The TransRockies 2012 6 day stage race started August 14th at Buena Vista in Colorado at 9:am with over 360 trail riders taking part. This three and six day stage race through the Colorado Rockies has brought runners from 16 different countries “together to experience a race like no other”.
RUN3 – 58.4 miles, 8,600 feet elevation gain
TRR – 115.3 miles, 20,600 feet elevation gain
The three day race shares the first three stages with the six day event:
| Stage 1 |
Buena Vista to Railroad Bridge |
20.9 miles |
2550 feet elevation gain |
| Stage 2 |
Vicksburg to Twin Lakes |
13.3 miles |
3250 feet elevation gain |
| Stage 3 |
Leadville to Nova Guides at Camp Hale |
24.2 miles |
2800 feet elevation gain |
| Stage 4 |
Nova Guides at Camp Hale to Red Cliff |
14.1 miles |
2900 feet elevation gain |
| Stage 5 |
Red Cliff to Vail |
23.6 miles |
4200 feet elevation gain |
| Stage 6 |
Vail to Beaver Creek |
19.2 miles |
4900 feet elevation gain |
Stage 1: Buena Vista to Railroad Bridge
Team Run Flagstaff, past winners Michael Smith and Rob Krar, established themselves as the dominant force in the Open Men’s category with solid 2:15:20 and 13 minute win over 2nd place Team Salomon runners Jorge Maravilla and Mario Mendoza. The women of Ooh la La Sportiva, Pam Smith and Jenny Capel, made their first podium placing of the week finishing in 3:13:26.
Last year Zach Violett and Stephanie Howe of The North Face Bendites placed third overall in the Open Mixed. Today they took one step toward an overall title with a first place finish in 2:47:57 over Team Sam members Amy Schneeberg and Geoff Reid. With over a 7 minute lead, the other teams will have some work to do but anything can happen over the next 5 days.
The TransRockies Run also has three age-group categories which annually see strong competition. Congratulations go to Stage 1 Winners La Sportiva Trails Masters (Bernie Boettcher and Andy Ames 80+Men), the Caba-nators (Katie and Jeff Caba 80+ Mixed) and Valeire Lacarriere and Marielle Chabaud of Team Resilience (80+ Women Division).
Along with the teams racing in the 6 day GORE-TEX® TransRockies Run, the event also includes a solo 3-day race called RUN3. These runners will cover the first 3 days of the 6 day event and, often, in impressive time. 2010 6-day champion Max King looked to send a message to the rest of the Open Men’s field posting the fastest run of the day with a swift 2:11:08. Alicia Shay made her GORE-TEX® TransRockies Run debut in style clocking a time of 2:38:06 and an 11 minute win over Trail Runner Magazine’s Gina Lucrezi.
Stage one is down and only 5 to go! Stage 2, Vicksburg to Twin Lakes, has the runners traversing 13.3 miles over 12,540 foot Hope Pass. Shorter distance but significantly more elevation gain than Stage 1, this stage will challenge the lungs but reward the athletes with breathtaking views.
Checkout the website: TransRockies.com/ or TransRockies-run.com