October, 2009 | Blue Sky Marathon

Blue Sky Events held its second annual Blue Sky Marathon trail races on Sunday October 4th, 2009 under not so blue skies and cool temperatures.

The race doubled in size with 191 runners competing in three events: a 50k, full marathon (closer to 27 miles) and a half marathon run on the Blue Sky Trail that connects Horsetooth Mountain Open Space and the Devils Backbone Open Space Park. Precipitation fell towards the end of the event for a portion of the runners enabling many to enjoy fast times as shown by the results. Enthusiastic volunteers motivated runners throughout the 50k, full marathon and the half marathon courses. Hot chili and a wide variety of food greeted the runners at the finish along with post race massages and consultations with Colorado Physical Therapy Specialists.

Ryan Burch of Greeley, Colorado won the inaugural 50k trail race in a time of 4:05:48 averaging 7:55/mile. Victoria Funk of Fort Collins took the overall women’s 50k race in a time of 5:33:30.

Eric Gustafson ran his first 50k and spoke of his fondness for the event "…I ran in the rain and the mud and had a blast. I met a lot of great people on the course… and the aid station staffs were fantastic."

The overall marathon winner was local Fort Collins runner Steve Folkerts who also ran his first trail marathon in a time of 3:13:47 lowering the course record by ten minutes. Nick Clark, a avid trail runner in Fort Collins, came in second in 3:22:01. For the women, Kelli Picon of Greeley, Colorado took first overall for the women in 4:52:33. Second and third place for the women was separated by a mere eleven seconds between Kendra Emery of Boulder and Molly Holemberg of Nederland.

The majority of half marathon runners were able to capitalize on ideal cool running conditions before the rain started. Suzan Nuzum of Boulder repeated as the returning women’s champion in a time of 1:41:44 lowering her course record by over a minute and a half. For the men Andy Ames, also of Boulder, smoked the course in a time of 1:24:39 lowering the record by almost seven minutes.

Cocona, Inc was this year’s presenting sponsor of the event providing race hats and visors for race participants. Cocona fabrics provide a natural solution utilizing the shells of coconuts to provide evaporative cooling, odor management and UV protection. Colorado Physical Therapy Specialists (Premiere Sponsor), The Runners Roost (Supporting Sponsor) both returned this year to contribute to the organized and appreciated event.

Proceeds from the event benefit The Northern Colorado Running Foundation, Larimer County Search and Rescue and Larimer County Parks and Open Lands Areas.

I just wanted to give my sincere thanks to a wonderful event yesterday!!! I thoroughly enjoyed the spectacular course, beautiful views, gorgeous weather, and gracious assistance from all the volunteers at every aid station! If next year’s event contains the 50K again or possibly a 50-miler, count me in!

Thanks again for this great opportunity to run in my backyard!
Charity Larson

I came all the way from Chicago (elev. 750ft) to run the 50k, and glad I did. The volunteers were great. I appreciate their effort and enthusiasm. The coarse was nice, with well spaced aid stations. Thanks for putting on a great race. I am looking forward to 2010!
Jonathan

I would like to thank each and everyone of you that was involved in putting this race together and making it such a great experience. From the website information (course description, day of race info, etc…), to the aid stations and all the volunteers inbetween, I honestly was extremely pleased with it all. Well outside of the damn wind those last few miles of the race. I can only imagine that the word will spread pretty quickly on how solid of race this is and that you’ll be selling out very quickly next year.

Wish you all continued success with these races and thanks again!
Jaime

I thought I’d be a LOT faster. My training runs, even my 20-miler, were generally sub-10’s. I think the cold weather really sucked the life out of me.

But it was lots of fun! I loved it!
David

A Big Thank You to the organizers and the volunteers. I have done my share of Marathons and Tris and have never seen such amazing volunteers out on a course.What an amazing experience!

Steve

Great race!! I heard a rumor about changing the marathon so that it is 26.2. I think the course should remain the same, call it a ‘trail marathon’ and maybe have somewhere on the registration that it is closer to 27. Neat distance, plus it is trail running (and I can say I’ve run an ultra)! I just hate when you find a course you like a they change it.

Thanks,
Steve F.

Despite falling and having one of the slowest and worst finishes in half-marathon history, I was able to hobble across the finish line of your terrific event : )

Kudos to all for a great experience. Indian Summer North Aid volunteers rock – they were outstanding, encouraging and a lot of fun – not to mention how helpful they were to me and all the runners I saw go through. Loved all the treats – especially the bowl of Tylenol!!!

The event was truly well organized (and I’m a critic, believe me. There were no surprises because of all the pre-race details provided. The finish line "crowd" actually sounded like a crowd and managed to make me feel better. And thanks for the peanut butter (yum yum) and other after-race goodies.

I have been in larger, more expensive events and feel you outdid them – great value and enthusiasm, by miles!

thanks again for a terrific morning

Happy trails.
Linda

I flew in from Seattle for this race and I had the GREATEST time! The course was absolutely beautiful and the perfect challenge. The volunteers were so friendly and not once did I feel confused about which way to run. This was an awesome event (and my first ever trail run)!

Big thanks to everyone who helped put it all together.
Jennifer Baily

Hi, just wanted to thank everyone that helped make Bluesky marathon a great event. Everyone was very friendly–especially the volunteers at all the aid staions..great cheering, and most helpful. Especially the lone lady near the most remote aid station…she actually sang for me..! Even though I had a bit of trouble with the altitude(Michigan is 800 feet) I still really enjoyed the course. If there had actually been a Blue Sky I’m sure the scenery would have been even more spectacular!

Happy trails,
Jerry

Thank you again fo

r allowing the swap with David Beebe for the 50K. I’m sure you had a million things going on last week.

The race was great the aid stations were spectacular. The volunteers were great. All the runners of all distances were very supportive.

The weather was good too, better than hot.

Thanks on a great race, I’ll register early next year.
Best,
Kenyon Waugh

I just wanted to let you know what a fantastic job you and your team did putting on the Blue Sky ’09 races. The course was beautiful, well marked and quite challenging, and the aid station volunteers were awesome! The race organization, including pre-race communication, race day logistics, post-race food/drink and goodies were great, too. As a newcomer to trail running, I appreciate that you made it a top-notch experience and one I will look forward to enjoying again in the future. Thanks again!
Jon

I LOVED the Blue Sky Half Marathon. It was an extremely tough course – I was actually proud of 2:07, about 22 minutes slower than I’m used to for halves – but also a beautiful one and I had a blast. It was extremely well run – better than many road half marathons! – and well marked. The volunteers were outstanding and friendly and, especially important, really encouraging. And what a spread after the race. I didn’t even need to eat lunch!

What a great event guys. I’ll be back next year.
Dan England

Great race,

well supported and all of the volunteers need a huge THANK YOU!
Max

Thank you guys for another awesome race! Great organization great volunteers, thank you all!

It was SO cool to see all these familiar faces at aid stations. No way we could get lost, the marking was great.

I love my rock too!

See you there next year (will you put a 50 mile race up next year???). Just kidding.
Marie-Hélène Faurie

I would just like to say thank you to all of the organizers of the marathon and all of the volunteers. You were all great! The encouragement was just want was needed and it was greatly appreciated!

I would also like to say thank you to everyone in the group for the support and advice and training given in the months leading up to the race.

So, "Thank You!!!!!!!"
Lark

I wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone involved with the race and training! The folks at the aid stations were super motivational. It was great to see so many people cheering and encouraging runners to do their best. For me the party going on at Indian summer north came at just the right time to keep me going.

Thanks to all for helping get me through my first race!
Adam

Just a quick note of thanks for putting on another great race this weekend. It was so nice to see so many familiar faces out on the trails and manning the aid stations, road crossings, check-in and food tables…oh, and the post-race massage from Josh was about as hard a workout as I’ve had all year. Wow!

As others have stated, the aid stations were phenomenal, the volunteers amazing and the trail fantastically marked (although I could have probably run this race blindfolded). And the post-race food was as fantastic (maybe better) than last year.

This event truly is a celebration of the wonderful trail running community we have here in Fort Collins. We’re a lucky bunch.
Nick Clark

Blue Sky Marathon

Monthly Archives: October 2009

2009 Blue Sky Marathon Race Report

2009 Blue Sky Marathon Comments from the Runners