YOUR AD HERE »

26-year-old blasts through Steamboat Marathon with what is unofficially the second fastest time in event history (with photos)

News News |

Tom Skulski
  

Show CaptionsHide Captions

Two hundred thirty-nine runners gathered in Hahns Peak Village early Sunday morning to endure a 26.2-mile test of athleticism and mental toughness.

The Steamboat Marathon ran for the 42nd time with several familiar faces in the event and many first-timers. One of those first time Steamboat marathoners was race winner Zachary Alhamra, a 26-year-old who grew up in Colorado but now resides in Utah.

Alhamra thought it was the perfect venue for a marathon and the weather made it even better. 

“Starting early, you get the meadowlarks and the nice wide open grassy fields,” Alhamra said. “It was so cool and crisp in the morning. It was just a really pleasant start. Once you get going, you have to hold yourself back a little bit and not get too excited. I did a pretty good job of that, but I died a little bit more than I wanted to in the last six miles.”

Despite the slower pace to close the race, Alhamra finished the marathon in a blistering 2 hours, 38 minutes and 3 seconds, running from Hahns Peak Village to downtown Steamboat Springs.

Race director Paul Sachs said he believes it was the second fastest time in Steamboat Marathon history behind an unbelievable 2:22, but Sachs could not confirm it. He is confident Alhamra posted the fastest time in the last 35 years of the race.

“This guy was so fast,” Sachs said. “I missed his finish because very few people run under 2:40 at the Steamboat Marathon.”

This was Alhamra’s third marathon run, and he said it was his slowest of them all. He got off to an early lead in the race and was out of eyeshot from the rest of the pack by mile six.

He was able to maintain a near six-minute mile split but felt the burn in the final five miles. Right as he thought he was in the final stretch, he was faced with a hill at mile 22, which became as much of a mental battle as it was physical.

“I have run two marathons prior to this and got a little over excited in both of them so I tried to make a conscious effort of starting nice and easy and eat away at the mileage one by one,” Alhamra said. “That hill at mile 22 really got me though. That was the backbreaker for me.”

Alhamra battled injury and sickness for weeks leading up to the marathon. He said he realistically had six weeks total of training for the race, though he was still able to win the marathon by over nine minutes. 

Steamboat resident Mark Myers was second to cross the finish line at 2:47.20. Isabelle Kennedy of Boulder was the first female finisher at 3:09.40, placing 12th overall. 

The feeling of accomplishment and success upon crossing the finish line was apparent on many finishers’ faces, and for Alhamra, it meant the world to win a race in his home state.

“This means a lot,” he said. “I grew up in Colorado and this is the first running event that I have run in Colorado since I was a high schooler. To be back home and enjoy the goodness that brought me to distance running in the first place is special, especially to win it.”

Steamboat Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K
Steamboat Springs
Sunday, June 4, 2023

Marathon (Top 50) — 1. Zachary Alhamra, Murray, UT, 2:38.03. 2. Mark Myer, Steamboat Springs, CO, 2:47.20. 3. Liam Driscoll, Hingham, 2:55.32. 4. Nicholas Krueger, Fruita, CO, 2:57.30. 5. Jason Frankel, Austin, TX, 2:58.30. 6. Nick Stefanko, Oklahoma City, OK, 3:00.26. 7. Levi Stone, Lyons, CO, 3:01.29. 8. Ryan Wattles, Hayden, CO, 3:02.07. 9. Ian Stuart, Carbondale, CO, 3:02.19. 10. Bennet Murch, Steamboat Springs, CO, 3:04.58. 11. Pete Surgent, Steamboat Springs, CO, 3:08.40. 12. Isabelle Kennedy, Boulder, CO, 3:09.40. 13. Kali Cavey, Denver, CO, 3:11.32. 14. Kayla Smith, Denver, CO, 3:11.41. 15. Scott Goodhart, Steamboat Springs, CO, 3:11.42. 16. Marty Wacker, Grand Junction, CO, 3:14.25. 17. Moriah Stratton, Colorado Springs, CO, 3:16.53. 18. Danny Moore, Celina, CO, 3:18.34. 19. Paul Timm, Oconomowoc, WI, 3:19.52. 20. Danielle Krause, Glenwood Springs, CO, 3:20.26. 21. Bryan Boyle, Gunnison, CO, 3:20.54. 22. Cory Bertram, Lakewood, CO, 3:21.27. 23. Kelly Ahman, Lyons, CO, 3:23.54. 24. Michele Perez-Lopez, Broomfield, CO, 3:28.08. 25. Liz Skretkowicz, Edwards, CO, 3:28.16. 26. David Musham, Steamboat Springs, CO, 3:28.48. 27. Thomas Ciolek, Centennial, CO, 3:28.58. 28. Ben LeFevre, Steamboat Springs, CO, 3:29.45. 29. Eric Bruynseels, Denver, CO, 3:30.29. 30. Nathan Grivy, Craig, CO, 3:30.33. 31. Mickey Citarella, Superior, CO, 3:31.30. 32. Hilary Eggen, Hazelhurst, WI, 3:31.39. 33. Cy Fixen, Denver, CO, 3:32.08. 34. Sage Sherman, Boulder, CO, 3:32.40. 35. Stewart Layhe, Denver, CO, 3:32.50. 36. Maddie Nelson, Colorado Springs, CO, 3:32.59. 37. Brent Clermont, Los Angeles, CA, 3:35.32. 38. Rene Harrod, Weston, FL, 3:37.10. 39. Rob Schwarz, Steamboat Springs, CO, 3:39.46. 40. Nathan Siegel, Superior, CO, 3:40.11. 41. Katherine Page, Leadville, CO, 3:40.40. 42. Madeline Watts, Longmont, CO, 3:42.07. 43. Austin Davis, Steamboat Springs, CO, 3:42.40.44. 44. Abby Farmer, Denver, CO, 3:42.57. 45. Bryan Shuman, Laramie, WY, 3:43.20. 46. Peter Lordan, Steamboat Springs, CO, 3:45.39. 47. Jacob Davey, Denver, CO, 3:45.58. 48. Michael Nash, Cumming, GA, 3:46.38. 49. Daniel Beideman, Boulder, CO, 3:46.51. 50. Jacob Heaps, Wheat Ridge, CO, 3:47.07. 

Half-Marathon (Top 50) — 1. Steven Boyton, Steamboat Springs, CO, 1:15.13. 2. Jeremy Romero, Denver, CO, 1:16.09. 3. Neely Gracey, Lafayette, CO, 1:16.10. 4. Bridger Tomlin, Boulder, CO, 1:18.50. 5. Brendan Mulvey, Steamboat Springs, CO, 1:22.15. 6. Christopher Spooner, Denver, CO, 1:24.57. 7. Austin Huffman, Spring, TX, 1:25.11. 8. Charlie MacArthur, Steamboat Springs, CO, 1:25.22. 9. Shawn Laursen, Boulder, CO, 1:26.13. 10. Jessica Ackerman, Boulder, CO, 1:27.20. 11. Pearson Alspach, Steamboat Springs, CO, 1:27.42. 12. Raeah Braunschweiger, Houston, TX, 1:28.25. 13. Autumn Oslowski, Steamboat Springs, CO, 1:29.57. 14. Grant Houx, Fort Collins, CO, 1:31.13. 15. Blake Kanger, Denver, CO, 1:31.39. 16. Ginger Johnston, Steamboat Springs, CO, 1:31.51. 17. Libby Pohl, Denver, CO, 1:32.23. 18. William John Ottoman, Boulder, CO, 1:33.02. 19. Will Parry, London, UK, 1:33:23. 20. Ryan Paavola, Denver, CO, 1:33.31. 21. Caleb Franzmann, Boulder, CO, 1:34.05. 22. Mika Thewes, Lakewood, CO, 1:34.13. 23. Linda Weigang, Littleton, CO, 1:35.01. 24. Owen Gifford, Craig, CO, 1:35.38. 25. Philippa Keast, Denver, CO, 1:35.41. 26. Erin O’Kelley, Longmont, CO, 1:36.28. 27. Elizabeth McGuire, Evergreen, CO, 1:36.34. 28. Brandy Erholtz, Steamboat Springs, CO, 1:37.05. 29. Tim Harlan, Steamboat Springs, CO, 1:37.17. 30. Eric Robinson, Edgewater, CO, 1:37.54. 31. Celeste Hawthorn, Littleton, CO, 1:38.00. 32. Ryan LaRue, Denver, CO, 1:38.34. 33. Michael Penney, Steamboat Springs, CO, 1:38.44. 34. Hannah McNeill, Weston, 1:39.08. 35. Bethany Tousley, Wichita, KS, 1:39.14. 36. Nathanael Tousley, Wichita, KS, 1:39.14. 37. Matthew Peetz, Lakewood, CO, 1:39.35. 38. Ellie Johnson, San Clemente, CA, 1:39.42. 39. Glenn Sommerfeld, Steamboat Springs, CO, 1:40.13. 40. Trinidad Laya, Craig, CO, 1:40.20. 41. Jordan French, Steamboat Springs, CO, 1:40.29. 42. Austin Duffy, Littleton, CO, 1:40.57. 43. Natalie Abrahamson, Longmont, CO, 1:41.13. 44. Matt Johnson, Vail, CO, 1:41.26. 45. John Singleton, Fort Collins, CO, 1:42.15. 46. Amber Wood-Jensen, Castle Rock, CO, 1:42.23. 47. Natalie Kalin, Colorado Springs, CO, 1:42.26. 48. Eric Saul, Steamboat Springs, CO, 1:42.55. 49. Laurie Brockway, Boulder, CO, 1:43.04. 50. Lucas Abbott, Golden, CO, 1:43.04. 

10K (Top 25) — 1. Sumner Cotton, Steamboat Springs, CO, 38:55. 2. Trucker Creger, Des Moines, IA, 42:05. 3. Xavier Knott, Steamboat Springs, CO, 43:19. 4. Eric VanNatta, Steamboat Springs, CO, 43:28. 5. Patrick Barrett, Colorado Springs, CO, 43:33. 6. Christopher Knott, Lakewood, CO, 43:44. 7. Erin Norton, Aurora, CO, 44:12. 8. Brian Mott, Highland Falls, NY, 44:42. 9. Laura Morrison, Denver, CO, 44:57. 10. Sadie Cotton, Steamboat Springs, CO, 46:01. 11. Emma Stolz, Englewood, CO, 46:36. 12. Robert Chick, Austin, TX, 47:06. 13. Colton Lewer, Rawlins, WY, 47:11. 14. Colman Shaver, New York, NY, 47:55. 15. Neal Smyth, Steamboat Springs, CO, 48:22. 16. Tanner Morrison, Steamboat Springs, CO, 48:26. 17. Georgia Bishop, Steamboat Springs, CO, 48:32. 18 Andrew Smenyak, Fort Collins, CO, 48:40. 19. Paul Grinvalds, WDM, 48:52. 20. Jonas Pressgrove, Craig, CO, 49:13. 21. Sarah Kromminga, Castle Rock, CO, 49:23. 22. Genevieve Kalmes, Steamboat Springs, CO, 50:07. 23. Matt Pietsch, Cheyenne, WY, 50:46. 24. Griffin Lerude, Denver, CO, 50:49. 25. Max Kenney, Steamboat Springs, CO, 50:58.

To reach Tom Skulski, call 970-871-4240, email tskulski@SteamboatPilot.com.

News
See more

Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Steamboat and Routt County make the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.