Mike Selig entered the inaugural Colorado Colfax Marathon on a whim, an hour before registration closed Saturday afternoon, and the impulse paid off when he cruised to victory Sunday.
For runner-up Steve Krebs, it figured. The Lakewood physician is known in local running circles for finishing second in more marathons than he would like to count. This time he had the race won until Selig’s 11th-hour decision to enter.
“It would be nice to get married and not be the best man all the time,” Krebs said with a wince and a smile.
Selig, 27, made the 26.2-mile trek from the Aurora Sports Park to Lakewood’s Colorado Mills mall in 2 hours, 45 minutes, 17 seconds (6:19 per mile). Krebs, 43, finished in 2:51:07. Tania Pacev of Littleton was the first female finisher in 3:14:15.
“I think it was a very nice course,” said Pacev, a top ultrarunner. “Unfortunately, I didn’t have any competition.”
Selig, who works at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory just down the street from the marathon finish line, moved to the area two years ago from New York. He has focused on mountain running here because he found his race times at altitude “depressing.” But he thought he could run 2:50 on Sunday, so he gave it a shot.
“I thought I’d be able to run close to that pace,” Selig said. “I just didn’t know if anybody was going to be able to run faster or not.”
Running bare-chested to beat the heat and wearing a tattered, 10-year-old baseball cap, Selig ran a smart, consistent race and looked comfortable throughout. He found it more difficult after passing the midway point in City Park, with the thermometer climbing and a 600-foot climb looming from mile 18 to the finish.
“It was kind of warm,” Selig said. “It was nice (early), but once we got out of the park it started to get kind of hot. I was like, ‘It’s going to be uphill and warm the rest of the way, just kind of maintain and don’t worry about how fast you go.”‘
Krebs figures he has finished second in at least 10 marathons, including three times in the Boulder Backroads Marathon and three times at the Steamboat Marathon. He took solace from the fact Selig is 27 and the third-place finisher, Miguel Angel Cazares (2:53:43), is 19.
“Those two, I bet if you add their ages it barely equals mine,” said Krebs, who ran track at Colorado State. “How snooty can you be to be unhappy with second place, especially at my age? I’m very happy.”
A major component of the event was a five-member relay with alternating legs of 10 kilometers, 5K, 10K, 5K and 12K. That race within a race served as the USA Track & Field National Club Marathon Relay Championships.
The Boulder Express, coached by former marathon world record-holder Steve Jones, won the men’s USATF race in 2:13:44. The Adidas Raleigh Track Club won the women’s race in 2:37:43.
“It was run really well, I thought, for the first year,” said Clint Wells, a former University of Colorado All-American who ran the anchor leg for the Boulder Express. “It was a good event, and there were a lot of people cheering us on, more than I thought there would be.”
USATF created the relay in 2002 hoping to reinvigorate the club system that thrived in the 1960s and 1970s. They were encouraged by what they saw Sunday.
“I loved it,” USATF president Bill Roe said. “This is a big positive step forward for our club program. We’ve gotten people from so many different areas of the country in our first year here. I think next year people are going to flock here.”
RESULTS
MEN
1. Mike Selig, Golden, 2:45:17
2. Steve Krebs, Wheat Ridge, 2:51:07
3. Miguel Angel Cazares, Denver, 2:53:44
4. Scott Jaime, Highlands Ranch, 2:59:27
5. John Tallerday, Lakewood, 3:01:04
6. David Estrada Lara, Englewood, 3:02:37
7. Jon C. Turner, Highlands Ranch, 3:07:16
8. Scott Gaiser, Kalispell, Mont., 3:08:33
9. Michael Miller, Golden, 3:08:47
10. Scott Johnson, Aurora, 3:09:08
WOMEN
1. Tania Pacev, Littleton, 3:14:15
2. Jennifer Edgerley, Broomfield, 3:22:21
3. Laura Eakin, Denver, 3:24:49
4. Kara Diamond-Husmann, Denver, 3:28:47
5. Emily Robbins, Wheat Ridge, 3:29:25
6. Cathy Weber, Denver, 3:31:00
7. Peggy Nelson-Panzer, Aurora, 3:32:47
8. Lilia Paradis, Denver, 3:35:25
9. Kristen Robbins, Denver, 3:37:46
10. Kay Evans, Chocowinity, N.C., 3:39:29
USATF RELAY TEAMS – MEN
1. Boulder Express A, 2:13:44
2. Boulder Running Company/Adidas, 2:14:23
3. Asics Aggie Running Club, 2:16:32
4. Universal Sole-Reebok, 2:18:30
5. Boulder Express B, 2:19:30
6. Kansas City Smoke, 2:20:16
7. Atlanta Track Club, 2:21:15
8. Team Nebraska Brooks, 2:21:54
9. Boulder Running Company/Adidas – B, 2:22:17
10. Club Northwest, 2:23:20
USATF RELAY TEAMS – WOMEN
1. Adidas Raleigh Track Club, 2:37:43
2. Rocky Mountain Dist Team-Saucony, 2:39:38
3. Moving Comfort-Montana, 2:45:19
4. Team Nebraska Brooks, 2:46:17
5. Fleet Feet Sports -Brooks, 2:46:31
6. Atlanta Track Club, 2:46:51
7. Impala Racing Team, 2:49:10
8. Greater Boston Track Club, 2:53:19
WHEELCHAIR RESULTS – MEN
1. Jacob Heilveil, Longmont, 1:43:04
2. Adam Bleakney, Savoy, Ill., 1:43:25
3. Tyler Byers, Reston, Va., 1:46:11
4. Tony Iniguez, Bolingbrook, Ill., 1:46:54
5. Chad Johnson, Charlestown, Ind., 1:55:05
6. Austin Snyder, 1:59:12
7. Kevin Hosea, Urbana, Ill., 2:03:26
8. Sean Eres, Tucson, 2:25:27
9. Ian Rice, Pittsburgh, 2:32:33
10. Joseph Dowling, Old Greenwich, Conn., 2:43:00
11. Chad Hebel, Cary, N.C., 2:55:57
WHEELCHAIR RESULTS – WOMEN
1. Shirley Reilly, Tucson, 2:01:07
2. Miriam Ladner, Urbana, Ill., 2:01:19
3. Amanda McGrory, Champaign, Ill., 2:01:51
4. April Couglin, New York, 2:32:38
5. Tricia Downing, Denver, 2:35:32
6. Virginia Vinyard, Denver, 6:39:18
HALF-MARATHON – MEN
1. David Kirui, Kenya, 1:14:33
2. Mike Wasson, Monument, 1:21:25
3. Neil Gilfedder, Alameda, Calif., 1:23:21
4. Matthew Strand, Denver, 1:28:19
5. Joe Soma, Boulder, 1:28:40
6. Andrew Loizeaux, Denver, 1:28:58
7. Alexander Paplomatas, Denver, 1:29:16
8. Todd H. Baldini, Denver, 1:29:31
9. Jon Urban, Highlands Ranch, 1:29:38
10. Lenny Laraio, Denver, 1:31:11
HALF-MARATHON – WOMEN
1. A. Anes, Fort Collins, 1:29:15
2. Tanya Poel, Boulder, 1:30:11
3. Kristin Donald, Brighton, 1:32:31
4. Dawn King, Boulder, 1:32:46
5. Jenna Pohle, Aurora, 1:36:19
6. Stephanie Dannen, Lakewood, 1:38:38
7. Koby Lochhead, Denver, 1:38:57
8. Kristin Moreau, Golden, 1:39:02
9. Chrissy Steigerwald, Colorado Springs, 1:39:42
10. Erica Pedron, Aurora, 1:40:06
