Four-time Olympian Colleen De Reuck and event organizer Peter Julian won the women's and men's races respectively at the inaugural "Best Cross Country Race on the Planet" Saturday in Boulder, Colo.

De Reuck grabbed an early lead and kept pressing the pace as she covered the three-lap 6 km course in 23 minutes, 2 seconds, easily outdistancing runner-up Martha Tenorio of Ecuador (24:15), and third- place finisher and former World Triathlon champion Siri Lindley (24:46).

Julian, who organized the race with help from the Boulder running community, toed the starting line feeling fatigued from little sleep due to his many duties in putting on the event. After the first lap Julian put on a strong move to take the lead before winning the event in 20:09. Jared Scott was the runner-up in 20:25, with Sandu Rebenciuc finishing third in 20:53.

De Reuck and Julian, along with many other competitors, used this event as a tune-up for the 2005 USA Cross Country Championships, February 12-13 in Vancouver, Washington.