Carpenter breaks record and takes first in Barr Trail Race

With a time of 1:29:33, Carpenter broke his own record from years past. “Finally, after seven years I finished in under an hour and 30 minutes. It was very exciting.” Carpenter plans to continue shaving seconds off his time for next year’s race. “If you’re content [with your time], you might as well give it up; I’m not content yet,” he says.

A volunteer for the 8th annual Barr Trail Mountain Race directs runners around the final bend of the course just 100 yards from the finish line.

Second place in the overall men’s category went to another record-breaker from Colorado Springs, 21-year-old Ryan Hafer. He finished just a minute and 14 seconds after Carpenter, which put him in first place among his age group. Both Hafer and Carpenter won two prize-money primes along the trail, a testament to the heated competition between them. Simon B. Gutierrez, 41, from Alamosa took third overall in the men’s category with a time of 1:35:41. Gutierrez is a member of the U.S. National Team, according to Carpenter. “We were really happy to have attracted top runners this year,” he says.

The top three overall winners in the women’s category were Lisa Marie Goldsmith, 42, from Nederland; her time was 1:52:48. Behind her were Boulder residents Katie Ann Blackett, 30, and Susan Nuzum, 40. Blackett and Goldsmith won two primes each along the trail.

Other Manitou finishers were Daryn Parker, 26, who won first in his age group with a time of 1:36:08. Steve Bremner, 52, also took first in his group with a. time of 1:56:46.

Apart from Carpenter and Hafer’s record-breaking finishes, three other age group records were broken at this year’s race. Linda DeWitt, 56, from Cary, N.C., finished in 2:31:49, and Buzz Burrell, 55, from Boulder finished in 1:57:06. Thirteen-year-old Joshua Francis Randono from Colorado Springs finished in 2:51:08.

Every year the Bar Trail Mountain Race divides $6,000 among five high school running teams which compete in the race’s Aid Station Challenge. Each school tries to create the most unique aid station for runners, and this year’s winner was Cheyenne Mountain High School, whose “Smurfs” at the Incline station impressed the most runners. The school won $2,250 for its running programs and an automatic spot to compete in next year’s challenge.