Adam Rich was a happy man, Shannon Payne was a little bit surprised, and Joe Driskell was nearly in shock Thursday at the 14th YMCA Kaiser Permanente Turkey Trot 5K.
Rich, who races for the Boulder Running Company, defended his title on the hilly street course with a blazing time of 15 minutes, 17 sceconds. It was his second-consecutive win at the Turkey Trot and his third overall.
"I'm pretty happy with the time considering we're at nearly 7,000 feet here," Rick said.
Payne, a Boulder Running Company runner who spent her college career competing for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, won the women's race in 17:59. It was her first victory in a Colorado Springs-area citizens' race since the 2010 Take 5 In the Garden 5K.
"My training hasn't been all the great the last couple of months, so I'm pretty happy with the win."
But the happiest person of all was Driskell, the excecutive director at the Briargate YMCA, who said the race - ran under a crystal Colorado sky and 60 degree temperatures - set a record for paricipation.
"We were almost at 2,900 runners," he said. "The weather makes all the difference."
The previous best turnout was about 2,340. Thursday's race beat that by well over 500 runners.
The race is a fundraiser for the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region's Annual Community Support Campaign, which provides financial assistance to families that need help participating in YMCA programs.
"Last year we raised $32,000," Driskell said. "We were hoping for $35,000 this year and I think we may have gone over that."
More photos here: http://www.pikespeaksports.us/photo/albums/14th-annual-ymca-turkey-trot-gallery-1
Video here: http://www.pikespeaksports.us/video/boulder-running-company-s-shannon-payne-and-adam-rich-win-turkey-