Zak Wood / Colorado Daily

1st place finisher in the men’s elite race, Ridouane Harroufi crosses the finish line with a time of 28:32.

There was one constant found in both of the 2007 and 2008 Bolder Boulder men's professional races - and it certainly wasn't the weather.

It was Ridouane Harroufi of Morocco, who won the individual title in 2007 and followed that act with an encore victory in 2008. Harroufi proved on Monday that he could win in the warm spring weather of 2007 and in the overcast, cool 2008 conditions, but Monday's weather definitely played a factor in race strategy.

The men's field started off at a blistering pace, and the leaders hit the first mile in roughly 4:23. A lead pack of about a dozen runners, including all three runners from the Ethiopian and Kenyan teams, was intact past the first mile mark of the 10-kilometer race.

But the aggressive early pace wasn't kind to Team USA. The team was made up of former University of Colorado track and cross country superstars Jorge and Edwardo (Ed) Torres, who are identical twin brothers, along with Ryan Hall, who has qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games in the marathon.

Jorge Torres said he was able to hang with the lead pack for about a mile and a half, but dropped back due to the pace. The top runners Monday kept up a pace in the low 4:30s per mile - through more than six miles - and Torres said he might have been able to keep such a pace on a track at sea level.

"But it's different racing at elevation, and I just wasn't ready to run 4:32s at elevation," said Torres.

Ed Torres said he backed off, intentionally, after about the first mile because he realized the pace was just too fast.

In general, many recent CU runners start races moderately and attempt to pick off tired runners in the later stages of an event. The strategy worked for Ed Torres in the hotter 2007 Bolder Boulder, but the strong starters stayed strong all race long in 2008.

"Last year, I did almost the same strategy and six or seven guys came back," said Torres. "This year, no one came back at all."

Team Ethiopia was in command of the team competition at the three-mile mark, holding the first, second and fourth individual places. Dmessew Tsega, Gebo Berka and Lishan Yigezu made up the Ethiopian team, and the lead runners hit the race's midway point in 14:14.

Team Kenya was in second place after three miles, with individuals in sixth, seventh and eighth, but the Americans were back in sixth and would not challenge for the team title.

John Yuda of Tanzania, running as part of the British Commonwealth Team, put some heat on Harroufi, Tsega and Berka during the middle of the race. Yuda won a $1,500 "prime" for holding a mid-race lead, but he was not in the lead pack as the runners approached Folsom Field for the final lap.

The threesome of Harroufi, Tsega and Berka were within strides of each other just before entering the stadium, but Harroufi had strength to spare. He passed both Ethiopians down the stretch, although Tsega stayed close, and won the race in a time of 28:32 - the third-fastest winning time in race history.

Harroufi also won a $3,000 prize and a $1,500 time bonus. On Monday, 12 runners finished in less than 30 minutes and won time bonus money.

In a post-race press conference, Harroufi's interpreter said he held back somewhat during the race - and let Yuda, Tsega and Berka exert themselves in efforts to win the prime.

Tsega finished just a second behind Harroufi for second, and Berka was four seconds behind Tsega in third. Yigezu finished sixth, and the Ethiopians beat Kenya by 11 to 20 in the team standings (low score wins) to pick up $15,000 in prize money.

Jorge Torres finished 12th in 29:59 to lead the Americans, with Hall in at 14th and Ed Torres finishing 19th. Team USA took sixth place overall, and Ed Torres said the results were a little disappointing.

"We thought we had a top-three team," said Torres.

But the two former Buffs will now focus on attempting to qualify for the U.S. Olympic track team in the 10,000 meters, and the Torres twins hope to earn another chance to represent the nation as athletes.

"Today wasn't an indicator, but I feel like I've been training well and I thought I was in good shape coming into the race," said Ed Torres.