Andy Rinne, 36, of Colorado Springs, defended his title in the Peace Officers' Memorial Valor Run on Saturday at America the Beautiful Park, covering the 5K distance in a new course record time of 16 minutes, 25.9 seconds.
But it wasn't easy. Jake Erickson 15, of Simla, chased him all the way to the finish line. Erickson clocked 16:28.2 to set an age-group (15-19) record.
"We cleared Mile 1 in 5:09 and he was right with me, so I knew it was going to be a fight to the end," Rinne said.
J.T. Teisher, 36, of Colorado Springs, finished third in 17:20.
A newcomer to the competitive racing community, Air Force Capt. Ilea Eskildsen, 25, of Colorado Springs, set a new course record with a time of 18:20.2.
The Colorado Running Magazine race series masters champion, Rochelle Persson, 43, of Colorado Springs, placed second with a new age-group (40-49) record of 18:41.
And Ashlee Romani, 24, of Florence, was third in 19:37.2.