It’s been a busy week of racing in Breckenridge.

After cyclists completed the fourth stage of the six-day Breck Epic mountain bike race on Wednesday, Aug. 13, trail runners kicked up more dust across the trails above Carter Park for the season finale of the Summit Trail Running Series. 

In its 23rd season, Race Breck’s Summit Trail Running Series allows trail runners to compete in five trail races from late May through early August. The race series was originally slated to conclude two weeks ago, but the series’ penultimate race  — Tom’s Baby Turnaround — got postponed due to poor air quality.

As a result, the Carter Park Scurry was moved to the evening of Aug. 13, creating an even more electric racing atmosphere with so many athletes already in town for the Breck Epic.

With a smokey haze settling over Summit County, trail runners competing in the 8.8-mile long-course race lined up along the start line at Carter Park and began tackling the race’s first major climb. 

From the beginning of the race it was clear that it was going to be hard to challenge 19-year-old Chuck Vater. Entering his sophomore year at University of Wisconsin — La Crosse, Vater made running at altitude look relatively easy, running within his abilities on the uphill sections before opening up his stride on the descents. 

Sporting a personal best of 8 minutes, 15.25 seconds in the 3-kilometer run and 14:23.16 in the 5K, Vater crossed the finish line of the Carter Park Scurry in 1:06:20 to be crowned the champion of the race. Over three minutes later, another collegiate runner crossed the finish line in second place. Hailing from Wisconsin and entering his junior year at University of Alaska — Fairbanks, Ben Dohlby crossed the finish line of the trail race in 1:09:36 to claim the second spot on the men’s overall podium. 

Dillon’s Paul Timm was the first Summit County resident to complete the race, taking third overall in a time of 1:11:20. Lucas Gauthier finished in fourth overall (1:11:26), while Jared Burris of Breckenridge took fifth (1:13:03). Blake Hanley finished in sixth (1:16:12), Michael Shambarger took seventh (1:18:28), Michael Emery of Breckenridge took eighth (1:22:24) and Diego Andraca finished in ninth (1:24:56). 

Closing out a strong Race Breck trail running season, Brooke Steinkopf took 10th overall to be crowned the long-course race champion in a time of 1:25:32. Steinkopf was soon followed by the rest of the women’s podium. After Nathan Burke took 11th in 1:26:28, Englewood’s Audrey Kilness took 12th in a time of 1:29:20 and Makenna Hillis took 13th in 1:30:00. The top 15 of the long-course race was rounded out by Peter Bruell in 14th (1:31:28) and Daniel Frenchmore in 15th (1:34:13).

The 3.28-mile short-course race was spearheaded by several Summit County locals. Displaying the fitness he built up over the summer, Summit High School sophomore Cooper Levi of Silverthorne took first overall in the short-course race in a time of 26:15. Not far behind Levi was his sophomore teammate on the Summit cross-country team, Danny Butler. Completing his fifth race of the season, Butler took second overall in the short-course race in a time of 27:28. 

Dillon’s Scott Siriano, 59, followed the two distance runners in third place overall in a time of 29:29. Marino Del Ponte took fourth (30:02), Hayden van Andel of Breckenridge finished in fifth (30:20) and Joe Scolari finished in sixth (30:34).

Natalie Choy was the first female runner to complete the short-course race. Choy was dominant from the start of the race, eventually crossing the finish line in seventh place overall in a time of 31:59. Isma Calle took eighth in 33:01 before two Dillon trail runners claimed the final two women’s podium spots. Lucia Templeton, 14, took ninth overall in a time of 33:44 to be the second overall women across the line. A short 10 seconds later, Jenny Wong finished in 10th to secure the final spot on the women’s podium (33:54). Frisco’s Becky Peltier finished just outside of the top 10 in 11th place (35:03) before Kevin Daly took 12th (35:15). Breckenridge’s Anna Kerr took 13th (36:38), Jen Chiarappa finished in 14th (37:05) and Carrie van Andel took 15th (37:11).

With the Carter Park Scurry serving as the final Summit Trail Running Series race, overall series champions were crowned for their brave and strong racing throughout the summer. To view the final series standings, visit Racer-Ready.com.

Race Breck will conclude the summer season by hosting its final Summit Mountain Challenge mountain bike race — Breckenridge Classic — on Saturday, Aug. 23. Similar to the Summit Trail Running Series, after the conclusion of the race, overall series champions will be awarded.

To sign up for the race, visit RaceBreck.com.