County High Running Alumni
By now the trip to nationals is old news. Some County high distance runners are running, Cecilia Johansson, Rebekah Kobilan, and Kyle Reno. We’ll also claim Jessica Gogarty, who is training hard to be a star on the Rye track team this spring. Jessica was selected as the female representative from Colorado to the Youth Senate in Washington D.C. which honor also includes a $2000 scholarship. Jessica has decided on Southern Virginia College in Virginia, where she will get a combined athletic/academic scholarship and will run cross country and track.
One County High coach is running, Diana Reno. It’s official, Diana signed a contract to coach. One County High coach rode his horse 155 miles in January.
So with the dearth of strictly high school running news, it occurred to me to write about County High graduates who are running, mostly very well. At the very recent Frostbite 5k and 10k Steve Cathcart (83) won the 10k by a ton in 35:46. Paul Koch (86) and brother Mark( 77), tuning up for the Las Vegas Marathon, were among the leaders in their respective races. Paul, who Mark says has been running 30k on the track at six minute pace each week in preparation for Las Vegas (It’s terrible the depths to which brothers will go to defame each other, isn’t it?), used the Frostbite 5k just to get (his) heart rate up, and finished fourth overall in 18:20. Mark was fifth overall in the 10k with a 39:51. For those of you looking forward to being in the Master’s division, that place wasn’t good enough to earn an age division award. If you want to place a bet on the one of the Koch brothers against the other in Las Vegas, Mark wants a twenty minute handicap. This bookie will give fifteen, but bets must be limited to a nickel.
Also at the Frostbite 5k Gerald Ure (75) who started back into running a little over a year ago, won his age division in 22:12, thanks in part to placing sheet metal screws into the the soles of his shoes for traction on the ice. Gerald also beat his son Aaron, a Pueblo West senior who ran one year of track at County before Pueblo West opened and one year of cross country for County before Pueblo West had a cross country team. Aaron’s time was 23:14. Cecilia Johansson won her age division at the Frostbite 5k in 27:36. Diana Reno predicted a 23 before the race. We didn’t know whether she meant place or time. She was 25th overall in 2945.
A few weeks ago Steve Cathcart and Jeff Wooten (94) hooked up in a four mile dual in Fort Collins. In the end it came down a sprint and Steve got his chest across the line first. Both were timed in 21:04. Steve, by the way is buying the Fort Collins Runner’s Roost and is hoping for an April reopening.
Diana Reno is taking a sort of family team to Las Vegas for the mixed relay. Kyle is running the 10k. He’s predicting a 25:50 split but Kyle has been known to be overly optimistic before. Brother Scott Reno who has been training by laying bricks and doing sheet metal work is scheduled to lead off. Host sister Cecilia Johansson, Rebekah Kobilan, and Diana will run the other five mile legs. We’ll let you know how they do.