Durango likes to think of itself as a cycling town, but between the half marathons and five- and 10-kilometer races many weekends of the year, the running community arguably could claim that we’re more of a running town.
The Steamworks Half Marathon, held Saturday on County Road 250 from Bakers Bridge to the Durango Sports Club, sold out its 300 spots in nine days.
But Saturday could have been called Yount Day, as Sam and Maggie Yount swept the top men’s and women’s spots.
“He’s fast, and she’s ridiculously fast,” race director Matthew Krichman said. Sam Yount finished first in 1 hour, 17 minutes, 11.01 seconds, while Maggie Yount finished fourth overall in 1:22.5.
The speed is even more amazing when one considers that until two months ago, they were living and competing in the San Francisco Bay Area at sea level. Maggie Yount gave birth to Sebastian, nicknamed “Bear,” 6½ months ago, adding another level of astonishment at her fitness level.
“We’re usually running pushing a stroller,” Sam Yount said. “It was nice to move my arms.”
Maggie Yount said they weren’t such standouts in the Bay Area, where the field is highly competitive, but credits their Strava Track Club coach Dena Evans, a former Stanford University women’s coach, with helping them develop their form and speed. In two pending Guinness World Records’ times, Maggie Yount completed both a 5K and a 10K race pushing Bear’s stroller in the Double Road Race in San Jose, California, which also got her a nod in Runner’s World Magazine.
The magazine noted that Yount, who also is a triathlete, went for a 20-mile bike ride and a run the day she gave birth.
“The only thing that’s changed in my training here is that it’s harder to recover at altitude, so I only do one hard workout a week,” Maggie Yount said.
It might not be a Guinness record, but Maggie Yount also beat the women’s record at the Steamworks Half, coming in fourth overall and about 3 minutes faster than the previous record of 1 hour, 24 minutes.
Because of Durango’s reputation as a great spot to visit, runners want to race here, Krichman said. They came from as far away as Orlando, Florida; Florence, Mississippi; and, perhaps farthest traveled, Auckland, New Zealand.
“My ex-boyfriend lives here, and I fell in love with Durango, so I take any opportunity to come back,” said Abigail Ritter from Pittsburgh.
Most, even those coming from sea level, seemed to deal well with the elevation.
“I was nervous about the altitude,” said Jill Gwinn, a runner from Orlando. “Everybody said to stay really hydrated, even though you won’t feel thirsty. And I heard ginger was good for adjusting to altitude, so I’ve been eating a lot of ginger.”
It must have worked, she said, because her time wasn’t far off what she runs at home.
The Steamworks Half Marathon is a fundraiser for the Marc Witkes Scholarship at Fort Lewis College. More than $51,000 has gone into the scholarship from this race, said Vic Rudolph of Durango Motorless Transit, which also is a beneficiary of the event.
“The scholarship is a good way to help the college recruit runners for the cross country team,” Krichman said.
So, is the Durango market saturated between all the charity 5K races and half marathons?
“Running is like beer: The more you have, the more you want,” Krichman said. “I think if you asked Dave Thibodeau from Ska or Kris Oyler from Steamworks if they were concerned when Brew or Animas Brewing Company opened, they would tell you that the more craft breweries we have, the more people come for the beer.”
abutler@durangoherald.com
Krichman said his fellow race directors feel the same way.
“The more people get into fitness and running, the bigger the market becomes,” he said. “I think that if someone goes out to run their race, they’re more likely to come run mine.”
abutler@durangoherald.com
