Olivia Long, 26, was visiting Colorado Springs when her mom handed her a flyer for the new Super Half Marathon. Long entered and won, clocking 1:30:14 on the Pikes Peak Greenway Trail.

Race Results here

VIDEO: Start of the Super 5K
VIDEO: Nancy Hobbs on her win in the 5K
VIDEO:Olivia Long on her win in the Super Half Marathon

PHOTOS: Super Half Marathon and 5K Run, Gallery 1, Gallery 2, Gallery 3, Gallery 4, Gallery 5

By Travis Duncan
"Super Bowl Sunday is kind of like a holiday, and people love running on holidays," said Pikes PeakRoad Runners board member Stephanie Meredith.

Meredith was just catching her breath after 13.1 miles, drinking water and looking around at the crowd gathered at the finish line below Bijou Bridge. More than 800 runners, more than a few with a Patriots or Giants jersey on, turned out Sunday morning for the first annual Super Half Marathon and 5K Family Fun Run downtown.

Meredith, who took second place (1:31:05) in the women's half marathon, said the PPRR board thought runners would love competing on Super Bowl Sunday. "It looks like a lot of other people agree," said Meredith. "For a first year, this was a great turnout."

The new Super Bowl Sunday race was a fundraiser for Pikes Peak Road Runners and PikesPeakSports.us, local organizations that work to promote running and racing in the Pikes Peak region.

Women's 5K winner, Nancy Hobbs (22:38), said she was really happy to come support those organizations.

"I really wanted to support Tim (Bergsten) and Pikes Peak Sports and Pikes Peak Road Runners. They're a mainstay in the community and they do so much for us, it's really time for us to give back. And I'm thrilled to see this many competitors out here to support the event."

Olivia Long won the women's half marathon in 1:30:14. Long said she just happened to be visiting Colorado Springs. Her mother saw a flyer for the race and convinced her to run. She said she enjoyed the course, which followed the Pikes Peak Greenway trail north for 6.8 miles before turning around and returning 6.3 miles south.

"The course was pretty nice," Long said. "It was nice to have the gravel, and a little softer course. The last one I did was in Atlanta. It was all asphalt and it was just brutal."

Long said the victory wasn't easy and that she struggled to stay ahead of Meredith. "I didn't really think I had it until mile 7 or 8," she said. "Then I knew I had a chance. After the turnaround it was more downhill and I tried to push it some more to get distance ahead and it worked."

Many groups and families came out to enjoy the run together as well. The Toneys - Larry and Lori and their two daughters Sydney and Micayla - started running together at the Tuesday night Jack Quinn's Running Club about a year ago, and they heard about the race through that group.

They ran the Super 5K as a family together, encouraging one another along the way. Afterward, Lori said that the running, "gives us a connection. It's something to do as a group that gets us moving instead of being couch potatoes."

The Toneys, along with hundreds of other runners who earned their Super Bowl beer, headed over to Jack Quinn's for the post-race celebration.

"I'm just the security officer who's going along to make sure this gang doesn't drink too much," said Doris Chandler, gesturing to her group of five friends, all runners who meet up to run every Monday at Bierworks Brewery in Woodland Park and every Tuesday at Jack Quinn's. The group has been meeting for runs since last spring, and they were all obviously excited to get their Super Bowl Sunday celebration underway. They said all the running (and beer) had made them a tight-knit group.

"We hike together, too," Rob Matson said. "We do 14ers. And drink beer. And snowshoe. And drink beer."