Former UCCS star takes third at Pikes Peak Ascent

In four years with the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs cross country team, Aaron Rubalcaba-Lopez built a reputation as a hill climber.

Saturday, he took it to a whole new level.

The former Mountain Lion, who has completed his athletic eligibility and will earn his degree in biology in December, took third place at the Pikes Peak Ascent.

The Ascent is a 13.32-mile run from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak featuring a vertical climb of 7,815 feet.

Rubalcaba-Lopez took third among the more than 1,600 entrants with a time of 2 hours, 18 minutes and 23 seconds.

He found out in late July that he had earned a competitive entry in the race by virtue of his course-record effort at the Summer Roundup 12K trail run in July. As a result, he had trained very little for the rigors of Pikes Peak.

"I did 90 miles that first week and a lot of long runs," said Rubalcaba-Lopez in an interview with the Gazette's Kate Crandall. "I didn't train at all on the mountain.

"I've always been good at climbing the hills."

And, apparently, the mountain.