By Lyndsie Ferrell
CREEDE—While runners prepared for the annual Runoff Runoff marathon outside of town, those in town had something else brewing in the streets of Creede. The Second Annual Donkey Dash was gearing up as the morning wore on and the streets around town began to fill with fuzzy donkeys ready for a race to the finish line.
This year, Mineral County and Creede Chamber of Commerce Director Erin Yurkinas wanted to bring something to the area that would draw more people in during a slow period in town, so with out further ado, she planned to host the annual Donkey Dash and Gravity Derby weeks before the events took place last year and several years prior. “We wanted to see if we could fill the slow time between the Taste of Creede and the Fourth of July, so we decided to move these events to the beginning of June and hope for the best,” said Yurkinas.
The events were a hit, bringing people in from around the nation to witness the Donkey Dash and Gravity Derby in all its glory.  “The Donkey Dash 2018 could not happen without the Western Burro Pack Association, the Kentucky Belle Market, Swire Coca Cola, San Juan Sports and Downstream Gas and Mercantile. It really was a fantastic year and everyone who participated enjoyed every minute of it,” said Yurkinas.
The Donkey Dash winners are as follows: John Vincent with his mule Crazy Horse came in first place with a time of one hour and 33 minutes; KC Young with his steed Buckwheat came in second with a time of one hour and 33 minutes just behind Vincent, and Hal Walter with full Tilt Boogie came in third with a time of one hour and 34 minutes.
The Gravity Derby kicked off Sunday morning with just a few less participants than in previous years. “We kind of expected to have less participants this year, just because of the change in dates, but it was a great time regardless and will get better as time goes on,” said Yurkinas.
This year, thanks to the sponsors, the derby was able to offer cash awards and prizes to the winners. A huge thanks goes out to: The Ramble House, The Holy Moses, Bob Holt, C Waters Gallery, Arp’s, The Blue Yak Salon and Boutique, Quiller Gallery, Creede Lumber and Hardware, Kip’s Grill, Abbey Lane Gallery, Rio Grande Angler, Kentucky Belle Market, Antlers Rio Grande Restaurant and Lodge, Tommyknocker Tavern and BBQ Bistro, Big River Music, Dan Duffy, The Mac Mine, Creede Repertory Theatre, Cottonwood Cove, Del Norte Bank, Creede America and Coleman and Sharon.
“Thank you to all of our fantastic volunteers, staff and all our participants. This is becoming a favorite event for folks. Adding the Gravity Derby this weekend created such a jam-packed fun-filled weekend. We had such a blast at this year’s Gravity Derby. Smiling faces and a cheerful spirit filled Main Street. Thank you to everyone who helped make this event happen, this community comes together and puts on some really special events. Cheers to another fantastic event weekend in Creede!”
The winners of the Gravity Derby youth bracket are Midge and Divvy who came in first place and Hurricane Wava! who came in second. For the teen bracket, first place went to Klarabell and Divvy, and for the adult bracket first place went to Sirius, The Dogster and second place went to Movin’ On. Team Justify was awarded for fastest time in the race, and Shampooch had the most unique car.