The Boulder Running Company's Adam Rich charged to the win in the Take 5 in the Garden 5K on Saturday. Rich, who now has four wins this season, finished in 16:07.47.

RESULTS!: Click here for our searchable results tool Finish Line Index and al...

VIDEO
Video of almost everybody in the race ... are you in there?
Interview with women's 5-mile winner Christie Foster
Interview with men's 5-mile winner Ken Foster
PHOTOS
Photo Gallery No. 1: Start and finish line
Photo Gallery No. 2: On the course

When the alarm went off on Saturday morning, Ken Foster had a choice to make. He could torture himself with 200-meter track repeats - and all the boredom that comes with them - or he could run the Take 5 in the Garden.
The choice was pretty easy. Foster gathered up is wife, Christie, and they made a splash on a perfect spring day in the Garden of the Gods with a pair of wins in the 5-mile race.
"I wasn't entirely sure if I was going to run this race, but it's less than five minutes from my house," Ken Foster said.

A First Lieutenant at Fort Carson, Foster,24, trains in the Army's World Class Athlete Program, Foster finished in 27:06.85.

Brian Dumm of Colorado Springs placed second in 27:44.22, followed by Kyle Smith, Broken Bow, Neb., in 29:13.32.

Christie Foster, 23, took the lead in the women's race on the first long uphill grind then ran the last three miles with a shoelace flopping around under her feet.

"I didn't want to bend down and tie it," she said. "I Had enough to think about with the hills."

She finished 31:47.53. Colorado Springs runners Lori Stitch (32:36.92) and Rochelle Persson (34:25.03) placed second and third.

They said the Take 5 race was perfect preparation for bigger runs to come. Christie is running in the Ride Aid Cleveland Marathon next week. It will be her first attempt at 26.2 miles. Ken, who is aiming for a berth in the U.S. Olympic marathon trials, will compete in Cleveland in a highly competitive 10K.

"I figured nothing can be as hard as these hills, so hopefully next week will be easy," Christie said.

Take 5 in the Garden is the second leg of the Grand Prix of Running Series. There were 995 finishers. More than 1,100 registered to run, setting a race entry record.

In the 5K, the Boulder Running Company's Adam Rich notched another victory. He has four this year. Rich sailed around the looping course in 16:07.47.

"I didn't cut back on my training at all for this race," Rich said. "I knew I was going to train right through it."

His next big race will likely be Bolder Boulder on May 30.

Jeff Turner (40, Colorado Springs, 17:15.36) and William Dillon (31, Colorado Springs, 17:46.98) finished second and third respectively.

In the women's race, winner Erika Ross had an adventure. She was caught using the restroom when the race started, then battled her way through the pack to win in 21:27.48.

"I probably lost two minutes," she said. "I started passing people and I felt great," she said.

The win was the first for Ross, a former Palmer High School swimmer and runner who is studying at Denver University.

Lynn Serrano and Hillie Tiller of Colorado Springs were close behind in second and third.

A record 1,114 runners participated in the early morning races, which snaked through Garden of the Gods Park. People of all skill levels and ages ranging from 9 to 75 enjoyed the weather at the picturesque park.

The Grand Prix Series continues on June 18 in downtown Colorado Springs with the 33rd running of the Sailing Shoes 5K and 10K.