About 171 runners took to Monument Valley Trail on Saturday for the monthly running of the Nielson 2-Mile Challenge. Mark VanderMeer turned in the top time, 10 minutes, 38 seconds. Quin Ralston was second in 10:41, followed by Drew Stimson at 10:58. Krista Ross was the first woman across the line. She placed 35th overall with a time of 14:55.
Click here to see a video of the start of Saturday's race: http://www.pikespeaksports.us/video/start-of-the-nielson-2mile.
The Nielson Challenge is a handicapped event. Those who participate are given a handicap time based on their first run. Runners race against their handicap each week. The runner who beats his or her handicap by the most amount of time is the winner. Overall results are also kept.
The handicaps are regenerated after each race.
The format favors new runners and slower runners who are training hard and making improvements each week. It's also an excellent fitness gauge for experienced runners.
The race is held on the first Saturday of every month - on the same course - throughout the year.
For more information, see the Pikes Peak Road Runners website at http://www.pprrun.org/.