As she did so many times as a prep phenom at Niwot High School, Elise Cranny stole the show.
Dozens of women crossed the finish line ahead of Cranny during the citizen’s portion of the 46th Bolder Boulder on Monday. Yet once the confusion was sorted out and the times confirmed, it was Cranny who went home with the top women’s mark at the annual Memorial Day 10K.
It was former North Carolina State standout Savannah Shaw who was the first woman to cross the finish line, and Shaw promptly was feted accordingly. Her fellow runners offered congratulations. She was whisked off to media interviews, including comments that aired on the stadium’s video board. She expressed the exhausted but beaming smile of a champion.
Yet it was all for naught, because Cranny was declared an unexpected winner of the race while making a little Bolder Boulder history. Cranny became what is believed to be the first winner who did not start the race in the first “A” wave. Cranny instead started in the “AA” wave while a slew of her competitors crossed the finish line ahead of her at Folsom Field.
Shaw had always set running the Bolder Boulder as a bucket list goal, and for a few moments at the Bolder Boulder finish line, Shaw could say she conquered the 10-kilometer course in triumphant fashion.
Yet when Cranny finished moments later, she did so with a better time than Shaw or any of her fellow competitors. Because of the post-race confusion, Cranny wasn’t immediately available for comment.
“I was just going to give it a try and see how I feel,” said Shaw, who trains in Boulder. “I was able to feel pretty decent and hold a nice pace there. I thought if I could run in 34 minutes or 33, that would be amazing at altitude with some hills. I’ve been training (in Boulder) for two and a half years and I love the community. I can’t even imagine ever leaving.”
Cranny finished in 34 minutes, 20 seconds, outpacing Shaw, the runner-up, by 15 seconds. Cranny’s time was the fifth-best winning time in the history of the women’s citizen’s race. American Kathryn Fluehr finished third with a time of 35:00.
Cranny was one of the most decorated prep distance athletes in a state rich in running history, as she won consecutive cross country state titles at Niwot in 2012 and 2013 while also winning six individual titles in track and field. Cranny starred at Stanford and has twice qualified for the Olympics in the 5K, first in 2021 (for the pandemic-delayed 2020 games) and again in 2024.
Long before Shaw decided to make Boulder her home, the former North Carolina State distance specialist visited Colorado enough to become familiar with the terrain.
With a brother who was a decorated runner at Colorado Mines, Shaw often trained in Colorado during the summer breaks of her collegiate career. Monday marked her first Bolder Boulder appearance.
“I think around mile four, once I started going downhill, I thought I could finish this strong,” Shaw said. “It was cool stepping up to the line and seeing so many competitive, awesome people showing up for this race. Itap always such a special event.”
