Photo courtesy of David Thoreson–thanks, David!
I bet the farm on 200 grams…and it paid off. Last night’s post pinned my hopes on the power of less–the miraculous, the marvelous, the oh-so-light-and-right Dynafit PDG boot (and skis!). Sure, they’re “only” 200g lighter per boot than my marvelous, miraculous, oh-so-light-and-right TLT Performances, but oh, what a difference a few ounces can make.
OK, I’m talking smack…but man, it sure is fun to get to pilot some race gear. I love my TLTs, but the PDGs tour so well (lighter liner, flex-zone behind the ankle, zero material in the tongue area to shorten your stride, short sole, crazy light!), I loved racing in them for a day. It was the second of the A-Basin “Rise and Shine Rando” series, and on the drive up (4:45 a.m.!) I discovered Loveland Pass was closed. I ralleyed down to Dillon, then back up to the Basin the long, costing me a half hour. Lame warm-up, but no sweat, I had 20 minutes to get loose. About 10 inches of snow had fallen, so powder junkies were stoked and we were facing a slightly slower course.
I felt better at the start and ran top-10 the whole race, dropping a spot or two at the first transition (don’t ask) and then battling against (again!) the women’s winner, Becs Hodgetts, and Darren Nakos for the long, windy climb to the summit. Ouch! My time was 53 minutes–nearly the same as two weeks ago–but I managed to sneak into eighth, instead of 13th in the first event. Greg Ruckman crushed once again–rumor has it he’s a former Olympic rower (and he seems to have the engine to prove it).
Awesome event and two more to come in January. Meanwhile the COSMIC races have begun, so ladies and gentlemen, dust off your gear, schedule your lipo, and come get some rando. It’s a great workout and beyond fun–great crew up there! Big thanks to the boys at Dynafit for loaning me the boots and skis–it hurt to return them and say goodbye…
Results – Rise and Shine Rando Series #2
Men’s Category
Pace Name Bib # Time
1 Greg Ruckman 51 41:55.55
2 Pete Swenson 49 43:14.62
3 Colin Cares 39 44:46.74
4 Eric Black 35 49:24.96
5 Ram Mikulas 36 49:47.53
6 Jon Lowe 52 50:03.12
7 Mike Glass 38 53:14.86
8 Rob Coppolillo 47 53:39.90
9 Darren Nakos 46 54:33.26
10 Kevin Minard 43 55:29.57
11 Derek Esposito 48 57:40.05
12 Todd Olson 53 59:59.30
13 Dawes Wilson 40 1:02:41.08
14 Anthony Metzger 41 1:03:46.35
15 Nathan Duval 63 1:05:07.71
16 Craig McNeill 57 1:05:09.11
17 Chris Thompson 61 1:05:38.79
18 Ryan Franz 59 1:09:55.94
19 Ricardo Moreno 56 1:10:26.66
20 Joel Paula 55 1:12:50.89
21 Simon Kricka 54 1:12:59.62
22 Russell Stein 50 1:19:14.92
23 Seth Murray 58 1:21:28.15
Women’s Category
Pace Name Bib # Time
1 Becs Hodgetts 37 53:48.52
2 McKenna Douglas 44 59:27.74
3 Lisa Erikson 42 1:02:27.22
4 Tracee Metcalfe 45 1:16:45.89
DNF Kat Cournoyer 62 n/a
