Transrockies Run
Finishing at Beaver Creek
Race Release / 25.08.2016
After five days of hard work and dedication, the 2016 TransRockies Run has come to an end. Yesterday was stage six, the final stretch to Beaver Creek, and yet another long run of 22.4 miles. It was a bittersweet day as the runners crossed through the TransRockies arch for their last time, yet one to remember.
Just like the last few days, the starting gun went off at 8 a.m. sharp as all the runners took off in cheer and celebration to their last run. The feeling of accomplishment overwhelmed the starting line knowing that later on all the participants could call themselves a TransRockies finisher! It was time to push through those achy quads and blisters one last time.
With 5,250 feet of vertical gain in front of them, runners paced themselves conservatively at the start as they headed back up Vail Mountain. The course today featured various obstacles like heat, steep and technical descents, tight single-tracks and a 1,000-foot climb right at the finish. However, runners continued to fight through their mental and physical pain.
The climb to checkpoint one was a tough seven miles. Runners took off out of town with a nice road warm-up before hitting single-track that started to steadily climb up. Although a difficult climb, the trail showed off Colorado's beautiful landscape of aspen trees and distant ski resorts. After passing through checkpoint one, the runners were almost done with the first massive climb and what awaited them was a well-deserved downhill on Buck Creek trail. Buck Creek trail is technical, step and rocky and for some, the downhill brought speedy legs, while for others, the downhill wasn't as much of a recovery as they would hope for.
After descending for a few miles, the trail opened up to some road leading into the town of Avon and checkpoint three. What stood between Avon and the finish was yet another mountain to climb. It was a tough mental game at this point knowing that only a few more miles to go, yet one more climb up. Exhausted and hot the runners pushed on. Continuing to climb up, runners could see the village of Beaver Creek. The end was near!
With 1.6 miles to go runners zigzagged up switchbacks and then down into Beaver Creek Resort where spectators cheered on the runners as they crossed for the final time the TransRockies arch. Crossing the finish with hands high and smiles wide, runners displayed overwhelming feelings of accomplishment, joy and strength-a feeling of pure bliss and the perfect way to end the day.
Thank you to all the runners for being part of the 2016 TransRockies Run. All the runners of the RUN3 and RUN6 showed remarkable effort and were inspiring to watch. We hope to see you back next year. Congratulations to all and thank you to all the volunteers and crew who helped make this race so special.
Final results can be found here.
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