Cowtown enjoys super day

Marathon winner Logan Sherman, right, and runner-up Kiplimo Chemirmir.

Kris Klotzbach won the women's ultra to complete a trifecta. She also had won the half and marathon titles when her last name was Nelson.

McKale Davis won the women's 10K with a record 37:06 while runner-up Colleen Casey of Grapevine finished with a PR 38:48.

David Boston repeated as the male half marathon winner with a course-record 1:11:38.

Jason Razo of Arlington won the 50K in his ultra debut -- which he also said was his last -- in a course-record 3:23:07.

The 32nd Cowtown had a record-breaking day on Feb. 27 as 21,000 registered for the multi events in downtown Fort Worth. Cowtown Executive Director Heidi Swartz said the number was ''exactly 21,000,'' which beat last year's record of almost 18,000.

And the participants enjoyed a near-perfect day for running as the temperature was in the low 40s when the first events -- the marathon, ultra and half marathon -- took off at 7:30 a.m. As the sun began shining, the temperature began climbing into the 50s, which actually made it a little warm for some of the marathon and ultra participants.

Besides the record turnout, there also were some records set, including the men's and women's mark in the 50K Ultra, which was added in 2008. Other notable achievements: Kris Klotzbach of Parker, Colo., completed a trifecta by winning the women's ultra in a course-record 3:45:54. She already had won the half marathon and marathon titles the previous two years when her last name was Nelson; and David Boston, a runner from Texas Tech, repeated as the men's half marathon winner by nipping his previous course record by two seconds with a 1:11:38; Ruthie Tate of Burleson won her third consecutive Adult 5K masters title and fifth in the past six years by finishing in a 20:57 despite hampered by a lingering planta facilities injury; Fiona Green of Keller won her third consecutive women's half marathon medal and fourth in the past five years with a 1:31:51; and Jay Kizer of Fort Worth repeated as the men's masters winner in the Adult 5K.

Other records set: Mc Kale Davis in the women's 10K with a 37:06 and Michelle Frey, a runner for Team USA Minnesota, in the half marathon with a women's record of 1:18:26, beating he old mark by almost four minutes; Cora Turner of Alvarado, who set a women's masters record in the 10K with a 39:46; and David Thompson of Dallas, who won the male masters in the marathon with a record 2:43:20, beating James Newsom's previous record by 3 seconds.

All records are from when The Cowtown moved from the Stockyard area to downtown Fort Worth in 2004.

There were some glitches that prevented the event from being perfect, particularly in the Kids' 5K when most participants ran off course when the lead police officer stopped to direct traffic. The results are based on the 1.8 miles that most, if not all, of the kids ran. Also, the marathon leaders -- winner Logan Sherman of Dallas and Kiplimo Chemirmir of Flower Mound -- went off course before being directed back on the course, which added about a half-mile to their trek. Even the runner-up in the Ultra, runner-up Thomas Whalen of Saint Louis, Mo., went off course when he said a police officer failed to point which direction he should go at about mile 16. He was leading at the time and even after running almost a half-mile extra before returning to the course, he still led until about mile 26 when winner Jason Razo of Arlington overtook him and took the lead.

A list of winners:

Ultra -- male: Jason Razo, Arlington, 3:23:07; female: Kris Klotzbach, Parker, Colo., 3:43:54.

Marathon -- male: Logan Sherman, Dallas, 2:31:57; female: Camille Riggins, Arlington, 3:01:55.

Half Marathon -- male: David Boston, Lubbock, 1:11:38; female: Michelle Frey, Minneapolis, Minn., 1:18:26.

10K -- male: Andrew Montes, Colleyville, 32:16; female: McKale Davis, Stillwater, Okla., 37:06.

Adult 5K -- male: Chris Strait, McKinney, 16:46; female: Jenny Pamer, Mansfield, 19:40.

Kids Run (1.8 miles) -- male: Mason Wrobel, Arlington, 8:55; female: Mahlia Pink, Desoto, 10:07.

 

Quotes from winners and others:

``This has been a good year for me,’’ said 10K men’s winner Andrew Montes, who just graduated from Texas A&M. ``I’ve had a lot of PRs. But I haven’t run a road race since the Turkey Trot (in Fort Worth) two years ago. We weren’t allowed to do road races (while at A&M). Now, I’m training for triathlons.’’
He and runner-up Armando Saldiver of Fort Worth chased Joe Beisner of Irving for more than half of 6.2-mile run. ``He went out very fast,’’ Montes said of Beisner, who finished third in 32:48.
Montes and Saldiver fought back and forth until Montes squeezed in at the finish to win in 32:16 to Saldiver’s 32:17. “I thought I had him,’’ Saldiver said, “but he sneaked out on the other side.’’

Marathon women’s winner Camille Riggins, a mother of two who also won the women’s title at the Fort Worth Marathon in November and was runner-up at Cowtown last year, said she was hanging up her marathon shoes. ``I am officially going into retirement from marathoning’’ she said. With her 5-year-old son Dylan heading off to kindergarten, she said she’s heading back to the work force. “I’m a teacher, a certified PE coach, if anyone is hiring,’’ she said.

Michelle Frey said the Fort Worth morning felt almost tropical to her. Because of cold and snow in Minneapolis, she said “I’ve been running on treadmills. This is ideal running weather.’’ As temperatures crept toward the 50s and the sun was shining, the women’s half marathon winner said, “It’s not hot, but I’m overdressed.’’ She’s running about 100 miles a week as she prepares to run the Boston Marathon in April and didn’t taper her training. “I’m trying to taper for Boston, not Cowtown.’’ She wasn’t surprised to win because she had seen winning times from the previous Cowtowns and figured she could do better. “I do this for a living. I run for Saucony and Team USA Minnesota.’’

Women’s half marathon runner-up Connie Abbot, 23, of Kansas City, said she also was using Cowtown as a training run as she prepares for Boston. She ran a 1:21:10 to set a PR by 40 seconds. Abbott, who logs about 50 miles a week, said catching Frey was not going to happen. “I saw her far in the distance,’’ she said.

A shivering McKale Davis won the women’s 10K in 37:06, and ran a “pretty slow race. My PR is about 35 minutes,’’ she said. The 2007 TCU grad who’s working on her PHd at Oklahoma State, added that, “It’s cool to come down here and win. I can’t wait to come back next year and do the half.’’ However, if the temperature is the same, Davis said she’d opt for more clothes that her Saturday attire of shorts and singlet.

Thomas Whalen, 44, of Saint Louis, Mo., believed he had a chance of winning the ultra had he not gone off course. “I probably ran about a half-mile extra. A guy was directly behind and he and I at about 16 miles, there was an outturn. A cop was on the corner of the L and he didn’t point. He was just standing there.’’ When they realized they were off course, Whalen a veteran marathon and ultra runner, figured he had gone an extra half mile. Yet, Whalen, who has run about 60 marathons, kept his lead. “I was leading until about 25 and half miles and then he (Jason Razo of Arlington) passed me. He was flying.’’ Razo finished in 3:23:07 while Whalen came in at 3:24:46.

Razo said he never got off course as he won in his ultra debut. “My first and last,’’ he said with a laugh.  “I’m getting my bucket list done early in life so I don’t have to worry about it later on.’’ He has run “six or seven” marathons. His most recent was Houston and set his PR of 2:43. “I have set my own personal goal of setting 10 PRs in 2010.” He already has set his half (at Austin in about 1:16) and marathon PRs. “It’s kind of cheating, though, running one you’ve never done before.’’ I didn’t catch up to the second-place guy (Whalen) until about 25 and we kept together for a mile or two. I didn’t know he’d been off course. I didn’t even see him until about mile 20 or 21. I thought I was in first place for a long time until we were passing marathoners going the other way and they were saying “Good job, second place ultra.’’ Although he’s ditching the ultras, Razo wants to increase his marathon list. “I’ve run in five states and I want to add to that.’’

 Kris Klotzbach, winner of the half in 2008 and the marathon last year, said she wanted to make it a trifecta by entering the ultra. “After I won the full last year, I wanted to come back for the ultra. My goal was 3:49:55 because that was my first marathon time. I thought if I could beat my first marathon time in my first ultra, that would be pretty good.’’ Besides winning, her husband Phil qualified for Boston in the marathon. “I caught my husband about mile 20, so I ran with him until from about 20 to 23. I was trying to give him a little positive reinforcement,’’ Then she split off to continue the ultra course. “I was thinking about him,’’ she said as she tackled a five-mile loop. “Those five miles on the ultra are hard because there aren’t many people out there.’’
She said it was difficult at first to not to go out with the marathoners. “I tried to back off a little.’’ She took it easier the first 10 miles before picking up the pace.
Her husband, who’s from the Boston area, completed two of his goals that he had made when he was about nine years old, Kris said. “He said he wanted to hike to Appalachian Trial, run Boston and bike across the country. He hiked the Appalachian in 2002 and now he has Boston.’’