We know that Brandy Erholtz is tough - a runner with a little something extra to give. She has two Pikes Peak Ascent championships on the resume, and she has raced multiple times as a member of the U.S. Mountain Running Team. She took a nasty spill above timberline and knocked herself silly in the 2015 Pikes Peak Marathon. Then she picked herself up, regained her senses, and dashed down the mountain to finish in fourth place. That's Brandy.

But she did something special on Monday at the Bolder Boulder 10K. Twenty-two weeks pregnant with her second child, Erholtz, 38, won her age group with a time of 43:40:12, managing a 7:01 pace per mile.

It's always fun to talk to Brandy, because you can ask one question and she'll tell you the whole story. And she's a good storyteller. We e-mailed and asked her about the race ... here is her reply. Thanks, Brandy.

(Photo: Erholtz at 2015 Pikes Peak Marathon finish. She finished fourth after a big fall near the top of the mountain.)

"The Bolder Boulder is definitely an exciting atmosphere. Crazy how many people come out each year to do it.

Entering the Bolder Boulder was a last-minute decision this year as we originally had talked about camping. I had qualified last year with a so-so race so knew I had a spot in the AA wave if I decided to register. After talking with a couple of the track girls I coached who were going to run for the first time, I thought I should run again. It’d be a fun atmosphere for Asher (her son) to see.

Although pregnant, I still run almost every day. However, I haven’t done any hard or speed workouts since I found out on February 1st. So although my aerobic fitness is still good, my speed is lacking and being 22 weeks pregnant means I am nowhere near my “racing” weight!

The AA wave went off at 6:56 so it was an early morning for the Erholtz family. We got to Boulder and I did a little warm-up jog and headed to the start line. It’s the first race in quite a while where I didn’t have the nervous butterflies!  However, with the baby pushing on my bladder, I still had to pee a thousand times.

My only goal of the race was to finish and enjoy the atmosphere. I wore a watch but didn’t look at any splits until afterwards; I just ran comfortably hard within myself the entire way. It was humbling to be passed by a couple of men in skorts and women whom I knew I’d typically be faster than. It was also hard not to be competitive or try racing as they went past. However, I knew I had to listen to my body. I ran faster than I’ve run since February and I believe I finished 1,049th overall; but somehow managed to pull off an age-group win with a 7:01/mile pace.

The doctor says running is good for me and the baby. Mentally, I’m not sure I could get through pregnancy without it as I find pregnancy to be an extremely mentally/emotionally challenging time. I feel grateful for the health and ability to be out there. My goal is to come back next year and run a minute faster per mile which means I’ll need to be super fit!  Running uphill on the mountains and trails is still more enjoyable but it’s fun to mix it up every once in a while! I hope to do a few more races just for fun this summer."