BRECKENRIDGE — The easy ones, if you can call any trail running race around here easy, are over.

After a gnarly opener on the Flumes reminded everyone that early June is often just as brutal and frigid as January, the Nike Summit Trail Running Series visited its other (relatively) tame venue Wednesday night, Baker’s Tank.

The weather backed off this time and an STRS-record 157 runners took advantage, posting times faster than you’ll see the rest of the summer.

Dylan Olchin and April Thomas made it a twentysomething couple’s sweep in the long course races, completing the roughly 10K course in respective times of 36 minutes, 29 seconds, and 42:50.

Olchin passed runner-up Scott Downard halfway through the descent, ruining the Oklahoma City visitor’s hope of winning a race during his time in town visiting friends.

It was the second straight STRS victory for Olchin, a 26-year-old former college runner who swept the series two years ago but did not win as often last year.

Afterward, he downplayed his win because it came on a downhill pass, not on the rabbit-like ascents he’s used to using to separate himself from the field.

“He deserved to win,” Olchin said of Downard, 24, a former college runner himself at the University of Oklahoma. “He beat me the whole way up. I could just run the rocks better.”

Downard, for his part, admitted he rarely treads on off-road terrain and that he couldn’t touch Olchin once the climbing was over.

“I thought if I got to where it started going down with the lead, maybe I could just hold it at that point,” he said after finishing in 36:58.

“(Olchin) was gracious.

He said I could hang with him and just let it rip on the downhill … but easier said than done.”

Leadville teen Alex Willis took third (39:43), while Sean Hulburt (41:00) and Carlos Martinez (41:58) rouned out the top five.

Thomas, meanwhile, made the move from short course to long after winning the first race, and it worked out perfectly for the two-time all-conference runner at CSU, who is using the STRS to prep for her collegiate racing season.

Thomas said she never saw another woman after the first seven or eight minutes Wednesday, coasting to victory by a minute and a half over runner-up Monique Merrill (44:20).

“Cross country, when we run in school, we’re always running on golf courses,” the 22-year-old said.

“This is cross country to me.

This is what I love to do.

It hurts, but it’s fun.”

More at summitdaily.com

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