RUNNING | FIFTH ANNUAL TALTREE 10

VALPARAISO | While building an insurmountable lead, Richard Gutierrez had plenty of time to listen to the music in his headphones and do a lot of thinking.

Gutierrez easily defended his title in Saturday's fifth annual Taltree 10, a 10-mile race through the Aberdeen subdivision with a loop through the Taltree Arboretum.

"I'd like to dedicate this to the Calumet Junior Striders, who I help coach, and my daughter Theresa Maria," said Gutierrez, 29, of Hammond. "After the first mile, I pretty much knew it was mine."

The Hammond native shaved nearly six minutes off his winning time from last year, crossing the finish line in 57:31. Dave Bussard, 46, of Elkhart was second in 59:55.

It was the first time since the inaugural race in 2003 that anyone had broken the 1-hour barrier. The first winner, and still course record holder, was Sam Yount in 56:42.

Gutierrez ran the first mile in 5:07, building about a 15-second lead on Bussard. From there, Bussard was rarely visible on the winding, hilly course.

"There's a lot of terrain, which makes the course difficult," Gutierrez said. "One of the last hills kind of broke me a little bit. I almost started walking."

Gutierrez has already won three races this year, to go along with the 10 victories he posted in 2006.

Another familiar face won the women's race. Valparaiso High teacher Karen Nagel cruised to her third Taltree title in 1:07:42. She also won the first race in 2003 and again last year.

Nagel, 27, won the Ringing In Spring 5K two weeks ago, and placed third in last Sunday's Valparaiso Mini-marathon.

"My calves are still sore from last week," said Nagel, explaining the drop from last year's winning time of 1:04:25. "I started feeling it the first mile, and then the rest of the race. I wasn't recovered enough."

Nagel placed 10th overall. The second-place women's finisher was Cassandra Rozycki, 35, of Chesterton in 1:17:27.

"I like this course because when we go out in the arboretum it's a nice change of scenery, getting off the roads a little bit," Nagel said. "It's always exciting to win."