http://www.denverpost.com/running/ci_28134683/colfax-marathon-runner-from-eritrea-breaks-record?source=rss
Denver Colfax Marathon: Runner from Eritrea breaks half marathon record
By John Meyer
The Denver Post
Posted: 05/17/2015 01:08:15 PM MDT
DENVER, CO - MAY 17: Runners take off from the starting line for the
10th annual Colfax Marathon which started and ended in City Park in
Denver, Colorado on May 17, 2015. The marathon started at 6:00 am.
Over 17,000 runners participated in the marathon, half marathon and 10
mile races. (Photo By ...... Helen H. Richardson/ The Denver Post)
DENVER, CO - MAY 17: Wendy Roy keeps warm underneath a space blanket
before dawn for the 10th annual Colfax Marathon which started and
ended in City Park in Denver, Colorado on May 17, 2015. The marathon
started at 6:00 am. Over 17,000 runners participated in the marathon,
half marathon and 10 ...... mile races. (Photo By Helen H. Richardson/
The Denver Post)
DENVER, CO - MAY 17: Runners get prepared before dawn for the 10th
annual Colfax Marathon and Half Marathon which started and ended in
City Park in Denver, Colorado on May 17, 2015. The marathon started at
6:00 am. Over 17,000 runners participated in the marathon, half
marathon and 10 mile races. ...... (Photo By Helen H. Richardson/ The
Denver Post)
DENVER, CO - MAY 17: Taylor Ames, of Evergreen, lower left, stretches,
before the start of the 10th annual Colfax Marathon which started and
ended in City Park in Denver, Colorado on May 17, 2015. The marathon
started at 6:00 am. Over 17,000 runners participated in the marathon,
half marathon and ...... 10 mile races. (Photo By Helen H. Richardson/
The Denver Post)
See additional gallery images here.
DENVER, CO - MAY 17: Runners listen to the singing of the National
Anthem before the start of the 10th annual Colfax Marathon which
started and ended in City Park in Denver, Colorado on May 17, 2015.
The marathon started at 6:00 am. Over 17,000 runners participated in
the marathon, half marathon ...... and 10 mile races. (Photo By Helen
H. Richardson/ The Denver Post)
‹›
Patrick Rizzo knew early in the Colfax Marathon's half marathon event
that it wasn't going to be his day. As it turned out, he lost more
than the race. He lost his course record, too.
Hais Welday of Eritrea, who came to Denver a week ago, won the race in
one hour, 6 minutes, 44 seconds to break the record Rizzo set in 2012
by a minute and 25 seconds.
Rizzo, who ran the Los Angeles Marathon (2:21:54) two months ago in
90-degree temperatures, still hasn't completely recovered from that
race and a subsequent bout of giardia that caused him to lose 10
pounds. He finished second Sunday in 1:09:36.
"At about 5K, I knew I was struggling a little bit more than I really
should be for a half marathon," said Rizzo, 31, a resident of Colorado
Springs. "I knew my fitness was going to inhibit me. I'm not out of
shape, but I'm not race ready."
Welday, 25, saw Rizzo early but dropped him easily.
"There was somebody there, there is good guy that was going with me
for three miles," Welday said. "After that I am going alone."
PHOTOS: 10th Annual Colfax Marathon runs through Denver
Even winners humbled — Nicole Chyr won the women's marathon for the
fourth time in five years but it "felt awful." The Highlands Ranch
runner finished in 3 hours, 2 minutes, 4 seconds.
"My legs blew up on me at mile 20, worse than any marathon in a
while," Chyr said. "The marathon is just a humbling event. You forget
how tough it really is. You hit that 20-mile mark and it is just
mental at that point."
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Ramon Paredes-Becerra, a 20-year-old from Chihuahua, Mexico, won the
men's marathon in 2:36:13.
Olympian going strong — Nuta Olaru, a 2004 Olympian for Romania who
has lived in Longmont since 2006, is still running strong at age 44.
Olaru finished second in the masters division at the Boston Marathon
last month and she won the women's half marathon easily Sunday in
1:22:46.
"First mile there was some girls near me," said Olaru, who became a
U.S. citizen in 2011. "But after that I pushed by myself."
Kristin Louderback of Highlands Ranch, who won the Cherry Creek Sneak
10-miler last month, was second in 1:24:23.
"I stuck with her for the first mile or two, and then she pulled
away," Louderback said. "You have to be smart and realize the talent
that's here and kind of run your own race. She's in a different class,
that's for sure."
John Meyer: jmeyer_at_denverpost.com or twitter.com/johnmeyer
Received on Mon May 18 2015 - 12:18:32 EDT