The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Two runners crack top 20
by Than Acuff
It had been at least six years, maybe more, since the Crested Butte Titans lined up for the Ramble at the Reservoir in Ridgway. While the notoriously tough course was a good test for the Titans, they have spent the past several years at races in Grand Junction or at the Elk Run 5k. This year though, with both of those events moved, the coaching staff felt it was a good time to get back to Ridgway.
“We’d rather run where it’s cooler temperatures on a tough course than in the heat in Grand Junction,” says coach Shari Sullivan-Marshall. “We treat this race like a really hard workout and it definitely was a hard workout.”
When they returned to the race on Friday, September 20 they found the tough course had actually gotten harder over the past six years.
“You didn’t really start climbing until near the first mile in the past,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “Now they have maybe 600 meters before they start climbing. It’s ruthless.”
The girls started off the day and the Titans had all three of their runners line up. Unfortunately, in the end, only two of the three finished. Sam Merck led the charge as she buried herself through the entire race to finish in 18th overall.
“She ran really strong and probably had one of her best efforts during the third mile,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “When I saw her heading into the last mile she just looked so solid.”
Miles Cress had a rough go of it as she rolled her ankle during the stair climb portion of the race. She continued to press on but when Sullivan-Marshall saw her at the midway point of the race, she decided it would be better to pull Cress from the race than to have her suffer to the finish line.
“Finishing the Ramble at the Reservoir just wasn’t worth risking a potential season-long injury,” says Sullivan-Marshall.
Stella Reinhardt had her first look at the course running as a freshman and despite finding herself with no one to work with midway through the race, she pressed on to the finish line at full stride.
“Stella kept kicking despite being in no man’s land and she definitely pushed it to the end,” says Sullivan-Marshall.
The boys then lined up and Porter Washburn thrived on the tough course as he ran his way to a 13th-place finish for a second Titan top-20 finish and earned the first piece of hardware for the team this year.
“He ran really, really well and gaining more confidence with each meet,” says Sullivan-Marshall.
George Aklan missed the top 20 by one second and was honest with his Ridgway experience, explaining to coaches after the race in what English he knows, saying, “That was awful.”
It appears Yvon Michel has finally shaken off an illness that has plagued him all season, with a strong showing as well.
“It was a great effort and he has found his stride,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “He’s back.”
Jude Eaton struggled in his race as he battled breathing issues the entire time but still put one foot in front of the other to cross the finish line.
“It was such a heroic effort to finish the race,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “I was happy with everyone’s effort and there were a lot of teams from our region there so we got to see how we stack up.”
The team heads to Salida on Saturday, September 28 for their next race.
