The Goretex TransRockies Run
A Long Day on the Roof of the Rockies
News Release / 25.08.2010
With a morning mountain chill in the air and fresh memories of spending the previous sleep huddled to beat at Leadville's cold 10,200 feet above sea level nights, the runners in the 2010 GORE-TEXâ„¢ TransRockies Run and RUN3 did everything they could to delay their arrival at the line until just seconds before the 8am start. Whether it was hanging out in the breakfast hall a little longer or spending a few more minutes sipping coffee at Provin' Grounds, home of the best Joe in Leadville, runners found many reasons to avoid standing around for too long.
Stage 3 from Leadville to Camp Hale would cover the longest distance (24.3 miles) at the highest average elevation (10,124 feet) of any stage in 2010 so the 8am start gave runners extra time to complete the day's challenge, even if it meant a few more shivers before the start. A cold front had blown through the area the previous afternoon and finish and the enormous peaks of Mt Elbert and Mt. Massive in the West were covered with clouds. Luckily for all the runners, the clouds burned off the in morning leaving runners to bask under the clear skies of a perfect late-summer mountain day.
Stage 2 had taken its toll and several runners were unable to take the start line on Day 3 with a variety of ailments, Caitlin Smith, half of the lead Open Mixed team, was suffering from hip problems and decided that rest was the right answer so the following teams had everything to run for with the leaders' jerseys up for grabs.
Former TransRockies Bike winner Stefan Widmer has been volunteering at the 2010 GORE-TEX TransRockies Run and he was given the honour of firing the starter's pistol which sent nearly 300 runners off down Leadville's historic Main Street and out toward Ski Cooper and the Colorado Trail where runners would enjoy beautiful singletrack, alpine meadows and gentle climbs through tree-shaded doubletrack.
The runners of the inaugural RUN3 left knowing that this would be their last day on the trails while TransRockies Run competitors knew that the end of stage 3 would mark the halfway point of their 2010 journey. As they had through the first two stages, Anna Frost and Justin Ricks ran to solid wins in their respective categories to wrap up the overall wins. Behind Ricks, trail running newcomer Tim Surface grabbed second place for the third straight stage to confirm his second place overall. Jonathan Toker held off a determined challenge from Phil Villeneuve to hold onto the last podium place. Katie Mazzia and Karen Barlow had fought back and forth over the first two day for second place and Karen ran a strong Stage 3 to grab second on the day and second overall. Katie held on for third and the last podium place.
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