Rich, Scherf USATF Colorado State 5K Champs

With $500 and a free plane ticket on the line, along with the title of USATF Colorado State 5K Champion, a fast field assembled today at Invesco Field. For a 5K, the $2,500 prize purse makes the Stadium Stampede one of the richest in the state. The race was the first of the four-race USATF Colorado Grand Prix.



Matt Tebo (Boulder), a recent CU grad, took the overall win in 15:17. Unfortunately, Tebo is a USATF New Mexico member and was unable to make the processing change in time for the race. That put race runner-up Adam Rich (Colorado Springs) into the prized money spot. Rich outkicked Scott Dahlberg (Gunnison) and Charles Hillig (Denver) in a close three-way finish – 15:29, 15:31, and 15:31. For Rich, that meant $500 and a plane ticket, a big payday for the Boulder Running Company / adidas athlete. Dalhberg, a Western State assistant coach, collected $300 and Hillig $200. All winners were also given a case of Honey Milk.


Hillig with his winnings.

Boulder Express’ Curtis Begley Jr. (Boulder) was the last man under 16-minutes, running 15:51 for fifth.

Fleet Feet Boulder master James Johnson clocked a 16:31 to beat out his Fleet Feet teammate Todd Straka for the $250 master’s prize. Straka ran 17:00. The top-10 men all ran under 17:00.


Johnson (in yellow) runs 16:31 to finish as first master.

10-year-old Tyler Scholl finished 15^th overall in 17:27. Tyler doesn’t get chicked!

For the women, it was the former US Junior 10K record-holder Lindsey Scherf running 17:31 for the win. Scherf is a member of the new American Distance Project under coaches Scott Simmons and Renato Canova. CU alum Rachel Gioscia-Ryan (Boulder) took home runner-up honors in 17:43. Wendy Thomas (Windsor), another member of the ADP, claimed the final money spot in 17:49.

Scherf crosses the line first, and is then presented with the first-place prize by USATF Colorado Long Distance chair, Tania Pacev.

The top-3 women were the only ones to go sub-18, while the top-9 all went sub-19. This group included 14-year-old Tabor Scholl, eighth in 18:41. Tabor will compete for Granby High School next year.

Mary Alico pocketed $250 for the master’s win in 19:15.

The race had 656 finishers. Next up for the USATF Colorado Grand Prix will be the Evergreen Town Race 10K on August 7^th, where another $2,500 prize purse will be up for grabs.

Kudos to USATF Colorado and the Stadium Stampede for upping the standard of Colorado road racing with the substanial prize purse.

A huge thank you to the folks at Honey Milk for the above video of the race start. Stay tuned to RunColo for additional video and post-race interviews later in the week, also courtesy of Honey Milk. Honey Milk is a high protein nutritional drink made from real milk and honey. The product is available in Colorado-area King Soopers.