This is familiar: ‘Ott prevails again’

Logan Ott knows how to get to the Durango Sports Club.

In fact, he’s making something of a habit out of it.

Ott, a Mancos High School and Fort Lewis College alumnus, cruised the 13.1 miles from Baker’s Bridge to the Durango Sports Club in familiar fashion Saturday: in front of a pack of about 300 runners, faster than he did it the last time around and looking hardly surprised or winded.

Ott won his third Steamworks Half Marathon in four years in personal-record time, finishing first in the men’s field in 1 hour, 14 minutes, 20 seconds – four seconds faster than his runner-up 1:14:24 last year.“Just another sunny day in Colorado,” the Mancos resident said.And just another motion in what’s become an annual Ott tradition. Only, this year’s race came with a little extra motivation.Ott was joined Saturday by former FLC cross country teammate Dylan Peterson, who – if the fast, flat course, beautiful weather and Steamworks beer and food waiting at the finish weren’t enough – gave Ott another reason to turn up for an early morning at Baker’s Bridge.

“I just like running fast on a fast course,” Ott said. “It’s really fun when you have someone to compete with like Dylan.”

Peterson, in his longest-ever race, gave Ott some competition, too – at least for a while.The former Skyhawks’ runners set the 1-2 pace until Mile 9 of the 13.1-course. Then, Ott got nasty.“He just put a dagger in my side every mile after that,” Peterson said. “I was trying to keep up with the surges.”

He couldn’t, but Peterson still took second place in 1:15:54.

“Ott prevails again,” he said.

For the women, Laura Knapp prevailed. She improved on her fourth-place finish last year with a 1:32:57 race.

Knapp followed third-place finisher Elisa Mullikin (1:35:05) for the first eight miles, then took off for the victory.

But even Knapp’s previous experience couldn’t put too much distance between her and second-place finisher Erika Firebaugh of Albuquerque.

Firebaugh finished less than a minute behind the leader in 1:33:43 but was shocked to hear she’d taken second. Saturday was her first jaunt through a half marathon, after all.

Her nearly winning strategy?“I don’t know. I don’t really have a strategy,” she said with a laugh.The highly touted course backdrop helped.

“The scenery – makes the miles go by faster when there’s something to look at.

“It’s awesome because I love running. It’s a good way to keep in shape and clear your mind; there’s nothing a good run can’t fix,” Firebaugh said.

No wonder her high school cross country coach, Nick Martinez, who also ran Saturday, calls her “crazy”.

Another Steamworks race rookie, Sean Meissner, took third in the men’s field in 1:19:36.

Meissner, who moved to Durango from Sisters, Ore., last year, said he, like Ott, plans to get familiar with the rout to the Durango Sports Club.

Credit the aid station workers.“They gave water, but they also gave a ‘rah, rah,’” Meissner said.

jsojourner@durangoherald.com