It was a truncated course, down in elevation from 13,000 to 10,000 feet and down in distance from 17.1 to 14.2 miles, due to a storm-caused road closure, but that didn’t stop a horde of Flagstaff runners from once again placing high at the Imogene Pass Run in Ouray, Colo., on Saturday.
Former NAU runner and 2022 U.S. Masters 5K Cross Country champion Chris Gomez, 42, was the top Flagstaffian, placing fourth in 1:43:23 — behind three Coloradans, including winner Taylor Stack (1:35:54). Right behind Gomez in fifth was Flagstaff’s Ryan Hansen in 1:44:45.
Among the women, Flagstaff’s Katie McGee, a former pro, won the masters division in 2:04:49. It was the second year in a row that a Flagstaff masters woman has won Imogene, with Valerie Cross taking the crown last year. (Cross was the third masters woman this year in 2:11:37.)
Gomez is a veteran of Imogene. His best finish was in 2016, when he placed second on the full course. He was third in 2018, seventh in 2022, eighth last year. Hansen is a well-known trail runner, having placed second last year at Tushars Mountain Run Marathon, a highly technical event in the mountains near Beaver, Utah.
McGee is a versatile racer — trails and roads — who most recently won last month’s Flagstaff Big Brothers Big Sisters Flagstaff 1/2 Marathon over Cross.
Here are some other notable Flagstaff finishes Saturday:
— Kam Harder, 12th overall, in 1:50:32. Here is our feature on Harder before he ran May’s Cocodona 250.
— Ben Hutchinson, a senior on Basis Flagstaff’s cross country team, 34th in 1:58:39.
— Josh Cross, 36th, in 1:59:13.
— Chloe Painter, 40th in 1:59:33.
— Diego Hernandez, 43rd in 2:00:01
— Zachary Philpot, 49th in 2:01:36
— Fiona Nicholson, 50th in 2:01:44
For complete results, click here.
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