Temperatures hovered in the low 40s, rain fell most of the morning and the streets of Denver were strewn with puddles. It was a gloomy, nasty day to run.
So why did thousands of runners resist the urge to hit the snooze button and dive back under their comforters? Why did they get up before sunrise and swarm downtown to run the Denver Marathon – or its half-marathon and marathon relay – when they were sure to be soaked to their bones and chilled to their souls?
Perhaps James Mejia of Denver – who ran his 13th marathon in 13 months – summed it up best:
“You decide if you want to feel life or you’re just going to be a bystander,” Mejia said. “I want to feel it. I want to live it, I want to be in it and I want to push it a little bit. I want to use what God gave me and I want to push my body to see what it can do.”
Jonathan Ndambuki of Kenya won in 2 hours, 21 minutes, 34 seconds – believed to be the fastest marathon in Colorado since the mid-1980s – with compatriot Charles Kiplagat only 13 seconds behind. Martha Tenorio, a three-time Olympian for Ecuador who has lived in Boulder the past 15 years, took the women’s title in 2:46:41.
“It was tough, like freezing a little,” said Ndambuki, 31.
“Wow, it’s too cold, extreme,” added a shivering Kiplagat, also 31. “I come from a hot place.”
Race director Dave McGillivray, better known for serving in the same capacity for the renowned Boston Marathon, seriously considered limiting Sunday’s race to the half-marathon when he heard the weather forecast on Saturday.
“Hypothermia was the biggest issue,” McGillivray said. “We’re just lucky there hasn’t been any wind. If there was wind, then the wind, the rain and the cold is a formula for disaster.”
Green Mountain High School track coach Clint Boston got up at 3 a.m., heard the rain falling and realized his goal of finishing in 2:50 probably wouldn’t happen.
“I got up, gave the daughter a hug, and she said, ‘I’d be proud of you, dad, no matter what,”‘ Boston said. “I told her, ‘Daddy’s going to get a little cold today.”‘
Boston did accomplish his goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon, finishing in 3:03:35 on a day that made him proud to be a runner.
“We are crazy,” Boston said. “This is awesome to see so many people out here.”
Tenorio ran the marathon in the past two Olympics and the 10,000 meters in 1996. Tenorio promised her longtime coach, Rich Castro, she would win.
“It was very hard, but I put my mind very strong,” said Tenorio, 41. “I said I don’t care (about) the weather, the rain, just go and run. I’ve been training very hard for this race. I feel very happy to win, and I run a very good time, also.”
Mindy Kuhl, 25, flew in from Los Angeles to run her second marathon with assurances from friends that it rarely rains in Denver and the weather is reliably beautiful. She shed tears of joy after crossing the finish line in 3:29:18.
“I think it was (from) putting everything on the line, so when you finish you’re happy, you’re sad, you’re really hurting,” Kuhl said. “For the last six miles I had to stop every half-mile or so and stretch. It was a struggle to finish. My legs are so tight right now.”
Mejia called his 13-month marathon odyssey his “mid-life crisis tour.” He turned 40 last February and said “40 is the new 20.” Mejia ran a personal best of 3:11:22.
“My mouth is numb, my fingers are numb, my legs are numb,” Mejia said, “and I’ve never felt better in my life.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
