By Bob Stephens
PikesPeakSports.us

Anita Ortiz hadn’t raced up America’s mountain in five years, not since she won the Pikes Peak Marathon in 2009. But the 50-year-old mother of four had a simple explanation about why she tackled the 26.2-mile trek up and down the mountain Sunday in the 59th running of “America’s Ultimate Challenge.”

“I had a free weekend and thought, ‘What the heck,’” Ortiz said matter-of-factly.

The kindergarten teacher from Eagle, Colo., is almost always up for a run. She logs about 75 miles a week these days – down from the 120 miles she used to do in a week when she was a five-time member of the Unites States Mountain Running team.

Ortiz easily won the female division of the marathon in 5:00:54 (29th overall), but not without some personal difficulty. When she crossed the finish line, the diminutive runner gasped, “It’s hot, too hot.”

The temperature was in the mid-80s when Ortiz finished the grueling race. The veteran runner recovered quickly and while flashing a smile that comes easily, she said, “I was about to barf at the finish because the heat was killing me.”

Ortiz won the Pikes Peak Ascent four times (2001-04), so she’s familiar with the trip up. In 2009, when she won the Pikes Peak Marathon in 4:28:20 – she also won the Western States 100 (miler) that year – Ortiz did the first half of the race in 2:48:57.

This time, she set an age group record (female, 50-54) for the ascent in 3:11:05, which was 81 seconds faster than Sharon Kuhn of Durango, Colo., managed in 2009.

“I felt great on the way up but on the way down, about two miles from the peak, I was nauseous,” Ortiz said. “I kept thinking I’d throw up, but I didn’t. I did have to take several pit stops.”

Just over 17 minutes after Ortiz crossed the finish line, Melissa Bay, a 38-year-old from Colorado Springs, became the second female to finish (5:17:56). She was 47th overall.

Megan Kunkel was the third female finisher (5:25.37) and 56th overall. Asked about Ortiz, who is 29 years her senior, Kunkel said, “She is amazing. What she did is incredible. All of the masters runners are so inspirational.”

Ortiz said her best marathon time – she’s run five, including New York, with her first coming as a junior at Wheat Ridge (Colo.) High School – is 3:32. She’s slowed down in recent years, mostly due to a couple of surgeries. She underwent micro fracture surgery on her left knee four years ago and had her right ankle fused two years ago, which left a metal plate in her foot.

“I basically don’t have a joint for my ankle anymore,” she said. “I can’t push off.”

Her “loosely stated goal” was to beat the age-group record (she didn’t) but said the ultimate goal was to have fun.

“Just to be able to run is great,” she said. “I race a lot, and it’s fun to be here. The people and the committee here are wonderful to us; everybody is super friendly here. It’s not about winning, just about running and having fun.”

Ortiz, who mostly runs ultras, said her next race is a 10k, but her eye is on the 100-miler in Steamboat Springs, Colo., in September.

Ortiz’s husband, Mike, played basketball for Oklahoma State University. Their children are Amelia, 21, who works for the state department; Amanda, 19, who runs for the University of Colorado in Boulder; and twins Acacia and David, 17. Amanda was the 2013 world mountain running champion.

Asked what her advice is to Amanda, she said, “The most important thing is to have fun. If you don’t have a passion for running, you’re not going to enjoy it and that makes it hard to do every day.”

She finds it hard to beat Amanda these days on training runs.

“I used to enjoy beating her. Now she enjoys beating me, I think,” Ortiz said with a laugh. “We’ll high-five in the driveway and take off, and then she’s gone. When I get back home, she’s been in the shower and is eating.”