The finish line at a marathon always presents a remarkable range of emotions, but when Heather Utrata got there in Sunday’s Colfax Marathon, she was in shock.
Not the kind that puts the runner in the care of paramedics, fortunately. Utrata was overcome with disbelief after claiming the women’s title in the first marathon she attempted.
“I felt like I was dragging,” said Utrata, 27. “Oh, my gosh!”
Utrata, who works at the Englewood Rec Center, finished with an unofficial time of 3 hours, 13 minutes, 48 seconds.
“I knew it was a small race I could place in, but winning was never in the picture,” Utrata said. “It’s awesome. It’s so awesome!”
Marathon winners tend to boast high school or collegiate track credentials, not to mention a few top-10 marathon finishes, but not Utrata.
“I played tennis in high school, and I partied in college,” said Utrata, who attended Colorado State and now studies therapeutic recreation at Metro State. She did get her training up to 80 miles a week for her marathon debut, and she does love running.
“I just do it because I like to do it,” Utrata said. “I can’t not do it.”
She also loves her job at the rec center.
“It’s just an awesome place to go to work every day,” Utrata said. “You don’t feel like you’re going to work; you feel like you’re hanging out with friends.”
The men’s race also went to a first-time marathoner with former Ohio Wesleyan runner Matt Kempton winning in 2:41:00.
Kempton moved to Colorado after graduation, believing he underachieved as a collegiate runner and hoping altitude training would help him reach his potential. Kempton’s goal is to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Trials.
The trials will have considerably more atmosphere than what Colfax has to offer, but Kempton was impressed.
“This is a really great race,” said Kempton, 24. “I appreciate all the people along the course who were helping us out there. People would say really amazing things, just really motivational.”
Kempton took the lead around the 22-mile mark from Miguel Cazares. In the inaugural Colfax Marathon three years ago, Cazares ran his first marathon at age 19 and placed third. This year his goal was to win — and set a course record.
But that might have been an overly ambitious goal for a guy who ran the Boston Marathon only four weeks ago, running a personal-best 2:35:11.
“I did all I could,” said runner-up Cazares, who fought tears at the finish line. “My legs were kind of tired. I just wanted to go out with the leaders and try to bring it home.”
In the women’s half-marathon, former Bucknell track runner Becki Pierotti of Boulder took the lead from Parker triathlete Sydney Cornell with about 3 miles to go and won in 1:26:45. Cornell finished 25 seconds later.
“I’ve been thinking about this race for a while,” said Pierotti, 24. “You picture yourself crossing the finish line first, even if you have no idea who’s going to show up.”
The marathon, half-marathon and marathon relay had about 5,000 finishers.
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
