CREEDE— No one could have asked for a better day for a race as Saturday bloomed bright and clear, with Colorado’s blue skies stretching out along the Rio Grande River the morning of the Run Off Run Off marathon and Trout Unlimited Flyathlon. Runners could be seen early that morning at the ball park south of Creede, signing up and donning their attire for the day’s race, while volunteers helped get everyone on the bus and headed to Road Canyon Reservoir and the start of the day’s festivities.
After a few setbacks, participants in this year’s flyathlon headed up Miner’s Creek to begin the day’s fishing marathon and the start of something new for the Creede area. The top finishers were as follows, Kristine Hoffman came in first with 67 points, one hour 46 minutes with a 13-inch fish. Second was Katie Mazzia with 72 points, one hour 39 minutes and a small fish at nine inches. Randall Thompson came in third with 110 points, totaling two hours 35 minutes. The top fundraiser was Alyssa Steinert who raised $450 through Crowdrise.
“We really want to thank Mineral County and our conservation partners, the Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project and the Willow Creek Reclamation Project. All of the fish caught were browns and every one of the 10 racers at least hooked one. The race was seven miles long and the money raised through sponsors and participants will be split for partners and a USFS project TBD. I don’t have that total now because we need to crunch numbers and cover expenses,” said event coordinator Kevin Terry.
The Run Off Marathon was well attended with more than 100 participants who ventured to the area from around the nation. Everyone who participated was beyond thankful for the clear day, minus a short encounter with a salmon fly hatching in the area. According to event coordinator Andrea Bachman, the event went as well as expected and everyone had a great time.
The winners are as follows: Gary Krugger from Flagstaff, Ariz. came in first with an astounding three hours and four minutes time. Second place went to Tanner Small from South Fork who came in at four hours and 19 minutes while Shauna Gutierrez came in third with five hours and nine minutes. Half marathon winners were, first place Enrique Salcedo from Del Norte at one hour and 34 minutes, Ben Adams from Golden right behind him came in second at one hour 34 minutes and 56 second, while Peter Clem from Aurora came in third with one hour and 43 minutes. The 6k winners were Enrique Salceck from Del Norte in first place at 27 minutes, Joshua Lopez out of Alamosa in second with 27 minutes and five seconds and Saddick Hiestand from South Fork in third at 28 minutes. See related story on Page 9A.
The after party was well attended by both participants and local visitors who came out to celebrate the day’s races and their racers. Plans for next year’s combined event are already underway.