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Joel Reichenberger

Joel Reichenberger's column appears Sundays in the Steamboat Pilot & Today. Contact him at 871-4253 or e-mail jreichenberger@SteamboatToday.com.

At first it was almost awkward. It seemed they didn't know how to handle it - like the average boy in the class suddenly developing claustrophobia as cheerleaders fought to get a piece of him.

Race directors for the Steamboat Springs Running Series ran out of numbers for competitors and crossed their fingers as the swarms of paid contestants devoured the post-race food that had been collected, hoping there was enough to satisfy them all.

They put a cap on the number of racers they'd accept, then took deep gulps and signed up more anyway.

Any question about what exactly had happened to make the running series the coolest kid on the block was often met with wide eyes and curious shrugs.

Two years ago was a great year for the running series. It beat previous records for participation. Last year was a good year, too, but that surge had leveled off.

Now this year, it was a whole new world. People came from everywhere, crashing the series' gates to make for the most popular year in the 13-year history of the running series.

It wasn't obvious from the start that something was up. The Steamboat Marathon had good numbers. Plenty flocked to the 10-kilometer race, and the half marathon filled up, as it always does. The full marathon wasn't full, though.

Something was apparent a week later at the Hayden Cog Run, however. A year ago the Cog Run seemed to be a race on its last legs. Entries were sparse, and things didn't look any better as registration wound to a close this year.

But, on race day, nearly three times as many competitors toed the line as had the year prior.

Organizers were shocked. It became a familiar feeling.

In 2008 at the Spring Creek Memorial Run, 99 runners finished. In 2009, it was 145.

Nothing seemed to deter the masses. Suddenly running a race at altitude seemed to be on the agenda of scores of visitors.

They didn't turn back at the steep Mount Werner Classic or even the daunting "experienced trail runners only" 16-mile Continental Divide Trail Run.

Only 56 runners tackled the imposing run a year ago. Almost 100 showed up in 2009.

The surge of runners left organizers scrambling, sometimes for enough food, enough post-race prizes or answers to explain it all.

Co-series director Cara Marrs pointed to a grassroots advertising effort. The series did more to be listed in Front Range running publications and did more to get its name out there. She said she thought weekly TV appearances helped remind locals and inform tourists.

Whatever the reason, it made for a great summer. Nice work, directors.