MANITOU SPRINGS — The Pikes Peak Marathon and Ascent were finished on Sunday and Saturday after drawing out crowds from across Colorado and the rest of this country.
Often referred to as one of the hardest marathon races in the country, the Pikes Peak Marathon has runners run up to an elevation of 14,115 feet.
One runner today, Daniel Lee, remarked about how natural the experience of the Pikes Peak Marathon feels.
"There's like something intensely human about running up the side of a mountain and running back down. It's not a very hard thing to understand, it's not like basketball where you need to understand the intricacies of the sport. You can just tell someone what you did and they'll understand it's a ridiculous thing to do," said Lee.
Another woman from Michigan says she took on the race after looking for a new challenge.
"Last year I completed the Abbott World Major Marathons, and so after doing all of those under 3 hours, I was looking for my next challenge and settled on Pikes Peak. Hardest Marathon in the country, so I better do it," said Meredith Busman.
On Saturday, during the Pikes Peak Ascent, Colorado Springs runner Allie Mclaughlin won 4th place after winning 1st place twice before.
"It feels good to win on my mountain", said Mclaughlin.
But she didn't finish the race alone. Mclaughlin was joined by her one-year-old Golden Retriever Harley at the finish line.
"She actually crossed the finish line with me," said Mclaughlin. "It was pretty special, she's finished in other races with me and I usually run right through. But I stopped before the finish... I gave her a big hug before we even crossed the finish line".
Results for the Pikes Peak Marathon and Ascent can be found here.
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