Results - 20th annual Turquoise Lake 20 mile Snowshoe Run

Leadville, CO 1/03/09

22-14 degrees F. 0-12” new snow, 0-10” slush on lake, 5-20mph winds

See Past Results from the Turquoise Lake 20 Mile Snowshoe Run

Place	Name		Age	City	Time
1	Travis	Macy	25	Golden	3:24:53
2	Eric	Bindner	52	Littleton	3:53:53
3	Ryan	Herzog	29	Denver	3:54:34
4	Richard	Paradis	43	Minturn	3:57:04
5	Tom	Sobal	51	Salida	3:57:55
6	David	Wilcox	46	Dillon	3:59:19
7	Garrett	Graubins	36	Lafayette	4:11:34
8	James	Kovacs	28	Denver	4:18:18
9	Dale	Petersen	52	Denver	4:18:26
10	Brian	Krombein	36	Highlands Ranch	4:22:50
11	Mark	Macy	55	Evergreen	4:30:16
12	Kurt	Blumberg	63	Gold Hill	4:30:18
13	Colleen	Ihnken	f45	Alma	4:35:58
14	Todd	Holmes	52	Lakewood	4:37:55
15	Tim	Long	41	Boulder	4:38:57
16	Rick	Gregory	35	Vail	4:41:07
17	James	Breyfogle	28	Rio Rancho, NM	4:42:42
18	Rebecca	Hall	f31	Evergreen	4:50:32
19	Todd	Murray	45	Colo Springs	4:56:11
20	Todd	Scholl	50	Avon	4:57:29
21	Dan	Schmidt	51	Salida	5:04:36
22	Dean	Frease	46	Evergreen	5:05:03
23	Kevin	Andrews	43	Colo Springs	5:05:17
24	Bob	Cooper	60	Thornton	5:05:27
25	Jeff	O'Reilly	48	Denver	5:14:03
26	Marc	Weaver	57	Boulder	5:19:07
27	Brett	Tomlinson	36		5:20:53
28	Rickie	Redland	f54	Denver	5:31:13
29	Michael	De Seguin	54	Denver	5:33:54
30	Jon	Teisher	33	Manitou Springs	5:44:15
31	Naz	Alvarez	37	Denver	5:52:15
32	Jim	Kelleher	51	Colo Springs	5:56:37
33	Carolyn	Di Carlo	f31	Littleton	6:09:10
34	Marie-Hélène	Faurie	f41	Fort Collins	6:13:07
35	Steve	Hitchcock	31	GMF	6:13:44
36	Pat	Tolleson	f60	Westminster	6:16:29
37	Susan	Gebhart	f53	Penrose	6:20:24
38	Randy	Canney	47	Denver	6:31:12
39	Gayle	Zorrilla	f37	Golden	6:32:05
40	Carl	Koecher	70	Salida	6:32:21
41	Bill	Moyle	69	Lone Tree	6:43:38
42	Bob	Rayburn	53	Broomfield	6:59:20
43	Dale	Perry	51	Loveland	7:00:00
	59 starters

Thanks for coming to the 20th annual Turquoise Lake 20 mile Snowshoe run.

The event, which is likely the oldest continuously held snowshoe race in the United States, has persevered for two decades, and many older athletes produced some historic efforts as well.

Overall winner Travis Macy of Golden, while only 25 years old, is a seasoned snowshoer whose experience belies his age. Travis was a multiple event winner at the Colorado State High School snowshoe championships over a decade ago, and continues to be a top adventure racer today.

Women’s winner Colleen Ihnken of Alma is 45 and returned to the event to capture her first victory.

Sixty year old Pat Tolleson of Westminster became the first female finisher over 60 years old to complete the event. Seventy year old Carl Koecher of Salida became the first male over 70 to finish.

Sixty three year old Kurt Blumberg of Gold Hill smashed the previous 60 and over best time with an outstanding 4:30:18 finish. Athletes over 50 grabbed a third of the top 3 places for men and women overall.

This experience was necessary to persist through some of the worst and most challenging conditions ever during the first lake ice crossing. Snowshoers were fighting blizzard conditions and a strong headwind at 18 degrees in the middle of the lake when they encountered numerous sections of deep slushy overflow water on top of the base ice. There were about 4 longer sections of slush up to 50 yards long that had to be negotiated. There was no way to avoid the icy water which at times was 10 inches deep. It soaked shoes, socks and feet; resulting in ice buildup on snowshoes and tripping some so that their upper bodies and clothing were wet also. The slush slowed even the best to a shoe sucking crawl. Some sections of slush were topped by hard ice up to a half inch thick, whose jagged edges poked into ankles and feet when snowshoers tried to lift out of the slush to take another step.

Once this was negotiated, the remaining 18 miles with over 2600’ of climbing at temperatures down to 14 degrees somehow seemed easier.

Forty three of the original fifty nine starters were able to officially finish the full distance in less than the 7 hour cutoff. Three snowshoers finished just over the 7 hour time limit, and a handful completed the course unofficially on snowshoes that did not meet the minimum size requirement of 8” wide by 25” long. Thanks go out to those of you that were able to evacuate yourselves under your own power.

The event received tremendous support from Lake County Search and Rescue volunteers organized by Dan Houtchens. These hardy individuals staffed the aid stations, and used the day as a training exercise to test equipment, gear and themselves in winter conditions. The support and enthusiasm Dan has shown for this event was outstanding, and has gone a long way to ensure its continued existence. Consider a stay at his B&B, the Leadville Inn.

Other supporters included Melanzana Clothing, Hammer Nutrition, Black Diamond Equipment and a number of other key volunteers and workers. These people included Geoff and Sandee Miller and Carl Koecher, who spent a day helping us set trail. Jon MacManus, Dan McDonald and Rickie Redland helped with registration, timing and/or clean up. Keith Wilken helped with timing and gear transport. We could not do this without the support of hosts Scott Hirst and Susan Koerner. Also Edith and Don Seppi and Sugar Loafin’ campground.

The event is conducted as a true non-profit venture by the Chaffee County Running Club which is a group promoting running in Chaffee and surrounding counties.

The event will continue thanks to new interest and support, especially from Melissa, who did a lot of driving, trail setting and other work. Her support is instrumental for this event. She ran a strong race to finish just over the 7 hour time limit.

You might consider participating in some other events we are involved with. The Lake county Recreation Dept is bringing back a version of the Off-Track Off-Beat Snowshoe race in Feb.

You and your participation support, understanding and thanks are the main reason that the TL 20 mile snowshoe will continue. This event started out as a training run I used to do, and I liked it so much I thought I would share the experience with others. That decision has made this all challenging, rewarding and interesting…so much so that I will continue to invite good people like you and others along in the future.

Thanks
Tom Sobal

Key Links
Chaffee County Running Club
Melanzana Clothing
Sugar Loafin’ Campground
Hammer Nutrition
Black Diamond Equipment
Lake County Recreation Recreation Dept.
Leadville Inn