YOUR AD HERE »

Hogback Hustle ends with close finish in New Castle

Jeff Caspersen
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
Chad Spangler Post Independent
ALL |

NEW CASTLE, Colorado ” Saturday’s annual Hogback Hustle 5-kilometer foot race more than lived up to its name.

Bolting down Main Street in New Castle toward the finish line in front of Burning Mountain Park, Charlie Wertheim and Jordan Chavez matched each other’s every step.

A final push by Wertheim, a longtime fixture of the local racing scene and Post Independent copy editor, delivered the slimmest of victories over the young challenger in what was easily the closest Hogback Hustle ever, according to New Castle Recreation’s Bryan Vashus.



“Nothing like racing a 14-year-old,” joked a winded Wertheim after a final sprint that spanned several blocks along Main Street. He finished in 17 minutes, 57 seconds, less than a second ahead of Chavez, who was credited with a time of 17:58.

After hanging with Wertheim the first half of the course, which was mostly uphill, Chavez knew he had a shot.



“It was one of the closer ones,” said Chavez, who is about to enter his freshman year at Southlake Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas (a suburb of Dallas). “I was trying to get a [personal record]. I decided I’d try to stay with him once the course went downhill.”

Chavez, originally from Glenwood Springs, returns to Colorado each summer. This summer, he’s made the most of the chance to train at a high altitude to prepare for the upcoming cross country and track and field seasons.

Finishing third overall and atop the women’s standings for a second straight year was Basalt’s Megan Lund, who clocked in at 18:55 in one of the shortest races she’s done in a while. Lund recently competed in the U.S. Olympic marathon trials in Boston.

“I haven’t been doing much speed work or shorter distances,” she noted.

It also didn’t help that she had recently returned from a family vacation in Hawaii ” at sea level.

Still, a credit to her abilities, the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs alum took the women’s crown by a relatively wide margin. Chiara Del Piccolo took second (20:28) and Tobie Rippy third (22:35).

The Hogback Hustle course routed a field of 136 runners from the New Castle Family Fitness Center parking lot down Castle Valley Boulevard to Seventh Street, and then down Main Street to the finish at Burning Mountain Park.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’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.