Sarah O'Sullivan swayed with gravity from one side of the single-track trail to the other as it took her left and right, up, and down through vast aspen trees with just over 400 meters to go.
She cruised on alone in this moment, but the thought that one misplaced foot could send her to the dirt, and her 27-second lead could vanish at any moment, was not lost to her. She kept a steady eye and a fast-moving mind on each step and she danced along the trail, onwards towards the light.
When O'Sullivan emerged from the trees she was greeted by a thick crowd of spectators who cheered her on. Her light brown hair danced wild and loose behind her, the result of a hair-tie malfunction that plagued her the majority of the race.
But now all she had was a vast green field in front of her, lined with spectators on both sides of the course leading her home to the finish line.
She cruised down the final straight and through the finish in an impressive 19:58 for victory at the Battle Mountain Husky Invitational.
Sure, the performance as just one-second faster than her first 5k at a freshman, and her slowest since, but the thin air of 8,000 feet of elevation, along with the fact that the course was a beastly true cross country course, make the run all the more remarkable.
And speaking of the course...
Panoramic views of Colorado's Rocky Mountains, thick aspen trees that hide rolling single-track trails with a vast green field at the heart for runners to loop round and round allowing for multiple spectator views make this course, which is nestled in the heart of Colorado just south of Minturn, one of the most exciting cross country courses in the state - and my new favorite...
Back to the race...
O'Sullivan's 19:58 clocking was the lone sub 20 in the girl's race, though she was followed in what appeared to be a tight team race involving Colorado's titans: Mountain Vista and Battle Mountain.
While Mountain Vista and Battle Mountain held out their front runners (Jenna Fitzsimmons, and Grace Johnson), both teams competed with abbreviated squads, which in someways evened them out, though it did open a door for another squad...
Monarch's Anna Wexler runner-up finish in 20:25 was the first to signal that this may in fact not be a two-team battle between Colorado's titans, but three...
Three colors dominated the Top 10: it was spinning wheel of green, black, white, green, white, black...
Elliot Pribramsky started Battle Mountain's scoring with a third place finish in 20:35, but Mountain Vista's Shayda Zarrin gave Vista Nation the surge. Julia Mainland gave Monarch the counter with a fifth place finish, but Mountain Vista closed the door by pumping Leah Christians, Shantell Hafner and Jessica Barich into the top 11.
Mountain Vista took the team title with 30 points, while the battle between Battle Mountain and Monarch came down to just seven points. Battle Mountain's fifth runner, Hayley Diemar, closed out their scoring and put five in front of Monarch's four, giving the host-squad the runner-up with with 52 points to Monarch's 59.
Of additional note, the one runner to break the three-team dominance in the individual race was Aspen's Kylie Kenny, who finished 12th.
RESULTS | PHOTOS | VIDEOS
Next Page: Mountain Vista Sweeps the Top 3...