On a warm July evening, runners gathered from six states – New York, Virginia, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado to participate in the inaugural Teva Paint Mines 6K Run and Walk.Thirteen members of the Harrison High School cross country team sprinted and stretched, under the direction of their head coach Kevin Clark, in preparation for the race.Race announcer Roger Allison gave the five-minute warning, and more serious competitors jockeyed for position at the front of the starting line. Every second counted. Those runners merely competing against their own best time took positions toward the back of the group of 90 registered participants, who ranged in age from 10 to 69. Behind the runners were the walkers – out for a nice evening hike.With one minute to go, Jerry Collins, dressed in frontier clothing, readied his muzzle loading pistol, raised it into the air and fired. The runners were off.The first part of the course looked easy as the runners raced downhill before turning into the heart of the Paint Mines. Then, runners rushed past geologic formations including the spires and hoodoos – yellow, orange, red and purple clay layers capped with white sandstone – for which the park is famous. These are the same clays American Indians once mined to produce pottery and ceremonial paint.The track then headed uphill and the weaker runners fell behind. At the summit of the hill, runners viewed the wide open plains as the course wraps around the rim of the Paint Mines. The pace picked up as runners headed downhill toward the end of the 6K run.Daryn Parker looked strong until he encountered a slight incline immediately before the finish line; Adam Rich was gaining on him. With his body dripping in sweat, Parker made a final push and crossed the line six seconds in front of Rich, with a winning time of 19 minutes and 52 seconds.All the runners went through the same grueling drill. Fifty-year-old Rich Hadley made an impressive run placing seventh; four seconds before Shannon Payne, a 20-year-old student at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, who was the first female to cross the finish line.The youngest competitor, 10-year-old Alex Haberkorn of Falcon, blew the crowd away by placing 28th in the race, leaving 62 runners in his dust.Falcon runner Karen Wood said the course was more challenging than she expected. Because of the soft sand along the trail, she said it was like running on the beach. “But I love the scenery,” she added.Nancy Hobbs, community outreach coordinator for El Paso County Parks, was responsible for organizing the race. She has been a fan of trail racing for many years and is the co-author of “The Ultimate Guide to Trail Running.” She said the peaceful surroundings of the Paint Mines, with its incredible scenery and rolling terrain, makes it a perfect venue for the sport.Thomas Lightbody helped Hobbs with pre-race details as part of his Eagle Scout project. He laid out the course, solicited volunteers to man first-aid stations and sponsors to provide refreshments.At the conclusion of the race, Hobbs and Allison presented winners in six age categories with gift certificates for running shoes provided by TEVA, the event major sponsor.In a post-race announcement, Hobbs said she received many requests to make the 6K race an annual event in conjunction with the El Paso County Fair.
