Records fall at 15th Annual Niwot Trot

After a three year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic, downtown Niwot hosted a packed and fast crowd of runners, joggers and walkers for the 15th annual Niwot Trot 5K on Sunday, Oct. 2.

The starting horn blared at 9 a.m. sharp and a sea of elementary school children sprinted down Murray Street from the starting line just in front of the Niwot Post office. The course is a flat and fast 3.1 miles, which winds runners down Murray, then curving around east on Neva Road before sending them north on to Dry Creek Road.

Runners then turned south along 83rd Street before crossing over into the Niwot Meadow Farm subdivision before turning around at the dead end and heading in the opposite direction on an out and back course.

A record 566 participants signed up this fall, making this school and community event a huge success. There were almost 200 elementary school runners and joggers, which equates to almost half of Niwot Elementary School's enrollment. Principal Nancy Pitz ran again this year, as did teachers Madeline Cangilla, Kelly Bernhardt, Kelly Blackford, and Abby Madry. Funds raised go to the Niwot Parent Teacher Advisory Committee (PTAC) which then uses donations throughout the year to support paraprofessionals at each grade level at NES.

The record-breaking participation was just the start of the excitement this year. Both the women's overall winner, Alden Gruidel (17:51), and the youth female overall winner, fifth-grader Jesse Verhoogen (23:30), broke course records on race day. Overall youth male winner, fourth grader Cooper Edwards, was just seconds off a course record as well.

The weather was perfect for a PR (personal record) as it was cool and dry on race morning. Winners received prizes donated by local community businesses and were honored after the race at the Whistle Stop Park bandstand. Prizes were handed out to each grade level winner (boy and girl K-5), overall middle school winner, male and female, and overall 14-and-older male and female winners.

Race director Gretchen Johnson has been in charge for the last six Niwot Trot races. This will be her final year, as her youngest son is in fifth grade at Niwot Elementary School. She puts over 100 hours of volunteer work into the race, and said that it is always worth it "when I see families building a lifelong love of exercise together."

Johnson finds the support from NES principal Nancy Pitz, "awesome" and said, "The smiles at this race are across generations. I see kids and parents running together and being active. The whole Niwot community seems to come out on race morning." Niwot Market's Alison Steele made sure runners had fresh fruit at the finish and also donated race swag.

A huge hit again this year was the post race medal provided to each youth finisher and a very special treat from Cold Stone Creamery in Longmont. Owners of Cold Stone, Petey and Kelli Turner, made special "kid-sized" ice cream sandwiches for the finish line. The vast majority of kids polled at the finish reported that this was the best part of the race.

Johnson saluted this year's race sponsors, especially presenting sponsors, Deborah Read Fowler with Colorado Landmark, and Dr. Angela Paddack with Boulder Medical Center. Prize sponsors included Pat Murphy with Compass/Niwot Realty, Farow Restaurant, and IOG Bike Fit's Ivan O'Gorman.

The winners of the Niwot Trot:

Top Overall:

Female:

Alden Gruidel 17:51

Jensyn Pitz (7th) 22:52

Paige Edwards (6th) 23:09

Male:

Valentino Agnelli 16:35

Danilo Pimentel 17:00

Jaden Johnson 18:43

Overall Elementary Top Finishers:

Female:

Jesse Verhoogen (5th) 23:30

Evie Mai O'Gorman (5th) 25:03

Griffin Gottlieb (3rd) 25:59

Male:

Cooper Edwards (4th) 20:58

Ryan Carlson (4th) 22:53

Atticus Scheidenhelm (5th) 23:22

Grade Level Winners (overall winners above are not counted below)

Kindergarten:

Female: Hazel Tucker 35:07

Male: Teddy Leopold 33:39

1st Grade:

Female: Anika Case 35:55

Male: Nico Dipallo 29:29

2nd Grade:

Female: Ella Jenniches 31:24

Male: Bartley Jenniches 24:51

3rd Grade:

Female: Poppy Brucker 29:19

Darby O'Gorman: 23:43

4th Grade:

Female: Sophia Hoidn 27:40

Ryder Bennett 26:30

5th Grade:

Sabina Reid 27:50

Nick Andrews 23:29

Middle School:

Pearce Lembitz 23:30

AJ Lembitz 23:30