the lake and over the Vallecito dam.
All of the top finishers were from Durango or Bayfield, but there were runners from New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and even Georgia.
Ian Huang of Durango was race’s overall winner in 1 hour, 26 minutes and 59.07 seconds. Huang lowered his second-place time from 2022 by about 11 seconds this year to get the win. Jonathon Roberts actually led most of the race, despite a toe injury, and still finished second in 1:27:57.56. Sam Yount held off Teddy Eyster to finish third in 1:33:14.34.
“Eyster's near podium finish was particularly remarkable given that he spent the 2 1/2 hours immediately before the race on his feet volunteering to help with the race parking,” Funk said.
Willow Lott of Durango won of the female’s overall title, winning the race by over 11 minutes in 1:42:10.14. Maggie Guterl, the first woman to win the Big's Backyard Ultramarathon finished second in, 1:53:29.77, despite recovering from an injury. Edel Clarke, who ran in the Boston Marathon less than a month ago, crossed third in 1:53:47.93.
Brynn Aggeler (1:58:22.73) and Jack Purcell (1:51:54.34) won the female and male 18-and-under titles.
In the 19-29 divisions, Zeb Shields won the male category in 1:40:33.53, followed by Bryce Johnson (1:50:31.62) and Jesse Holmes (2:12:15.29). Tristen Musselman (2:12:12.10) took the female crown with Camryn Sippy (2:28:06.25) crossing second and Molly Bradley (2:30:56.39) finishing third.
Runners in the 30-39 division put down some of the fastest times. Eyster, who just missed the overall podium, won male’s division in 1:33:59.18. Shea Rivers finished second in 1:43:06.99 and John Grotenhuis crossed third in 1:48:18.39.
Rachel Schur, meanwhile, won the female 30-39 division in 1:54:33.44, followed by Jessica Crow (1:57:17.59) and Jennifer Chesnulovitch (2:05:37.62).
Jeff Organ was the first male to finish in the 40-49 category in 1:38:10.36. Matt Smith (1:43:20.76) finished second and Austin McDaniel placed third (1:143:35.58).
In the female 40-49 division, Liz Carrington finished first in 2:06:07.15, followed by Lauren Moran (2:09:27.10) and Elizabeth Davis (2:12:20.82).
Marco Nij won the make 50-59 category in 1:46:41.01 while Riley Player (2:01:03.37) finished second and Timothy Helmsetter (2:24:33.48) took third.
Susan Fischer won the female 50-59 division in 2:09:34.51. Janet Fox (2:22:36.90) crossed second and Kristen Frisch (2:47:37.21) was third.
In the female 60-69 category, Diana Nelson took the win in 2:29:28.35, followed by Caroline Eastburn (2:39:27.48) and Peg Rogers (3:08:26.09)
Brian Marshall crossed first in the male 60-69 division in 2:36:40.16 while Kurt Steinhaus finished second (3:20:27.49).
Danny Pacheco, meanwhile, was the only competitor 70 or older to complete the race. Pacheco finished the half marathon in 2:48:18.98 to win the male division.
Funk said the race, which was an all-volunteer effort, raised approximately $3,000 for local nonprofit organizations and charities, with the primary beneficiary being the Vallecito Community Center.
The race was also the kickoff to DRCs summer racing series. The series also includes the Narrow Gauge 10 Mile race on May 28, the Kennebec Mountain Run on Aug. 5 and the Thirsty 13 Half Marathon on Aug. 26.
More information on the series at https://www.durangorunningclub.org/
