Though I have of course visited Eldorado Springs numerous times over the years, this was my first time to run the Eldorado Springs Cure Four Mile. Bumped into James and Jim R. from the masters team as well as Sara and Megan (first woman, by the way, for cash money!) before the race, nice to see familiar faces and Fleet Feet representation there. A storm started rolling in from the west prior to the start, bringing some welcome cloud cover. Opting to race in my Brooks T7 Racers, I started at the front yet got out gradually, in eighth or ninth after the first turn. However, with little conscious effort I was up in the top five by the time we passed the one-mile mark. It was fairly tough going for about a mile and a half starting around the two-mile mark, with both an incline and a >10 m/h headwind to contend with. I pushed on alone, with an eye on Jim R.'s fluorescent yellow singlet in the distance as a beacon. I finished fourth overall in 25:12, good for second in my age group though the overall winner was in the same age group so I got the award (restaurant gift certificates rather than trophies or medals!) for first. Regardless of the weather, it was a good race and a good time. The race definitely had a throwback feel to it, all-volunteer run with nice extras (t-shirt plus a Brooks running cap), including Avery brews at the finish. I can definitely see racing this one again in the future.