By the end of the race, it was all Josiah Valenzuela's show at the Run for Rwanda. Photo by Alan Versaw.
Unlike most summer races, this one almost qualifies as a cross country race. Some grass, a lot of crushed rock trail (some of it packed pretty hard and some of it rather loose), and maybe just a bit too much sidewalk for the purists among us. But it certainly didn't run as fast as your typical 5K road race.
The Run for Rwanda, a growing annual event in Colorado Springs, served as a time trial and tune-up race for several of the area's high school cross country contingent. And, if you scan the results, you'll note a few names from the not-too-distant past of high school cross country in Colorado as well. In all, there were a litle over 300 participants, a few of them gaining a little extra connection with the benefactors of the race by running barefoot.
On the boys' side, Josiah Valenzuela (Mesa Ridge) took the lead from the start and never relinquished it, finishing in 17:52. Valenzuela, a senior this fall, finished 18th among 4A boys at last year's state meet. Second place went to Zachary Alhamra, a 14-year-old who should be a very pleasant addition to somebody's cross country team this fall.
Shelby Stableford and Lauren Hamilton (both of The Classical Academy) were the top two female finishers among high school age runners. Stableford's time was 20:16.