2010 Pikes Peak Road Runners Fall Series
Click here for Final Results/Fall Series Awards Winners
Click here for Fall Series Awards Ceremony photo gallery

Fall Series Race I

PHOTO: Fall Series Race I featured a run through Monument Creek.

Photo GalleryStart/Finish ** Photo Gallery No. 1 ** Photo Gallery 2 ** Photo Gallery 3 ** Photo Gallery 4 ** Photo Gallery 5
Video: Rochelle Persson wins women's race
Men's Results ** Women's Results

He's back ... Justin Ricks, the 2009 Fall Series champion, picked up where he left off with a victory on Sunday in the 2010 Fall Series opener at Monument Valley Park. Ricks, 30, of Pueblo West, broke free from the pack in the first mile then held off a challenge by Logan Wealing as the runners slogged upstream through Monument Creek for about 3/4-mile. Ricks, a former cross country runner at Wasson and at the University of Colorad at Colorado Springs, finished in 20:48, a time that becomes more impressive when considering the difficult course, and that he ran 14 miles before the race. "I just jumped in here for fun," Ricks said. He is training for the California International Marathon in December. Wealing (29, Colorado Springs) eventually placed second, about 11 seconds behind Ricks. Peter Maksimow (31, Manitou Springs) was third in 21:41. Rochelle Persson, 42, of Colorado Springs, won the women's race in 27:04. Lisa Czelatdko (40, Colorado Springs) was second in 28:28, followed by Nicole Rosa (50, Colorado Springs) and Molly McDaniel (27, Colorado Springs).


Fall Series Race II

PHOTO: Runners had to climb a steep embankment with the help of ropes. It made things interesting to say the least.

Photo Gallery Start/Finish ** Photo Gallery 1 ** Photo Gallery 2 ** Photo Gallery 3 ** Photo Gallery Kids' Run
VIDEO: Race Start
VIDEO: Pete Maksimow rocks the rope climb
Fall Series II Results

Logan Wealing and Danielle Kehoe had to use their legs and their arms to win the Fall Series No. 2 race Sunday at Bear Creek Park.
With only a few strides remaining on the 4-mile course, race organizers had installed a rope climb that scaled a 30-foot embankment. The old hands of the Fall Series were accustomed to the added attraction, a little something race director Larry Miller cooked up years ago.
But it was Kehoe’s first experience with the ropes. She approved. “I loved it,” she said. “It was the highlight of the whole course.” Kehoe, who spent her morning hustling through a 2-hour orienteering exercise, then hit hilly Fall Series course and won in 34 minutes, 30 seconds.
Wealing battled Manitou Springs’ Peter Maksimow for nearly the entire distance before pulling away to win in 28:41. Maksimow hit the finishline 24 seconds later.
“I’m pretty pleased because Peter was on my heels the whole way, he’s a very tough competitor,” Wealing said.
Both Wealing and Kehoe used the race to train for other races. Kehoe will compete in the 100-mile Adventure Race National Championships Oct. 28 in Moab. Wealing plans to compete in snowshoeing races this winter. He leads the Fall Series men’s overall standings with two races to go.
“If you’re a trail runner, this is a good transition right into snowshoeing,” he said.
Gerald Romero of Colorado Springs made a big move on the rope climb to finish third in 29:38. Doug Ryden, winner of last week’s Xterra half marathon (by four seconds over Romero), was fourth, followed by Brandon Rakita.
Colorado Springs’ Rochelle Persson placed second in the women’s race and is the current Fall Series leader. Persson clocked 35:37. Nicole Rosa (39:04) was fourth, followed by Molly McDaniel and Regina Hammond Gardner.


Fall Series Race No. 3

Fall Series Race No. 3 photo gallery
Fall Series finish line photo gallery
and if you didn't see your photo there ... check out ...
Fall Series Gallery 1
and ... Fall Series Gallery 2
Or look in ... Fall Series Gallery 3
and Fall Series Gallery 4, or check
PikesPeakSports.us member Anya Z.'s gallery ...
And while you're at it, have a look at our Fall Series Kids Run photos!
VIDEO: Women's race winner Amanda Ewing vs. the straw bales
VIDEO: Start of Fall Series Race No. 3 Age-Group Results: Fall Series Race No. 3


Fall Series Race No. 4

PHOTO: Logan Wealing of Colorado Springs won all four Fall Series races to capture the overall series title. He posted a winning time of 41 minutes, 55 seconds in the series finale on Sunday at Palmer Park. The course covered about 6.5 miles on twisting and sometimes technical singletrack.


Photo Galleries: Fall Series No. IV **  Fall Series IV Gallery 1 ** Fall Series IV Gallery 2 ** Fall Series IV Gallery 3
VIDEO: Logan Wealing interview
VIDEO: Rochelle Persson's finish
VIDEO: Some fast kids
Fall Series Race No. 4 age-group results
Fall Series Overall Award Winners
Check the Pikes Peak Road Runners website for info about the Fall Series Awards Dinner

Rochelle Persson was kicking herself a little at the end of the Pikes Peak Road Runners Fall Series No. 4 race Sunday at Palmer Park.
She had just placed second in the women's race, her third second-place finish in the series. Persson, a 43-year-old physical therapist from Colorado Springs, is competitive, but she should be proud.
For the second-consecutive year, Persson is the Pikes Peak Road Runners Fall Series champion. She knocked off the (approximately) 6.5-mile singletrack course in 54 minutes, 17 seconds, striding to the finish line with a light, but strong stride.
Connilee Walter won it in 53:38.
Persson gave it all she had. She had set a goal to defend her Fall Series title from a year ago, then made it happen.
"I couldn't have gone any harder today," she said at Palmer Park finish.
And she is running with fast company. Two of the runners who beat her this year, Amanda Ewing and Connilee Walter, are Colorado Running Company-sponsored and are among the best women runners in Colorado Springs.
Persson's total time over the four-race series was 2:41:29. She clocked 27:04 at the Monument Valley Park 3.5-mile (the course that ran up the middle of Monument Creek for about 1/4 mile), then ran 35:37 over four hilly miles at Bear Creek Park (including the famous rope climb). Two weeks ago, she was 44:31 at Ute Valley Park (six miles).
So what's the goal in 2011. Marathon. She has finished five marathons, including two at Boston, and wants to do another.
"That's my plan, but I don't know where I'll run."
Nicole Rosa, 50, of Colorado Springs, was second overall among the women with a total time of 2:55:08. Regina Hammond-Gardner, 36, of Colorado Springs was third in 2:56:18.
In the men's race, Logan Wealing (29, Colorado Springs) won three of four Fall Series races. He won on Sunday in 41:55 and finished the series in 2:06:17. Peter Maksimow (31, Manitou) was second in 2:10:47, followed by Doug Ryden (35, Colorado Springs) in 2:11:40.
"It's a great feeling," Wealing said about winning the series. "I've done the winter series before and a few fall series races, but I've never won, so it's a good win today."
He said the lead group started fast.
"It was a hot pace from the start," he said. "We got a little road action (the race start included a short piece of asphalt) and everybody was pretty grouped up. And then we got on the trail and things started to separate and I kind of pulled ahead."
Wealing dominated the series from the get-go. He was second at Monument Valley Park in 20:57, then followed with wins at Bear Creek (28:41) Park and went Ute Valley Park (34:44).
Ryden was second on Sunday with a time of 42:54, followed by Maksimow in 43:31.
Wealing, an engineer at SRAM, a local company that makes high-end bicycle components, is the defending Colorado State Snowshoe Champion. He is using the Fall Series to prepare for the physical demands of snowshoe racing. And he plans to run in the Pikes Peak Road Runners Winter Series.
"It's good off-season training and great for snowshoe racing, too, because they're (Winter Series races) tough as well."