Coming into the 45th Bolder Boulder, Sara Vaughn wasn’t necessarily going for a win.

When it was in her sights, though, she cranked it up a notch.

“I was just trying to race an even tempo today, but the competitive side of me took over a little bit,” she said.

A University of Colorado graduate who lives in Boulder, Vaughn was the winner of the women’s citizen’s race Monday morning. She finished in 34 minutes, 42 seconds, edging Kathryn Fluehr, who finished in 34:58.

“It’s super fun,” Vaughn said of getting the win. “I mean, at this level, especially in Boulder, when there’s so many elite runners, you don’t often get to win a race, so it’s fun.”

Fluehr, who lives in Boulder, led for much of the race before Vaughn caught her in the final stretch.

“I didn’t catch Kathryn until after 9k so like 800 (meters) to go maybe,” Vaughn said. “I wasn’t sure I would. I was going for whatever. I wanted to enjoy the day. I didn’t even know if (Fluehr) was the top woman or not, but I saw a motorbike by her, so I figured (she was).”

Vaughn, 39, who grew up in Nebraska, ran for the Buffs and is married to former Buffs standout Brent Vaughn. Her long history at CU made Monday special.

“This is home,” she said. “This is where I developed as an athlete, as a person, so it means a lot.”

Vaughn said she has competed in the citizen’s race a couple of times in previous years. But in 2022 and 2024, she was a part of the Pro Team Challenge. Her time this year was better than her pro times in 2024 (36:32) and 2022 (35:14).

“It’s not my fastest (10K) time by any means, no, but it’s different running this early in the morning versus at noon (for the pro race), and usually it’s hot,” she said. “So this sounded more fun this year. It’s more fun to win a race than finish 10th or whatever.”

There was a drizzle early in the race before rain fell during Vaughn’s last stretch.

“I didn’t notice it (the rain),” she said. “It feels good, honestly. This is way better than 80 and sunny.

“Honestly, I didn’t feel great (overall), but it’s always fun to push yourself and enjoy your hometown race. This is such a special day for Boulder. It’s the first road race I ever did back in high school, so it helped me fall in love with the sport. I just feel like to pay homage on Memorial Day is special.”

Fluehr is a former state track and cross country champion from Florida who competed in the 2024 U.S. Olympic trials in the marathon. Karis Myers, from College Station, Texas, was third, in 35:10.