Wholistic Fitness

7am Saturday, July 30th in the morning shadow of Tenderfoot Mountain one hundred and seventy two of the fastest trail racers toed the start line at the National High School Trail Championships in this still occasionally sleepy mountain river town at the foot of the 14’rs in Chaffee County, Colorado.  As tradition would have it, legendary burro racer Hal Walters and his famed burro, Full-Tilt Boogie, from nearby Westcliffe paced the first quarter mile of the Citizens version of this Championships.  The Ladies Champion, 19 year-old Aubrey Surage of Monument, Colorado flew up the nearly 600′ vert in 21-minutes and cascaded to the finish line for a total winning time of 37:47 and set a new Course Record in so doing.   The Men’s Champion, Andrew O’Keefe engaged sub five-minute miles to take the W in an astonishing 32:46 over the 5 1/2-mile course.  Durango native and mountain athlete/icon Steve Ilg was the highest podium finisher for Durango taking out the 60-69 age group Win in a time of 48:40 for 25th Overall as Michael Ellis of Durango took a 2nd Place Podium in the 50-59 AG with a 45:35 effort.

The dawn then turned up the light and heat for the High School athletes vying for a National Title:

The Boys Championship went off first and saw two Battle Mountain HS stars lock horns with Will Brunner crushing a 32:13 National Title over defending Champion Sullivan Middaugh’s brother Porter by 14 seconds. Benjamin Anderson (Mountain Vista HS) would cross the finish 30-seconds after Middaugh to finish out the Boys podium.  Nathanial Ellis was the only runner to represent Durango High School in the Boys Championship and did so with a top-50 effort of 39:27 effort to finish 49th overall.

In the Girls Championship many eyes were on Tristan Spence of Central HS but it was Keeghan Edwards of Valor Christian who basically bludgeoned the field by throwing down a 37:35 to finish nearly a minute faster than second place finisher Rosie Mucharsky (Denver East HS).  Jade Allen (Lewis-Palmer HS) would slide in with a 38:48 time to round off the Girls podium.  Durango High School’s outgoing Freshman, Dewachen Ilg at 14 years-old tied with 16 year-old Lauren Raley (Cheyenne Mountain HS) to finish 15th Overall and was the fastest 14 year-old in the stacked field.  “Of course I’m satisfied with my result as a rookie at this Championship,” said Dewa after catching her breath in the crowd-pleasing sprint finish, “but I know I can run a lot faster over the next 3 years.  I’m already excited about training for next year on this amazing course.  I want to thank everyone who supported me to represent Durango High School at these Championships.”

– Steve Ilg 818-590-2922

– Kenny Wilcox (Race Director) 719-221-0238