There were some familiar faces at the finish line of the 27th annual Fourth of July Freedom Run in Evergreen -- for the third time in a row and the fourth time altogether, Bob Weiner, 43, of Evergreen, was the first to complete the men's 5K run, with a time of 15:56. Weiner's finish was followed by Nathan Rice, 19, of Thornton, with a time of 16:28 and Jackson Brainerd, 18, of Littleton, who finished third with 16:37. The top women's 5K run finisher was Brandy Erholtz, 30, of Bailey, with a time of 18:03. Erholtz placed first in the women's 5K run division in the 2006 and 2007 Freedom Runs. Second place in the women's 5K run was claimed by Dominique Gerard, 14, of Highlands Ranch, with a time of 19:32 . Denice Murphy, 38, of Littleton, took a close third with 19:33.

The Freedom Run, a Fourth of July tradition in Evergreen, began 27 years ago as part of Evergreen's Summerfest celebration. The first Freedom Run saw 605 participants; this year, over 1,200 people registered. All proceeds of the race, provided primarily by entry fees and race sponsors, benefit Mt. Evans Hospice and Home Health Care. Mt. Evans has been providing hospice and home health care to mountain residents since 1980, along with other services including respite for family caregivers, transportation to medical appointments, and bereavement support.

Top finisher in the men's 5K walk/racewalk was Francisco Pantoja, 31, of Denver, with a time of 25:34. Second place went to Jose Juan Vargas, 22, of Aurora. Vargas finished in 27:08. The third-place finisher was Michael Blanchard, 47, of Castle Rock, with a time of 27:37. Blanchard won the men's walk/racewalk portion of the Freedom Run in 2005, 2006 and 2007. The top women's 5K walk/racewalk finisher was Luz Barriento, 25, of Aurora. Barriento's time was 30:06. Patty Gehrke, 43, of Arvada, took second place with a time of 32:10. Gehrke won the women's walk/racewalk in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Following Gehrke was Rita Sinkovec, 68, of Evergreen, with a time of 34:24. Sinkovec also placed third in the women's walk/racewalk last year.

Custom home builder Ades Design was the event's lead sponsor. Other top-tier sponsors of this year's race were Bank of the West, Scripps Taylor and Associates, Rising Graphics & Printing, Susan A. Stearns--Attorney at Law, Windom Mortgage, Sprung Construction, Evergreen Kiwanis, the Ponzio Family, and the Rotary Clubs of Clear Creek, Conifer, Evergreen, and Mountain Foothills.