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Steamboat runner wins 100-mile race

Joel Reichenberger

— Steamboat Springs ultra-marathon runner Avery Collins has had plenty of success in his short career, but last weekend he accomplished something new. Collins won his first 100-mile race, the Cloudsplitter 100, Kentucky’s first 100-mile trail race.

“It was pretty epic,” Collins said. “It was extremely tough and very rugged.”

Collins moved to Steamboat Springs this summer for training and to prepare for the Run, Rabbit Run 100-mile ultra-marathon. He ran in that race but pulled out about 30 miles in.



This weekend, there was no stopping. Collins finished the race in 21 hours, 7 minutes and 56 seconds, placing him in first place by a long, long way. The second-place finish was in nearly six hours later.

He said he ran with a competitor for the first third of the race, then that runner slowed and eventually withdrew with an injury. Collins was by himself for the last 70 miles, working his way up and down the tough course, which included 26,000 feet of climbing and a long swing out of Kentucky and into Virginia.



“It was extremely rocky, lots of roots and even little tree stumps in the middle of the trail,” he said. “It felt like someone bushwacked their way through and called it a trail.

“I’m really excited. It was my first 100-mile win, and that was pretty awesome.”

To reach Joel Reichenberger, call 970-871-4253, email jreichenberger@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @JReich9


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