Garden of the Gods 10-Mile/10K

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It seems as if something is going on every weekend here in Manitou, especially after the weather turns nice. This morning our town hosted the start/finish of the annual running of the Garden of the Gods 10 Mile race (there's also a 10K race as well.) Garden of the Gods is one of the more popular races here in the Pikes Peak area, ten miles of running through the scenic (stunning, actually) park. The course is tough--the park is very hilly, and the road follows suit. It's hard, but very doable if you're in shape. I did it in 75 minutes when I was in high school. This year's winning time was somewhere around 50 minutes. I say "somewhere," because the race announcer (or spotters, if there were any) dropped the ball. The announcer was so busy making sure he was letting us know the ages of every 10K finisher, with corny jokes in between, that the winner of the 10-miler slipped through the finish unnoticed. He wasn't announced until after he had already finished, so I have no idea how fast the guy ran. Otherwise, it was the usual event atmosphere. Sponsors giving away swag, and lots of spectators milling about. Since the race starts in the park across the street from us, I go watch every year. Despite the announcing gaff, I had my usual good time. Up next: the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon. (The photo is obviously not the race winner.)