Very few things can beat an early evening trail run as summer approaches. Add a little bit of competition, and this experience becomes even more elevated. 

The Breckenridge Recreation Department hosted its second Summit Trail Running Series race on Wednesday, June 15, as competitors tried their skills on Breckenridge’s French Gulch trail.

In the premiere race of the season on June 1, competitors raced the Dillon Dump Loops. Local talent shined at the inaugural race, with Summit High School incoming sophomore Ella Hagen winning the short-course race and John Rauen winning the long course race. 

Local trail running athletes continued to shine at the second race in the series at French Gulch trail, which offered a 5-kilometer and an 8-kilometer race.

In the 5K race it was 15-year-old Breckenridge resident Will Bentley who broke the tape first. He completed the course in a time of 27:19. Bentley averaged 8:48 per mile and beat out second place by over 30 seconds.  

Scott Siriano, 55, finished in second place in a time of 27:50, while up and coming Summit endurance athlete Lukas Remeikis placed third in a time of 30:52. Lukas Remeikis is only 12 years old and placed third at the Dillon Dump Loops race two weeks ago. 

Bentley and Lukas Remeikis went on to place first and second in the boys 17 and under age division.

Jenny Wong from Dillon was the first female to finish in the 5-kilometer race. She finished in a time of 20:57.40 for fourth place overall. Following Wong was Danny Butler, 12, in fifth. Butler finished in a time of 31:02.

The 5-kilometer race also featured two 10-year-olds, Oliver Nelson and Caroline Brown. Nelson and Brown were the youngest participants in the race and finished in 27th and 33rd place. 

Following the success of his younger brother, Dom Remeikis sought out for a finish within the top three in the 8-kilometer race.

Dom Remeikis, who will be an incoming senior at Summit High School, had an impressive spring track season where he was able to qualify for the state track meet in the 800-meter run, of which he placed 11th in the 4A classification. 

Remeikis took to the 8-kilometer course like an expert, flowing through the hilly terrain and rivaling 23-year-old Rauen throughout the entirety of the course.

Rauen wasn’t able to catch Remeikis in the final stretches of the race and had to settle for second place. Remeikis ran to a first place finish, running 43:31, while Rauen finished in a time of 44:05.

Following Rauen was Joshua Ernst who rounded out the top three, finishing in a time of 48:00. 

Remeikis placed first in the 17 and under age category, and Rauen placed first in the 23-29-year-old division.

Kevin Vermillion, Dominic Baker and Sam Haynes placed fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

The first female finisher was Cheryl Boyd in seventh place, finishing in a time of 51:52. Boyd was quickly followed by former University of Wyoming distance athlete and current Frisco resident Kacey Doner.

Doner finished in a time of 52:03 for eighth place overall. Doner won the 18-29-year-old age group beating out Carolyn McShea who finished in 1:03:00. 

The town of Breckenrige recently announced that it will be holding an additional race as part of the Summit Trail Running Series on Wednesday, July 6. The race will take place on the Little French Gulch and Sallie Barber Mine trails in Breckenridge. Course options are to be decided at a later date. 

To sign up for the race on July 6 or other races in the race series, visit BreckenridgeRecreation.com.