At last it was time for Imogene, one of my all time favorite races. I got a late start in the afternoon but finally arrived in Ouray at 10:30 at night and slept in my favorite spot near the start. After a great night's sleep I was ready to race!
90 minutes after waking up I towed the line ready for a challenge. I wore the Hoke Challenger ATR: A great shoe with the necessary grip, comfort, support, and strong enough for the rugged terrain. My goal was 2 fold: win and break the age group course record. I knew that potentially I could do both.
At last the race was underway.
I settled into both my rhythm and pacing and by mile 1 found myself in second place right behind David Sinclair of Flagstaff AZ. I stayed on David's tail as he continuously threw in small surges to extend his lead and break the rest of the runners. They were quite effective. For the first 6-7 miles we yo-yoed back and forth yet David slowly increased his lead. I knew my pace was solid and was unsure if David would slow up or not. We had dropped everyone else; I just focused on David and tried to reel him in.
Atlas, it could not be done that day. I kept my pace up but David slowly pulled ahead. At last I topped out on Imogene pass right at an hour and 40 minutes into the race. Solid, but about 4 minutes back from David. I bombed down the back side aiming to break the age record. I crossed the finish line in second place breaking the age record by 14 seconds. Solid effort and my 7th podium finish at Imogene.
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