More than 500 runners laced up for the 10th anniversary Thirsty 13 Half-Marathon, presented by TBK Bank, on Saturday.

Participants and spectators gathered beyond the finish line at Ska Brewing at 225 Girard St. where runners were rewarded with glass goblets and draft beer to celebrate their conquering of 13 miles of uphill and downhill terrain.

Mallory Bauman, 37, of La Plata, New Mexico, completed her second Thirsty 13 on Saturday with a run time of one hour and 49 minutes. She bested her previous record by eight minutes in what she called a “pretty dang good” performance, she said.

She ran her last Thirsty 13 in 2019 when she was six months pregnant.

She told herself, “I’m going to do it again so I can take advantage of all the perks,” she said as she raised her glass post-race.

She was determined to beat her previous record.

“You can’t beat it. The people here are amazing. And the atmosphere is great and it’s gorgeous,” she said of the event.

Although Saturday marked her second Thirsty 13, she’s no stranger to other Four Corners marathons, she said. But the Thirsty 13 does happen to be one of her favorites.

It was a perfect race day for Bauman, she said. The air was nice and cool at the starting line in Hesperus where runners took off at 8 a.m. sharp. The views from Lake Nighthorse situated partway through the course were beautiful.

The last leg of the race was challenging, though.

“Right at the end (is particularly difficult),” she said. “You get some pretty nice climbs, then you get a nice 3½-mile downhill. Then you hit this corner, then you go uphill.”

She said the last mile and a half had her thinking “Oh my gosh” as she pushed herself uphill, taunted by the finish line just around the corner.

“I just want to thank everybody here in this community that put this on because it’s pretty special to bring everybody together,” she said.

For Caleb Allen, 25, a six-year resident of the Durango area, the uphill segments of the Thirsty 13 were a challenge as well. Right in the middle of the course, around miles six to eight, he started cramping up.

But the pain gave him something to concentrate on, he said, and so it wasn’t too bad.

“It's always nice because it gives you something to think about. The pain,” he said.

He said his time of one hour and 21 minutes is his best time for half-marathons, although the race on Saturday was his second ever.

His girlfriend was running and he decided to join in, he said.

Allen fared well for the Thirsty 13 being his second ever half-marathon. According to live race results, he had the third overall best time with an average mile pace of six minutes and 12 seconds.

He was bested only by Tom Frantz, who clocked in at one hour and 16 minutes, and local runner Chris Rohlf, who ran the 13-mile race in one hour and 20 minutes.

Durangoan Edel Clarke was the fastest woman of the day with a race time of one hour and 28 seconds.

Caitlin Jones of Hesperus was the fastest woman of the day with a race time of one hour and 27 minutes, according to race results.

cburney@durangoherald.com

A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the recorded fastest woman runner, Caitlin Jones, and misstated her race time.