Garden of Gods winners from near and far

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), May 4, 2003 | by NICK WALTER

Jeff Smith knows these hills.

He's had a house just south of Garden of the Gods since 1972. That's when the roads that cut through the red rocks were almost nonexistent and the trails not yet polished.

Hundreds came Saturday to run the Garden of the Gods races, but not many of them are as familiar with the course as Smith, who won his 60-98 age group 5-kilometer race in 25 minutes, 34 seconds.

This is, after all, his big back yard.

"My favorite part is looking at Pikes Peak every morning," said Smith, 62, who moved to Colorado Springs in 1965. "I came here because it's just a beautiful place. But I don't know if you ever get used to the hills here."

Andrew Robinson is quickly figuring them out.

He won the 5K race for the second consecutive year with a time of 15:17. Greg Augsberger was next, coming in at 16:12.

Robinson came from Sussex, England, where he runs for Newhan Essex Beagules, one of the top running clubs in the country.

He is doing high-altitude training in hopes of making the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. He would compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

"This was quite challenging, to say the least," said Robinson, whose trip was funded by O'Rourke Carpentry. "I found the hills very hard, although it seemed the hills went a lot more down than up."

Two weeks before he was to run the race in 2000, Robinson discovered that he had a cyst inside his bone below his hip.

He had surgery and didn't run at all for eight months. He then had some complications that slowed the healing process. Now Robinson hasn't felt any pain for a year and a half.

"The doctor told me it was a good thing that I'm a runner," said Robinson, 25. "He said I wouldn't have felt it until I was 30 or 35."

Colorado Springs' Sandie Hubbard won the women's 5K in 21:12 and Adolfo Carrillo, of Colorado Springs, won the men's 5-mile race in 28:15.

A newcomer to the course was Stephanie Jones, who won the women's division of the 5-mile race in 31:29. Jones moved to Colorado Springs from Houston eight weeks ago with her 3-year-old son, Tanner, and daughter Hunter, who is almost 2.

Jones, 32, heard that the first mile was the toughest, but adrenaline got her through. It was the 2-31/2-mile stretch that reverses and goes uphill that made her legs strain.

She ran most of the race by herself, with an eye on the men who ran a short distance ahead of her.

"I focus on the men more than the women," said Jones, whose twin sister, Stacie, won a Houston 5K Saturday. "It's a good thing she wasn't here or she'd have beaten me. I'm just trying to keep up with her."

GARDEN OF THE GODS

Men's 5 kilometer

Overall

1. Andrew Robinson, Sussex, England, 15:17; 2. Greg Augsberger, Manitou Springs, 16:12; 3. Scott Gall, Manitou Springs, 16:44.

15-19

1. Kyle Thomas, Monument, 19:41; 2. Brendan Trimboli, Woodland Park, 20:27.

20-29

1. Adam Rich, Colorado Springs, 16:47; 2. Eli Bremer, Colorado Spriongs, 17:04; 3. Paul Johnson, Colorado Springs, 17:44

30-39

1. Leopoldo Lopez-Baca, Chihuahua, Mexico, 17:21; 2. Aaron Sever, Colorado Springs, 18:45; 3. Juan Amores, Colorado Springs, 18:16

40-49

1. Robert Yara, Colorado Springs, 18:01; 2. David Minter, Colorado Springs, 18:46; 3. Lile Budden, Colorado Springs, 19:51

50-59

1. Don Ross, Colorado Springs, 20:36; 2. Bob Gassen, Canon City, 23:10; 3. Charles Rombough, Manitou Springs, 26:17

60

1. Jeff Simth, Colorado Springs, 25:34; 2. Derek Keenan, Colorado Springs, 26:38

Women's 5k

Overall

1. Sandie Hubbard, Colorado Springs, 21:12; 2. Erika Harden, Denver, 22:50; 3. Helena Tseung, Colorado Springs, 24:37

1-19

1. Jenna Smith, Woodland Park, 25:36

20-29

1. Sehelijn Flippin, Colorado Springs, 25:00; 2. Beatrice Durkee, Colorado Springs, 25:01; 3. Emily Hoagland, Colorado Springs, 25:26

30-39

1. Susan Elkington, Colorado Springs, 25:30; 2. Jackie Tanaka, Colorado Springs, 26:10; 2. Jeanne Deden, Colorado Springs, 26:25

40-49

1. Sharon Dieter, Colorado Springs, 24:49; 2. Rhonda Guches, Central Pt., Ore., 25:34; 3. Tracey Madison, Colorado Springs, 27:57

50

1. Deb Anderson, Colorado Springs, 26:40; 2. Kathleen Letner, Colorado Springs, 28:02; 3. Shirley Grace, 29:01.

Men's 5 mile

Overall

1. Adolfo Carrillo, Colorado Springs, 28:15; 2. Jeffrey Prata, Colorado Springs, 28:27; 3. Gerald Romero, Colorado Springs, 28:32

1-19

1. Stephen Parnell, Monument, 37:26; 2. Levi Haney, Colorado Springs, 37:51; 3. David Geiger, Colorado Springs, 52:30.

20-29

1. Ben Brown, Lakewood, WA, 29:41; 2. Jamie Bastidas Jr., Bloomington, Calif., 30:28; 3. Ken Billings, Colorado Springs, 30:36

30-39

1. Mike Wasson, Monument, 28:54; 2. Sander Rigney, Colorado Springs, 31:48; 3. Jonathan Fitton, Colorado Springs, 32:09.

40-49

1., Anthony Surage, Colorado Springs, 29:45; 2. Rick Shoulberg, Manitou Springs, 32:03; 3. Rich Hadley, Florence, 31:59.

50-59

1. Bob Evers, Park City, Utah, 32:13; 2. George Greco II, Colorado Springs, 35:19; 3. Dean Luse, Manitou Springs, 35:32

60

1. Jack Ramsey, Manitou Springs, 37:33; 2. Doug Gould, Colorado Springs, 46:07; 3. George Williams, Colorado Springs, 47:34.

Women's 5 mile

Overall