‘Bye boys’: Denver resident becomes 1st woman to finish 2nd overall in Steamboat Marathon
There were whispers at the finish area of the Steamboat Marathon that the first-place female runner was in second place overall. At least, that was the case at the last checkpoint, but there would be no knowing for sure until she came into sight on Lincoln Avenue.
As the clock ticked toward the three-hour mark, race director Paul Sachs remembered an encounter he had at check-in the day before. There was a woman who told him she was going to run the race in two hours and 55 minutes. He thought she was crazy but wished her luck.
“Maybe that’s her,” Sachs said.
Five minutes later, Kali Cavey came into view. She crossed the finish line in 2:57.19, becoming the first-ever woman to finish second overall in the Steamboat Marathon and possibly the first in 30 years to break the three-hour mark.
“It felt really good to kick the boys butts,” Cavey said at the finish. “It was super exciting. I was a little bit behind the group of lead men from the beginning. At mile 14, I made a move … then I hung with them for like 6 miles, then I was like, ‘Bye boys.'”
Cavey went in wanting to run the race in 2:50, but after driving the course, she realized it probably wasn’t going to happen, as the uphill and downhill in the last six miles are brutal. However, the Denver resident and seasoned marathoner thought back to her encounter with a man, Sachs, at the check-in expo the day before. When he said her goal was unlikely, it didn’t waive her confidence.
“You’ve never met me. Just wait,” Cavey told him. “So, he congratulated me at the finish line. I was like, ‘I told you.'”
Once she split away from the pack of men, Cavey was on her own. She didn’t know exactly where she sat in the overall standings, but she liked her pace. With a few miles to go, a cyclist dropped back and told her she was in second.
She wasn’t dying, but she was hurting and no longer comfortable. The sun was warming the pavement below her feet with every passing minute, and she was getting closer to her goal with every mile marker.
“I’m just thinking about how bad I want it,” she said. “And what it’s going to feel like to cross the finish line and about how many people that I’ve told I’m going to beat the course record. You want to be able to come back and be like, ‘Hey, I did that.'”
Cavey came close to beating the female marathon course record, which was set at 2:54.59 by Kirsten Whetstone, which according to an old race stats archive site, occurred in 1990. Whetstone won the Steamboat Marathon in 1988, 1989 and 1990 and is thought to be the only female to post a sub-three hour time — until Cavey.
“If even the race director doubts you,” Cavey said, “prove them wrong.”
The only other person in front of Cavey was Justin Zanotti, the overall and men’s race winner with a time of 2:44.09. This is Zanotti’s 40th marathon, marking a milestone in his goal to run 26.2 miles in each state. The Steamboat Marathon was the first one he’s completed in Colorado.
He was in second from the beginning, following a male runner that started fast and developed more than a minute advantage.
“I just ran what I usually run, and that’s where I ended up. I was in second at mile two, I think,” he said. “The guy who was in first, he had a minute and a half on me, so I didn’t really plan on catching him. Then I saw him walking around mile 15, so I was like, ‘OK. I don’t feel great, but that’s motivating. I could probably catch him.'”
Catch him he did. Zanotti took over the leader spot ahead of the 20-mile mark, so it was up to him to push himself and maintain the pace needed to earn the victory. He took it one mile at a time, just running for the next marker. He also thought about his running group back home in Michigan.
“All the crap I would have got from them if I lost in the last mile or two was motivation,” he said.
-
Alix Van Sickle’s family cheers her on as she approaches the final stretch of the Steamboat Marathon on Sunday morning. Van Sickle’s husband, Mike, and children Lily and Jacob Block yell and clap as Van Sickle’s mom tears up. (Shelby Reardon)
-
Neraly 500 people participated in the 40th anniversary of the Steamboat Marathon on Sunday morning. (Shelby Reardon)
-
Ford Smith started out in first place in the early goings of the Steamboat Marathon on Sunday morning. (Shelby Reardon)
-
-
Even as they ran uphill, participants of the Steamboat Marathon couldn’t help but smile on Sunday morning. (Shelby Reardon)
-
An officer halts pedestrians in the middle of a cross walk on Lincoln Ave. as Nolan Johnson runs the last stretch of the Steamboat Marathon on Sunday morning. (Shelby Reardon)
-
Guillermo Ceja holds up his finish line swag after completing the Steamboat Marathon on Sunday morning. (Shelby Reardon)
-
Ben Gadomski takes a minute to collect himself after finishing the Steamboat Marathon on Sunday morning. (Shelby Reardon)
-
Juniors from the Steamboat Springs girl scout troop cheer on runners and hand out medals, cool towels and water at the finish line of the Steamboat Marathon on Sunday morning. (Shelby Reardon)
-
Carl Nelson and Brandon Gittelman are all smiles in mile two of the Steamboat Marathon on Sunday morning. (Shelby Reardon)
-
In honor of the 40th anniversary of the Steamboat Marathon, an 80’s band played covers of popular songs on Sunday morning. (Shelby Reardon)
-
Jeff Hegreness grooves through mile two during the Steamboat Marathon on Sunday morning. (Shelby Reardon)
-
Alix Van Sickle approaches the finish line of the Steamboat Marathon on Sunday morning. (Shelby Reardon)
Shelby Reardon is the assistant editor at the Steamboat Pilot & Today. To reach her, call 970-871-4253, email sreardon@SteamboatPilot.com or follow her on Twitter @ByShelbyReardon.
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.