Old Man Winter Rally – Race Recap

By Erin Trail

Over 800 racers gathered at Sandstone Park in Lyons, CO for the third annual Old Man Winter Rally.   We had ahhhhhmazing weather, despite forecasts for overnight snow (which fortunately stayed away). Temps were in the mid-40s, the wind was tolerable, roads were dry, and the sun was shining. Conditions had set up for some really fast courses.

The 100 km riders launched at 10 AM – they had a challenging 5248 feet of climbing through rolling gravel roads, a NEW loop at REEB Ranch, then climbs to the Rowena trail. The 5.8 mile trail runners started at 10:30 AM and got to enjoy a fast and scenic run along Bohn Park and Old St Vrain Road. And then the 50 km riders rode off at high noon for a scenic tour of BoCo’s back roads.

I rode the 50 km, along with 303’er Khem Suthiwan and my husband. I think we were all just looking forward to enjoying a sunny day on two wheels. My husband and I were on our mountain bikes. Going into it, I thought I would be one of the few on larger tires, but at the start I was pleasantly surprised to see a good mix of cross, mountain, and fat bikes. The 50 km course was as promised, a combo of paved and dirt roads – and there were some punchy hills on those dirt roads! A really nice treat was the loop at REEB ranch with singletrack and cross features (hup hup hup!), complete with a really fun aid station full of Cliff, Pickle Juice, and Nuun products. That was hands-down our favorite part of the day.

The way back was a pretty steady uphill ride but the thought of warm food and Oskar Blues beer kept me going. The finish party is just as nice as the ride itself, with vendors, places to sit and recap your day with friends, green chile, and OB beer. Sadly, my husband and I completely forgot to keep an eye out for snowflakes along the course. Organizers hid little Styrofoam snowflakes on each of the 3 courses that you could exchange for prizes…. Next year. Definitely next year I’ll be on back and on the hunt for those little guys

Results: (link: http://my5.raceresult.com/67979/#)

100 km bike

Women – 1^st Erin Huck, 2^nd Evelyn Dong, 3^rd Desiree White

Men – 1^st Michael Burleigh, 2^nd Ryan Petry, 3^rd Brian Jensen

50 km bike

Women – 1^st Christen Brown, 2^nd Heidy Gurov, 3^rd Lauren Costantini

Men – 1^st Jason Keifer, 2^nd Alex Arman, 3^rd Daniel Reback

5.8 mi run + 50 km bike combo

Women – 1^st Katherine Smith, 2^nd Elorie Slater, 3^rd Lia Engelsted

Men – 1^st Alex Arman, 2^nd Jason Keifer, 3^rd Ewen North

5.8 mile run overall results

Women – 1^st Kate Davis, 2^nd Diana Purtz, 3^rd Darby Enners

Men – 1^st Eric Lipuma, 2^nd Alex Arman, 3^rd Alex Hohenthaner

[insert women beer podium.jpg] – caption Women’s 100k ride podium having some fun