A strong field of elite runners flew from the starting line in the 2016 Garden of the Gods 10-Mile Run and 10K on Sunday in Manitou Springs. Daniel Girmay, 19, (far right, green) was the overall winner.

VIDEO: Race start ** Results

By Dena Rosenberry
PikesPeakSports.us

Sure, it’s beautiful. That's apparent - if you manage to shift your focus from the road in front of you to the sandstone spires in Garden of the Gods Park and the snow-capped backdrop of Pikes Peak.
But every runner in the Garden of the Gods 10-Mile Run notices the hills. You don’t have to look for them. You feel them.
“So many hills,” said Valentine Kibet, the women’s 10-Mile winner, smiling at the painful memory. With the finish line more than an hour in her past, Kibet even managed a laugh. “It was a tough race, but good,” she said.
Kibet finished the 40th annual race in 1 hour, 1 minute and 36 seconds, on par with her recent race times. The 26-year-old Kenyan, who comes from a family of accomplished runners, is living and training in Colorado Springs in hopes of topping the international women's half-marathon field.
Overall winner Daniel Girmay, who finished in 52:21, also is living and training in Colorado Springs. He was drawn to the benefits of training at altitude, but appreciates the scenery. The 19-year-old Ethiopian said the city park, often referred to as the most scenic in the nation, is a “good place to run.” 
Saturday morning’s clouds did little to mask the heat of recent days for the runners.
“Oh my goodness, it was a tough one - hilly and hot,” said top women’s 10K finisher Alexis Wilbert, 31, of Colorado Springs, who finished in 38:57.
Wilbert regularly runs through the park - but from the northern edge. "From up on 30th Street, I know the hills, I know when to push. But there were some surprises today, coming from this side." Still, Wilbert finished second overall in the inaugural 10K event to winner Jake Dialesandro, 27, of Las Cruces, N.M., who crossed the finish line in 36:19.
Knowing the course is a key to finishing strong, said a foursome of local runners who have trained together for months, two for the 10 Mile race and two for the 10K. Finding a training partner might be key to finishing the race at all, they said.
Training partners get you out the door in the morning, said 10-miler Gloria Arodak, 25, of 
Colorado Springs. You can't slack off because you're accountable to someone, added Riannon 
McCord, 35, of Colorado Springs, who finished the 10K after training with Emily Palmer, 25. Arodak trained with Jessica Parton, 30. "We push each other," she said of Parton. "When she slows down, I push harder. If I slow, she picks up the pace. I know she won't give up and because of that, I won't either."
The 10-mile race was a step along the comeback trail for Gerald Romero, 44, of Colorado Springs, who finished in 1:06:45. The veteran local racer took a few months off during winter to heal from injury, followed by about six weeks of light running.
While he is familiar with the course, he didn't know what to expect from his body.
"It was awesome - a great race as always," said a smiling Romero, whose enthusiasm might be as familiar to spectators and other runners as his tattooed arms. "I'm real happy with that race. Now I just need to stay healthy."
Keeping his good health motivates Jay Survil, 57, to keep hitting the pavement. The Aurora runner, who topped his age group in last year's Triple Crown races, finished the 10 Mile race Sunday in 1:07:33. He was first in his age group - and set a personal reacord - at the Kaiser Permanente Colfax Marathon on May 15 and also won his age group at the Colorado Marathon on May 1.
"You'll see me out here as long as I'm healthy," he said. "I'm driven. It's my thing."
Leading up to Sunday's race, Ian Guiterrez, 49, focused on training his 14-year-old daughter, Dana. They finished the race together in just over 51 minutes, and hardly looked winded. Now, he said, Dana will lead the training and he'll try to keep up.
"You need to find someone to run with you who'll keep it fun," Dana said.
The Garden of the Gods 10 Mile is the first leg of the Triple Crown of Running. Next up is the Summer Roundup Trail Run 12K on July 10, followed by the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon on Aug. 20 and 21.
Although the Ascent is effectively a half marathon and that distance is Kibet's focus, don't expect to see her at the start line in August. Asked if she would consider running up Barr Trail to the summit of Pikes Peak, Kibet laughed and gently shook her head.
“No, no, no,” Kibet said. “No running up the mountain.”
Garden of the Gods hills are more than enough.