Second round of photos from today's Canya Cañon. Gerald Romero, 40, who runs for Runners Roost, took the win, covering the tough 6K single track course in 32 minutes, 43 seconds. It was his third win there in four years.
The race is a fundraiser for Friends of Cheyenne Cañon. The course begins at Starsmore Discovery Center and ends above Helen Hunt Falls, climbing 1,000 vertical feet along the way.
The Colorado Running Company's Amanda Ewing won the women's race in 37:11, and finished more than a minute ahead of 13-year-old Kayli Tabares, last year's winner.
Tabares and Ewing finished within a stride of one another in 2011. Their friendly competition continued this year.
"I know she is getting really fast," Ewing said. "I got ahead of her on some of the steeper parts of the trail, and then she caught me. I finally pulled away on a steady climb, but I had to keep telling myself, 'don't look back."
Kim Caldwell finished third in the women's race with a time of 42:30.
Romero had company early in the race with Runners Roost teammate Dan Vega and Jayson Middlemiss, giving chase.
"Yeah, I had some good competition with those guys," Romero said. "I finally was able to pull away on some of the hills."
Vega finished in 34:13, with Middlemiss clocking in at 35:02.