It was a great day for running and setting records in the Garden of the Gods 10 Mile Run on Sunday.

RESULTS: Check out Finish Line Index
PHOTOS: Gallery 1 ** Gallery 2 ** Gallery 3
VIDEO: Start of the Garden 10 Mile ** Interview with Anton Krupicka ** Interview Aliphine Tuliamuk-Bolton, women's 10 mile record setter ** Peter Fleming talks about setting men's masters record  ** Interview Adam Rich, 5K winner ** Interview with women's 5K winner Jenny Smith

By Garry Harrington, PikesPeakSports.us

MANITOU SPRINGS – When Aliphine Tuliamuk-Bolton looked around early in Sunday’s 38th annual Garden of the Gods 10-Mile Run and saw no one challenging her, she decided to do a little sight-seeing.

“I looked back, and I didn’t see anyone, so I had time to look around at the scenery and it was beautiful,” said the 25-year-old Kenya native, who now lives and trains in Santa Fe, N.M. “When you’re running with a deep field, you don’t have that opportunity, but today I wasn’t really worried.”

Tuliamuk-Bolton’s effort was no stroll in the park, however. She got down to business too, shattering the women’s course record in a winning time of 55 minutes, 55 seconds, placing her eighth overall in a field of nearly 1,600 on a cool, overcast day that was perfect for fast times. Her time was nearly three minutes faster than the 58:44 put up by last year’s winner, Belainesh Gebre of Ethiopia. It was also more than three minutes ahead of her training partner, Simegn Yeshanbel of Ethiopia and Albuquerque, New Mexico, who was second Sunday in 58:59.

Tuliamuk-Bolton, a fourteen-time NCAA Division I All-American in track and cross country, bolted from the starting line and never looked back.

“It was a really good day for me,” said the 2013 Wichita Sate grad. “It was probably the hardest (10-mile) course I have ever run. Knowing that my PR is 52:16, this was an awesome result. I feel like I am in great shape.”

Yeshanbel, 28, who trains with Tuliamuk-Bolton at the Harambee Training Project in Santa Fe – along with Sunday’s men’s winner, McDonard Ondara – said she simply could not match the pace set by her teammate. “I tried to go with her,” said Yeshanbel, who was third last year in
1:03:03, “but I could stay with her only one mile.”

Third-place finisher Nuta Olaru, a native of Romania, who now lives in Longmont, said the two Africans set a blistering pace right from the gun. “Those girls started out too fast for me,’’ said the 43-year-old, who was second last year in 1:01:12, but was over a minute slower on Sunday in 1:03:15. “Their first mile was under 5:10. I couldn’t stay with them, so I just ran my pace.”

Ondara ran alone in the men’s race, winning in a time of 51:20, turning back fellow Kenyan Kevin Kochei, who was second in 52:20. Third was Austin Richmond of Erie in 53:37.

“Between miles three and four I began to pull away,” said Ondara, 29, who lives in Santa Fe. “(Kevin) fell back a little, and after mile five, I knew I had it. I didn’t even look back. I just kept focusing.”

Kochei, 24, who moved to Boulder just over a month ago from Kenya, had beaten Ondara at the Lilac Bloomsday 12K in Spokane, Washington, five weeks ago, but the tables were turned on Sunday.

“My muscles were heavy today,” said Kochei, still reeling from a disappointing 16th-place at the Bolder Boulder on Memorial Day. “I tried to keep within distance going uphill, but my muscles hurt too much.”

Richmond, 28, was pleased with his effort, passing two other Kenyans in the second half of the race to nail down third. “My strategy was to work the uphills and once I got to the top I tried to carry it through on the downhills,” said Richmond, who would not appear to be a strong uphill runner, considering he grew up in Florida.

“Most people hear I’m from Florida and think I’m a flat-lander,” said Richmond, who trains with the Boulder Track Club, “but I’m from central Florida (he attended Webber International University in Babson Park) and there are actually some hills there. So this course played to my strengths.”

Kenyan runners also placed fourth and fifth as Geofrey Teror of Colorado Springs finished in 54:00, followed  by Hillary Chesire in 54:39. Teror, 37, set a new age group record.

As usual, the course, which winds through Garden of the Gods Park, got high marks. “It was the toughest 10- miler I’ve ever done,” said Ondara, the winner. “It was tough, but I really liked it.”

In two weeks, Ondara will run his first-ever marathon in Duluth, Minn., and said his goal is to go under 2:10.  “That is my hope,” he said.

Sunday’s race was the first leg of the Triple Crown of Running Series. The next race is the Summer Roundup trail run on July 6.

Notes

Peter Fleming, 53, of Colorado Springs set a new men’s masters course record as he finished 15th
overall in 59:32. He beat Soctt Lebo's old record of 1:00:02 set in 2008.  Henry Rodriguez Jr. of Artesia, N.M., broke the men’s 45-49 age group mark as he was 17th in 1:00:12.

Other age group record-setters included Janet Rooney of Louisville (women’s 50-54 in 1:12:28), 14-year-old Kayli Tabares of Colorado Springs (girls’ 14-and-under in 1:13:50), Delcia Litt of Erie (women’s 55-59 in 1:13:53), James Boughter of Colorado Springs (men’s 70-74 in 1:23:31), and Jim Umphrey of Colorado Springs (men’s 75-59 in 1:36:18).

Former Colorado College runner Anton Krupicka of Boulder was 18th overall in 1:01 to win the men’s 30-34 age division, despite missing the start by 20 seconds as he had run to his car to drop off his sunglasses.
Considered one of the top ultra-runners in the country, Krupicka admitted he was a bit out of his league in a road 10-miler, as he is preparing for two big ultra events in Europe – the 119K Lavaredo Ultra in the Italian Dolomites at the end of June, and the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in Chamonix, France, in August. “I just have no leg speed,” he said.

In the 5K race, now in its third year, Adam Rich, 33, of Colorado Springs crushed the course record with a winning time of 16:16, while the women’s winner was 16-year-old Jenny Smith of Colorado Springs in 21:56.
There were a record 456 finishers in the 5K.