After an almost two-month break, Race Breck’s Summit Trail Running Series made a triumphant return on Wednesday evening, July 30, with the Tom’s Baby Turnaround race.

Originally slated for July 16, the race was postponed for two weeks due to hazardous air quality caused by smoke drifting in from wildfires on the far Western Slope and in Utah. 

With the last race in the series being hosted over a month ago, trail runners from across the county and beyond eagerly lined up at the start, poised to take on another thrilling challenge through Breckenridge’s large network of trails.

The evening of racing kicked off with the start of the long-course race. Consisting of 7.6-miles and 1,027 feet of climbing, trail runners got out quickly, but made sure to conserve energy for the long-distance race.

Near the front of the pack early on were two Breckenridge trail runners in Joshua Ernst and John Rauen. The duo tested each other in the early part of the race before Ernst broke away from Rauen and steadily pulled himself closer to the finish line located near the start of the trailhead.

In the end, Ernst was the first to cross the finish line in a time of 51 minutes, 23 seconds. A little over four minutes later, Rauen followed in second place overall in a time of 55:45. Dillon’s Paul Timm rounded out the men’s long-course podium, finishing in third place overall in a time of 59:24.

Soon after Timm stepped foot over the final timing mat, the race’s first female finisher cruised across the finish line. Putting together another strong performance, Dillon’s Natalie Kalin completed the race in 1:00:01 to take fourth overall and be crowned the women’s long-course champion. 

Michael Shambarger took fifth (1:04:14), Breckenridge’s Michael Emery took sixth (1:05:58) and Diego Andraca finished in seventh place (1:06:44). 

The second spot on the women’s long-course podium was seized by Breckenridge’s Nikki LaRochelle. With an extended background in endurance sports, LaRochelle made quick work of the challenging course, completing the race in 1:06:48 to take eighth overall.

Directly following LaRochelle in the results was Breckenridge’s Brooke Steinkopf. Steinkopf secured a ninth-place finish and was the third female runner to complete the race. Steinkopf completed the course in a time of 1:09:10 while Audrey Kilness of Englewood took 10th overall in 1:12:16.  

The top 15 was rounded out by Matt Manthe in 11th (1:13:39), Peter Bruell in 12th (1:15:20), Steve Barone of Breckenridge in 13th (1:15:49), Jaime Falcon in 14th (1:15:58) and Jarrod Musick of Centennial in 15th (1:17:58). 

Those competing in the short-course race quickly followed in the footsteps of the long-course athletes. Although the beginning of the two races were nearly identical, the short-course athletes completed a smaller loop that traveled 3.7 miles and gained 561 feet.

Just days after competing in a high school trail race on Saturday, July 26, Breckenridge’s Danny Butler took command of the field in the race’s opening moments.

Butler, 15, eventually settled into a steady rhythm and pulled away from the trailing pack with every stride. Butler closed strong in the race’s final stages, crossing the finish line in 30:11 to claim the overall win. Natalie Choy followed in second place with a time of 34:03, while William Weiss rounded out the top three in 34:47.

Toby Winkler finished in fourth to complete the men’s overall podium (35:11) while Breckenridge’s Jenny Wong marked the race’s second female finisher, clocking a time of 35:12 for fifth place overall. 

Kyanne Ruth Williams was the race’s third female finisher, taking sixth overall in a time of 35:12. Not far behind Williams was Lucia Templeton, 14, of Dillon. The burgeoning trail runner took seventh overall and was the fourth woman to cross the finish line of the short-course race in a time of 35:29.

Weston Bethel, 17, took eighth (35:32), Matt Stuk finished in ninth (35:59) and Breckenridge’s Adrienne Rynes crossed the finish line in 10th (36:31).

 Several other Summit County residents rounded out the top 15 of the short-course race. Frisco’s Becky Peltier took 11th (37:50), Anna Smart finished in 12th (37:53), Roy Leckonby finished in 13th (38:54) Breckenridge’s Anna Kerr took 14th (39:14) and Jen Chiarappa finished in 15th (39:46).

Race Breck’s final Summit Trail Running Series race — Carter Park Scurry — will take place on Aug. 13. At the series finale, age group champions will be crowned for their hard racing throughout the entire season. To sign up for the race, visit RaceBreck.com.