Weekend 10-11AUG2019 and Gold Rush Days Pack Burro Race

Saturday - 5.6 easy miles with the team in the AM.

Saturday night I went to Railsend to play an open mic.  Sign up was supposed to happen at 6:30. I got there at 6:15 and got a 10PM slot - as the earlier slots were already filled (!)  I was not overly stoked about the late start ... it would mean my sleep for the Buena Vista Pack Burro Race would be short and I was already looking at 5AM start of drive to get there.

When 10:20 hit and the guy who was supposed to play at 9 had not yet played - I bagged it.  I was looking at a midnight gig.  I was getting tired, cranky and not really in the moody to play.  Yeah, as a rock and roller, I'd have a tough go of it I guess, but I had to make that call if I was going to go to BV.

Rolled into BV around 8 after dropping TZ off in Fairplay.  I did the typical setup and was ready all set to go under a lightly rainy set of skies by 9 and change.  We wandered up for the 10AM start ...

Jack and I rolled out of town with the leaders and as we turned north to head to the hair pin before the bridge, he eased into the lead.  I was stoked.   A lead position before hitting the single track and the bridge would be perfect - to assure at least we were in the mix for all of it ... just before making the hairpin back, a donkey came up behind me, clipped my legs and I went down.  I was able to manage to keep the rope, but I was banged up pretty good - although thankfully not trampled on.  I am sure I will be able to post pix of this soon.

We bounced up, ignoring the sting of the road rash and trying to assert some surge of adrenaline in the mix.  We had slipped quickly to fourth but it was not overly concerning if we could stay in the lead group.  Anytime third began to slip the pace from 1, 2 (Marvin, Louise teams) I'd yell a bit to get going or to let us by.  As we came into the open space around the bridge entrance, I made a go to get around two of the teams and move into second.  As I came by Pandora/Louise on the bridge, I got caught squeezed between Jack, Pandora and a barricade post crotch high.  I had made this error forgetting the post and turned sharply to not do real serious organ damage.  I went down again - and this time I lost the rope for 10 yards.  I retrieved Jack and now had to bring him back against teams trying to go upstream.  We slipped to ninth.  The lead group pulled away.

And that was pretty much it.  Hal and I worked together to move to sixth and seventh.  We made ground on the lead pack of five, maybe even getting within 100 yards of them on the climb to the highest point on the course, but then we ended up moving slowly behind Hal and FTB and lost four minutes ... We ended up seventh in 1:59 on the nose.

It was a fun day to run with Jack, we just had some bad luck and a few errors that added up.  It happens.

I was reminded burro racing is a contact sport.  The cuts and road rash I have today are less troubling than the throbbing left hip I am currently managing.  Hope that clears in the next day or two ...

That is pretty much a wrap on the burro racing season.  We didn't win any Triple Crown races but we did manage a win in Georgetown and in Creede - two races we had never won before.  Not bad but not the big games that we used to take.

13.6 miles

Leadville Boom Days Race 2019

Pic taken by Peak Focus Photography.

Jack has won the Leadville race six times, with five of those times coming with me at the end of the tether.  We didn't compete in it last year as I only did the Fairplay race with him.  Neither of us are the runners we were even a few years ago when we secured the Triple Crown in Leadville in 2015, but we had managed a fair number of good days in Leadville by taking advantage of the smooth road finish coming down the last few miles of California Gulch.  There was some question as to if we could improve on our fourth place finish from Fairplay the week before, and maybe play the spoil sport to Leadville hometown favorites, Marvin and Buttercup in their bid for the Triple Crown.

I got up to Leadville with TZ early - like 7AM - coming up from Fairplay.  We did the typical donkey prep, race day reg, fiddling with the saddle, but I was feeling the early rise.  As the race approached, I tried to get my mind right, or dial in the power of magical thinking.  Meaning, imagining stuff that might occur if I think about it like it is really going to happen.  There is nothing really to this approach, but it beats the alternative - thinking you can't.  Because if you believe that you are truly screwed.

We got out well, with the leaders and started the long climb up.  Jack was in no mood to lead this group but we settled into a pack of about 8 teams.  It would stretch, collapse, repeat.  I had no real concerns here because as long as we were in contact, we were not losing anything.  You are unlikely to win the race here, but you can lose it.

As we started the first descent, it was still the same crew.  No big moves, and nothing fast.  But as the climb out of checkpoint three started, the race really set.  Hal / FTB and Marvin / Buttercup put a clinic on of getting away a little by little.  Jack and I fell way way back - even far back from the 3-7 positions as if we were getting dropped.  It took most of the climb to fight our way back into the pack and then all the way back up to nose to nose with Louise in third place.  Hal and Marvin had probably a four or five minute lead on us coming off the pass, and they would slowly extend on that over the day.

As has been the case in past years, Jack carefully picked his way down through the rocky mining road, and now we don't run those ups much.  We were able to get away from some Tracy and Kirt, but we established a pack of Bob/Yukon, Joel/Jake, Louise/Pandora and me and Jack.  It stayed this way - sometimes stretching out as much as 200 yards between us.  As we hit the road, Bob and Joel had separated significantly but I knew Jack and I would roll that up.  Louise caught up to the crew and we got a good little set of movement going - still not 2012 speed, but fair enough.  We shook Joel but we didn't have the wheels to break Bob or Louise.  I knew what the outcome was going to be coming into town even as we turned onto a traffic busy, rainy Harrison with its cones and loud people but tried to make a fight of it anyway.  We ended up fifth behind Louise (3rd) and Bob (4th) in about 3:55.  Marvin had won in a time of about 3:45, about the typical time it takes to win.  Hal had come in a few minutes later in second.

It was a good day and a good run for a couple of guys who still think they got it.

Passing the Triple Crown Torch and a nod to Jack

Had the honor of passing on this piece of Pack Burro History this week to Kirt Courkamp. Kirt with Mary Margaret found “lightning in a bottle” and sealed a Triple Crown win with victories in the FairPlay, Leadville and Buena Vista Pack Burro races. As far as I know, he is the sixth man since this came about in 1978 to accomplish this with Tom Sobol and Ardel Boes having done it in years with burros that are unclear, Bobby Lewis with Wellstone in 2011, Hal Walter and Full Tilt Boogie In 2013 and me with Jack in 2015. Winning a single one of these events is no joke ... to do three over three weeks is a bit of luck, a lot of sweat, and takes a lot of support. It took Jack and me three years to get it right and I think it has taken Kirt and MM about the same.

While at the WPBA dinner where the traveling trophy was awarded, I was given a copy of the Summit Daily. I was told my picture was in it. As it turns out it was more than a pic of the carrot act that Jack and I do, but a write up that reflected how lucky I got to race with Jack better part of this decade.

The saying is that “figures never lie but liars figure...” It is probably not best to look at racing stats from the last decade when the races have going on for seven decades ... and margins of victories don’t mean much when you are second anyway but it does go to show how Jack has been a Hall of Famer: three wins at FairPlay, and the four second places there. Five wins at Leadville and a second place there. A BV win and a Triple Crown. No donkey has been better in the last 10 years.

I have been lucky to have that guy as my guide in this game.

Hat tip again to the current TC winners ... I know you feel as blessed as I do.

Weekend update and the first pack burro races of the 2018 season

It has been a busy week.  We had the end of the season track banquet earlier in the week.

There is always a bit of a finality to a track banquet, as it comes with at the same time seniors are graduating.  This graduating girls distance class is the best that Broomfield has ever seen.  They leave having rewritten the school record books on every distance event this season – the 4 x 8, the 800, the 1600, and the 3200 (and actually a distance heavy 4 x 400 school record) .  And beyond the top times, they also have their names peppered in the school top 10 lists. 

Broomfield is getting a new record board and along with the girls contributions, a total of 9 records were established in 2018.  It was an amazing season.

With that, JZ is keeping busy not running by being in the Bahamas.




Some kids are still running in prep for Brooks PR and Jr. National meets.  And the locals from different schools go from competitors to also training partners.

Memorial Day weekend also kicks off Pack Burro Racing season.  I have been doubtful about whether I would race this year but several folks thought I ought to do Fairplay again.  With that, I decided a few races to get a bit of familiarity would be good.  The early season races of Georgetown and Idaho Springs are typically different weekends but this year they were doubled up as a Saturday-Sunday affair. 

The Georgetown race has historically dropped into the town of Empire but permitting issues shifted that so we just kept climbing for another mile above the ascent to Union Gap over Georgetown.  In that way it became more of a classic out and back affair at a shorter distance of 8.75 (versus 9 plus in past year) – but slower than past years, probably because of the more aggressive climbing (but maybe other issues as well, more on that in a bit).

The race ended up being a nice crew of five of us, and I managed to get Jack under the I-70 overpass with little argument this year.  Jack and I built a gap of the next three and it came down to us and other mini-donk based team coming back on the final stretch.  The crowd threw Jack for a loop and we took an unexpected and errant hard left into the parking lot yards before the finish and ended up with a second by a nose.  But I was pleased with the race given that we worked well throughout it.

On Sunday, the double back was a bit different as there was the race in most of the field to start.  Idaho Springs starts hard up towards the Oh My God road.  I suspected we were going slower than we had in past years, and here is the data to prove that.

2015 42:39

2017 44:10

2018 46:19

The slower start kept a large crew in the mix and ten teams came out of the woods together. Jack and I had been anywhere from 3 to 6th all throughout the five mile race – a rather challenging affair for us given its short nature and the ridiculous drop through the scree and log filled gulch.    It was a bit of a drag race with 8 teams fighting for the top spot at the finish.  We ended up sixth.  Again, as we are not a top sprinting team in these races, I was pretty happy with that and it was a pretty fun finish with all those teams.

That said, I know that Jack and I are not what we used to be in terms of our performance.  We end up doing “ok” in these affair, but both of us as older gents are showing the signs of our age in being less than great in our climbing.  It used to be good enough that we’d be able to get away from most of the bigger packs and put the race to bed earlier but we don’t seem to have that gear anymore.  It is almost impossible to predict what will happen at Fairplay but our wins there came when we were able to outpace teams on the ups and the downs.  It would seem based on the last two years and where we are now, we don’t have that card to play anymore and we will have to roll with what we get. 

13 AUG2017 Buena Vista Pack Burro Race, some history and some end of season thoughts

Buena Vista always is a different race in the so called Triple Crown of Pack Burro Racing.  As I understand the story, the idea of the Triple Crown originated in Buena Vista when Oscar Chapa and Curtis Imrie came up with the idea in 78 after seeing the country memorized by the horse racing Triple Crown.  BV was supposed to be third leg and where the “crown” was ultimately won.

The BV race is different than the other two legs. While Fairplay and Leadville grind up to Mosquito Pass, the highest point in on the BV course is not even as high as the low points near the start of the other courses.  The BV course is significantly shorter at its 12-13 miles (more on that in a second) and is track is relatively buttery smooth compared to the washed out rocky mining roads that climb high in the Fairplay and Leadville.

I first did BV in 2012 and it seems the course has changed nearly every year I have done it.  That first year we started on the west side of Route 24 by Gold Rush Days.  In 2013 (I was not there) there was apparently a long and a short course.  In 2014 we started by the railroad tracks on the east side of 24.  Last year modifications to the Midline bike trail seemed to extend the course from just under 12 miles to 12.9.  And then this year, while we finished four blocks to the east of where we started, a change in the trail again made the course about 13.5 miles.  Some years when we have gone on to the Midline Loop we have been allowed to make our own call if we want to go on it clockwise or counter clockwise.  Other years we are mandated to go in one direction.  No other race even has such a “pick your loop direction” option.

Additionally as there has typically only been one race – there is no short course or long course winner – there is just one winner.  This means that those racers that have been doing the long courses over the prior two weeks now face racers that have only been doing short course races.  And that in current times means the “minis” that never seem to go long and don’t have the weight requirement of 33 pounds for their saddle show up.  The little donks out of John Vincent’s stable have been a force in the shorter courses and while are not  a threat in the long races at Fairplay and Leadville, they are competitive at BV (and to their credit in the short courses at those other towns too).

And … there is a different feel to BV.  It seems to be no secret that the town is not sure how to handle the race.  It seems to be a scramble and an afterthought.  The prize money is significantly less than the other races as well.  That is not really a huge deal but it is another measurable attribute of how it is different.  Rumors on the street this year were that the town was looking to dump the race in the future, as they just “didn’t get it.”

There are things of course that are the same:  donkey, the community of those that race them and are around these races, the bridge over the Arkansas River, the Whipple Trail and the Midline Trail.  And a finish in town that seems to create havoc with the donks.

Here’s another historic wrinkle:  the Triple Crown does not always end in Buena Vista.  In fact, when Jack and I won it in 2015, it finished in Leadville.  Boom Days has historically been the first full weekend in August, which was tied back to when miners got paid in some regard.  If the Friday was of the weekend was in July – then Boom Days got pushed.  This happened in 2015 and so BV was the second race in the circuit.  I have heard that BV was rather upset about this and accused Leadville Boom Days organizers of stealing the Triple Crown thunder. 

I can’t say the shift hurt the bid that Jack and I put in that year.  After winning Fairplay and Leadville in back to back weeks in 2012 and 2014, we came up short in BV both times.  The change in 2015 meant we had a week in the middle where there was a shorter run, and a softer course that probably was kinder to Jack’s feet.  Our Triple Crown was different in that regard.

For what it worth, when Hal Walter won the TC in 2013, his was different too.  He edged Jack and I with Full Tilt Boogie in Fairplay, but did not win the Leadville race outright.  He was the first male finisher but was second to Karen Thorpe and Kokomo there.  She won the women’s Triple Crown by way of being the first woman in all the races, and Hal won it for men by being the first male.  I think the 18 mile course at BV that year probably helped his chances there also.

This is not to short change any of those Triple Crown efforts.  It is pretty hard to win one of these races.  To “catch lightning in a bottle” and win three in a 14 day span is ridiculous.  As far as I know, only five men teams have done it, including Jack and me (2015), Hal and Full Tilt Boogie (2013), Bobby Lewis and Wellstone (2010) and then apparently Tom Sobal and Ardel Boes.  I have a long overdue project to determine what years those guys won it and with what burros but the info is not easily gathered.  On the women’s side Karen and Kokomo won it in 2013 and this year Catlin Jones and Titus won it.  Apparently Barb Dolan won it more times than people have fingers but again, that information is not well documented.  Yet.

From what I can gather while the Triple Crown was kicked off in the 70s, it sort of became a lesser thought in the late 80s and 90s.  It picked up in interest again in the 2000s and this past decade.  So there might been folks that won it, but it was sort of not a big deal for a bit.  This seems to reflect the responses I have got out of Ardel (Oscar) and Tom.  When I have emailed them as to what years they won it, they are not really sure.  It almost seems they went out and raced the races and didn’t worry much more about the connection over a few weeks.

These days the Triple Crown seems to be THE talk though in burro racing.  The other races are consider a “pre season” of sorts (or Victor is a post season).  Once some one wins Fairplay the immediate chatter is “are they going to win the Triple Crown.”

There is also the odd aspect of this that supposedly a person has to be a member of the Western Pack Burro Association to win the Triple Crown.  According to some if you win all three races and are not, you have not won the Triple Crown but just three races.  I personally think that is ridiculous but I recognize that the WPBA does not have to give the 500 award if you didn’t pay your 35 dollar dues before the Fairplay race. 

I poked a bees nest this year when I heard that Fairplay winner Kirt Kordcamp and Mary Margaret were not WPBA members.  When I asked on FB if they were folks thought I was taking a poke at him not possibly being a winner because of such a technicality.  I was actually poking at the ridiculous nature of the rule, and not that team.  As it turned out they were members.  And as it turned out, they didn’t win any of the other races other than Fairplay. 

But when you win Fairplay, you are on the “will they win the Triple Crown” train.  Folks are all over that in Leadville the next week.  It has fizzled out before getting to BV the last two years on the men’s side, which just shows how hard it is to win these things.  No donkey has won two of the races since 2015 (and even when Jack did it in 2012 and 14, we came up short those years).

There are also these traveling trophies that go with the whole show.   I got one in 2015 and it is to travel with me until the next men’s winner.  Recently the women’s trophy was “found” along with a third trophy.  There is probably a whole history and set of stories that go with what these trophies have seen.

The 2017 version of this race had Jack and I come in third.  After a chaotic start (a mammoth donk got loose), and the climb up the Whipple, the race seemed to be down to about 7 or 8 teams including Kirt / MM, Andrew and Crazy Horse (John Vincent’s mini), Hal and FTB, Catlin and Titus and Louise and Pandora (and I think Paul Anderson)  There were others in the mix on the road out of the Whipple but once we made the left up turn (to go clockwise) it broke open.  Hal asked me “do you like to run?”  And when I replied yes, he growled “well let’s run!” and we busted up the hill in a move that splintered off most of the field.  It was great to run elbow to elbow with Hal and uphill like this after sharing so many miles with him.

Through the single track, Kirt and MM seemed very intent on leading.  It the tighter curves, he’d pull away with Andrew and CH on his heels but on the straighter stretched, Jack and I will roll them back up.  As we came back onto the road after an hour on the single track, these three teams that had gone back and forth had separated significantly from everyone else.  Kirt made a great move to slip in front of Jack and I as we dropped back onto the Whipple and he got a pretty large gap on us.

As we came back off the bridge Jack and I were down probably 80 meters, but I could tell we were moving well and making up ground.  I was not sure if we’d have enough runway to do it before the finish or before Jack got less than enthused for running into town, but we were making a go of it.  We cut it in half, and then in half again.  With 100 yards left it looked like we might be able to get it.  And then all at the same time, Jack decided he did not like the crowds at the finish, Andrew and CH came blowing by us and Kirt started to struggle with MM at the finish.  Knowing my fate, and recognizing that Jack was not going to magically create a difference at this point, I watched as Andrew /CH stole the win as MM turned completely around at the finish. 

That was a burro race. 

Catlin came in a few minutes later, just after Hal – fifth overall and securing her third win and hence winning the women’s TC.  If tradition holds true, she will be awarded the women’s trophy at the awards dinner in September.

It was a pretty amazing season for Jack and me.  We had a 2nd (Georgetown) after a poor start, a third (Idaho Springs) after a tough fall in the ravine, a close 2nd at Fairplay, a win at Leadville and 3rd at BV.  All podium finishes.  He is an incredible partner in these endeavors. 

I’ll push the thought here:  no donkey was better on whole this season.  He was first to the pass in both the long races, podium’ed more than any other donkey, had the lowest “score” in the TC, the lowest sum time, and won the most prize money. 

And a step further – no donkey has been as good over the last half dozen years.  He has won Leadville six years straight, won Fairplay three of those years, and came in second the other times.  He has never finished lower than sixth at BV.

It is clear we have lost a little step in our overall speed over the last few years, but he is still a greatly competitive donkey with results like that.  That, and the relationship I have with him are one of the primary reasons I keep coming back.

Still, I have wondered if I will return in 2018.  These events have a way of taking over your summer … and frankly there is a desire to explore some other things or to consider returning to some other projects (Pikes for example). 

In past years, I think I have been able to steer away from what some of us in the game call “donkudrama.”  It is a term that refers to how people in this “sport” create various drama.  If you think about it, donkey don’t really care about a Triple Crown – right?  Or if you are a member of the WPBA.   But there are layers of drama that the people create.  There is debate on whether minis should carry the same weight as other donkeys.  There are opinions if uncut jacks ought to be in the field.  Or jennies in heat.  Or if we should have split race starts or a combined start.  There are people who give their donkey a smack on the tail with the rope and others who refuse to do that and think it is wrong too.  There is a tension in the sport tied to its growth.  There are folks like Bill Lee and the Wanns who are bringing new people to the sport and in significant numbers.  And there are people who don’t like that and don’t like the idea of people racing with donkeys when they have not trained with them significantly.   There are folks who don’t like the media attention or the filming of the sport (some people really hate drones). The sport is feeling its own growing pains – not dissimilar to what ultras have seemed to have gone through in the last dozen or so years.  I think in past years I have avoided the fray with this but this year I have “poked that bear” a few times … and contributed to the “donkudrama” myself  … and I am bit disappointed in myself for doing that and getting worked up about those things.  It might be time to let it breathe a bit.  I remind myself that none of this matters to Jack.  Right?

Boom Days 2017

The Leadville Boom Days Pack Burro Racing race course has been the most successful venue for Jack and me.  Jack has six victories here, with five of those coming with me as his handler (2012, 14, 15, 16, and 17) (he also got a victory there with Jeff Bennett in 2011).  A combination of being able to “stick with the race” through the climbs, make a solid descent and enjoy the smooth track of the asphalt in the lower California Gulch descent has lined up for a handful of victories there.

Of course with Curt and Mary Margaret winning last week in Fairplay there was chatter about a run at the Triple Crown (a win at Fairplay, Leadville and Buena Vista).  I get the impression that folks think this is almost an automatic thing after someone wins Fairplay.  I’d put forth its pretty damn hard.  First, to win one of these races is difficult.  Winning multiple is really hard.  And winning all three … well since only 5 teams have done that since 1978 … I think that spells it out. 

Jack and I actually won the first 2 races in 2012 and 2014 but were unable to complete the task until our third go at it in 2015.  The Triple Crown requires a donkey that is strong on the long courses and climbs that are posed to them at the higher elevations races of Fairplay and Leadville but can also pitch a fast run at Buena Vista (where the high point of that course is lower than the lowest points of the other two runs).  Additionally, while a Triple Crown racer is obliged to have the same donkey every week, anyone else can show up fresh or with a fresh  donkey any week.  In 2012, after winning Fairplay and Leadville a fresh Bobby Lewis and Wellstone showed up to win the BV race even though we had not seen them all season. 

It ain’t impossible but it ain’t easy. 

But with the right donkey, the right runner, and some lightning caught in a bottle, it can happen.  I was lucky to experience that with a once in a lifetime donkey Jack in 2015.  And here in Leadville, he proved once again he is something special with another win. 

The race always starts quick out of Leadville, but unlike Fairplay in its climb to Mosquito Pass, we almost immediately start a significant climb up the hill (in Fairplay there is a five mile “stroll” along Route 9 that is relatively flat).  We also start long course racers separate from short course racers.  I think this keeps the pace a bit easier in the get go but a near seven minute mile up Lake County Road 3 at 10000 feet always is a stiff wake up call.

This year the tough start was further challenged by Smokey getting loose from his handler Brian Metzler. Smokey blew through the field, kicking, losing his saddle and impeding other race teams.  Bob and Alice attempted to coral Smokey but he was not going to be easily managed.  It created a rougher start at the half mile but we soon hit the dirt of the climb and as expected soon there were only three teams:  Hal / FTB, Curt / MM and Jack/me.  Hal and I managed to get a bit of daylight between us and Curt but once we crested the first climb and dropped into the little valley, Curt /MM were right back with us. 

Once we passed through the stream Hal / FTB made a bit of a gap on Curt/MM and Jack and me but Jack and me were able to cover it a bit better on the steeper loose rock road.  We bridged the gap to Hal and I as I looked back I could see Curt had been over taken by Catelyn Jones and Titus.  We had a significant lead as we got above treeline but I knew that if we descended slowly we’d be likely caught by Curt / FTB again.

We crested Mosquito Pass at 1:52 after mostly walking the upper stretches.  While there is no “First Ass to the Pass” award at Leadville, I always look to get that in case something is switched up at the award assembly.  I motivated Jack around FTB after trailing them for nearly all the climb to get around the Mosquito Pass sign with him first, only a stride ahead of Hal /FTB.

As we came down, we came by Catelyn/T at 1:55, or at least six minutes ahead.  There were two other teams next (Walker, Grahme) at 1:59, and then Curt / FTB at 2:00.  That meant we had at least 16 minutes on Curt.  I doubted we’d hold him off but he looked like he was moving pretty slowly.

Hal moved ahead a bit on the descent, but on the smoother stuff Jack would catch up.  We played with exchanging the lead a few times but I think we both knew it would come down to the last four miles at this point.

We came through the checkpoint at the bottom of the valley before climbing back up to the top of California Gulch with Hal / FTB slightly ahead.  All of a sudden Hal, clipped MM’s legs and he went down.  He had hit her on her right side so he came down on his left side, but then took a back right hoof to the ear.  Pretty scary stuff.  We stopped and made sure he was collected.  I eyeballed him for a bit and after assured that he was okay, we started the climb back up to CR3.

The donkey – or at least Jack always seem to struggle at the top at CR3 because they know they came up from the right and thus they want to go back down that way (I do too!), but they need to go left to get over to California Gulch.  It has always been a bit of a slow walk doing that.  For as slow as we were going I mentioned to Hal that we deserved to be caught.  I had eyeballed Catelyn/T about a quarter mile behind us and if we continued at our pace and she at what she was capable of, it was going to only be a matter of time.

We came up on short course racers.  This is a bit of mixed blessing.  For Jack it has been nice because it seems to give him a target to latch onto and move by.  But on the upper stretched of California Gulch, that means getting by on really crappy broken rock road.  I was pushing Jack to force him through the scree at an acceptable pace.  Hal and FTB found a good line and stride and began a build away.  On the longer view stretches I could see this had built to nearly 100 yards.  The trail began to get better and Jack managed to clip away at this.  As we came on the final stretch of the rocky road before it hits asphalt we had cut the lead to about 20 yards.  I felt pretty confident that we were going to be fairly positioned for the last 3ish so miles on road.

Then all hell broke loose.

Hal / FTB were passing a short course runner on the left.  The short courser on the right suddenly lost control of their donkey and went down super hard, bouncing, rolling on their head, and shrieked further spooking the donks.  It sort of knocked Hal out of his rhythm but he stayed up right and was able to collect the guy’s donk.  I came up and offered to the take the rope of the stray donk from Hal so that he could reestablish the little lead he had but we just waited until the guy got it. 

I was also acutely aware that our standing there helping this guy was not helping our cause of staying ahead of the other teams behind us that were in pursuit.  Hal / FTB and Jack/me got going and I was about to mention how this collecting of donkey reminded me of a similar occasion between the four of us in 2013 in Fairplay when Hal took a rock wrong and went down hard, bopping his head on a rock.  We were only 75 yards from the asphalt and his family was right there.  We walked down, collected water, did a quick assessment, looked at each other and like 2013 said, ‘well let’s give em a race.”  We bumped fists and started down the road.

For the next half mile I had an anxiety – I knew that if we had a shot to win this we had to get away before we got to the last quarter mile on Harrison.  That last section is chaos for Jack:  you go from quiet mountain roads to noise, fairs, people spilling out of bars, cones, traffic lanes that look like snakes and a damn kiddy train that just spells hell on earth for a donkey.  Jack does not do well at that and I knew against a vet like Hal that if we came in together we’d be second. 

While we have run the lower sections of California Gulch in low sixes, today was not that day.  Jack was content to hit 7:45s.  I found it frustrating but each time I looked to edge a bit more out of him, he’d just give me a look that essentially said “this is what you are getting.”  And as almost to put a point on this he’d periodically turn sideways to the left in front of me to bring us to a stop.  Each little lead we’d build would quickly vanish with this and Hal and MM were right there.

But then we got a little day light and a little more.  And then I’d look back and I’d not see them. 

Of course we came into town and it probably took us nearly five minutes to get up from the Diamond Shamrock to the light at 6th, but I was pretty confident we had it in the bag.  I had looked back up Morton and with no sight of anyone, I kept Jack moving but not completely in a panic.  Still I had visions of Jack parking at the Silver Dollar Saloon, refusing to move and Hal / MM coming in at warp speed for the win. 

Hal/MM came in second, and then Catelyn/T.  Curt / MM came in fourth.  After a 2:18 ascent (giving us 26 minutes), they had clearly descended better than us finishing with 5 to 10 minutes of us, even accounting for the 3-5 minutes we had lost to falls and tending to lost donkeys.  Curt quipped he just needed a few more miles, to which I noted we could have said the same at Mosquito Pass or the London Mine the week before.

But we got it.  It’s his 10th win the TC series, and arguably it makes him the best donkey in this game for the last decade.  We have both lost a step certainly with age, but what we had today was good enough.  I really do feel that I have been blessed with a “once in a lifetime” donkey …

Bob and Alice ended up ninth, frustrated by losing momentum early with the stray Smokey (but still in the money).  I am really feeling for this guy as he has paid dues with jumping into this game’s deep end quickly but having pretty frustrating results to date.

Update 09AUG2017 – Official results are up … while the exact time of Jack and I are not yet posted (as the “guess the winning time contest is still out there), the results show Jack and I finishing in 3:55 and winning by about 4 minutes.  Kirt thought he finished under 4 hours but the results have him in 4:09.  With a 1:52 ascent and a 2:03 drop, Kurt and I were ruminating as to how quick he got down.  He said he went up in 2:18, meaning we got to the pass 26 minutes ahead of him but he gained 12 minutes on us on the descent.  He clearly ran a better down but it is worth noting Jack and I lost significant time with the falls (3-4 minutes) with a 1:51 second half..

30JUL2017 Burro Days 2017

Burro Days in Fairplay.  The big race day or the so called World Championships.  The past five years here have been incredible with 3 wins and 2 second places.  Coming into the season, I had doubts as to how Jack and I could perform because we are both a step slower than we used to be.  As the season progressed, and with some slight success at Georgetown (2nd) and Idaho Springs (3rd), I gained some confidence in our chances.  I knew that Curt/Mary Margaret would be a challenge, and that 7 time champ Hal Walter/Full Tilt would also keep us honest (those two teams represented our last two losses for here in the last handful of years).  There was of course chatter that Ryan Sandes/Scratch and Max King/Earl as very accomplished runners would challenge, but I felt that their inexperience with donkeys would rule them out.  At the same time I recognized they could catch “lightning in a bottle” and be in the hunt.

That is how it is in burro racing – you can have expectations but you really need to be willing to forget them all.  Make a plan, execute the plan, watch the plan go off the rails, and then roll with a new plan… “no donkey wakes up thinking, ‘I want to climb a 13000 foot mountain pass today’” so you better be willing to go with what you get dealt.

Race morning was typical, weigh in, saddle up, connecting with folks, going to the bathroom 4000 times and watching how you have plenty of time go before the race disappear to no time before the race.  Amazingly the clouds seemed to be holding and we were getting a little sun.

We took off and I actually felt that the starting pace was slower than in past years.  The start usually wrecks me as the donks roll out hard.  The stiffer pace at the start combined with a 10000 foot starting line leaves me wondering how I can handle the whole affair.  This go around it seemed pretty relaxed.  Curt / Mary Margaret and some of the mini donkey teams were at the front and we were right in the mix as we rolled over the Route 9 road and into the “field” sections.  I looked back and was surprised as how many were “right there.”  Having been back a bit in the field in past years (we left town in nearly last place in 2014 but rallied for a win over the race), I knew that any number of these folks could be a strong contender if still in touch.  I was surprised to see Max only 30 yards back and made a note that my dismissing him was a possible mistake.  I recognized that a good number of the racers were probably 15 milers (short course runners versus long course 29 mile runners) but I was still amazed at how many were in the mix.

Curt seemed driven to lead the course and going through the fields was occasionally unsure of some of the turns.  I gave him a cue or two but also gave him a little verbal jab in saying, “hey if you are the current champ you should know the course.”  He didn’t respond and I got the message he was not interested in such small talk during the race.

We rolled past the power station and it was pretty much Curt /MM and me/Jack but no more than 15 yards ahead of any pursuers.  Again, the pace was not particularly quick.

The race always changes on the Mosquito Pass Road at the 7.5 (7.25?) mile turn around for the 15 miler folks.  Suddenly Kurt/MM and Jack/I were almost alone.  We were quickly joined by Hal/FTBoogie and Catelyn Jones/Titus.  We worked together at a slower pace up though the “V” and then the more challenging road climbs up to American Flats.  Hal and I got away a bit from the other two teams and built a fair lead over them over the very slow American Flats.  As we progressed, we could see the lead we had generated was slipping a bit but we clearly were going to make it to the pass first.  Hal and I enjoyed what I called “my annual therapy session with Hal on American Flats” conversation.  We yapped about XC, the ultra guys in the race, the film makers (and Hal’s annoyance with drones), and the like. 

I made the typical push for the pass to get the “First Ass to the Pass” award (now called the “Curtis Imrie First Ass to the Pass” award) and got it by about 30 yards over Hal.  I gave Hal a hug I could clearly see that the other teams were catching up and I began to think that the race to the finish would not necessarily be between Hal /FTB and Jack/me but that Curt/MM would be on us quickly.  Historically no on has caught Jack and me on a drop but I could tell by the way they were moving and some of Jack’s tenuous nature on the rocks that we were going to have our hands full.

The traffic on the upper Mosquito Pass Road was ridiculous.  There were no less than 25 jeeps parked on the side of the road – annoyingly taking the best line for the donks and with people saying all the typical cliche donkey things.  Sorry – hearing a grown man bray at you as they lean out of their jeep at 13000 feet is a bit annoying as you are in the midst of a 29 mile race. 

Hal/FTB and we moved down and then right below the London Mine there was Curt/MM.  He quickly passed us.  Jack covered the move but I suddenly knew Hal was likely to be out of the mix and that I’d be looking at MM’s tail the remainder of the race.  Curt /MM would get slightly ahead but Jack would cover that.  Jack would come even with MM and MM would try to cut him off on occasion.  I got fed up enough with this behavior that I ran between the two of them to keep her from pushing him off – but the message was set – she was going to lead.

At the V, Kurt paused for water and Jack and I got another significant lead.  But within a mile our slow pace allowed them to catch up.  Jack fell into line and we were just in second again. I concluded that I could force Jack around her but that I’d only be stressing him and myself and that he’d only be all to willing to relinquish the lead.  I decided I had to go with what I was being dealt and that I had to be content to follow today.  It meant that we’d either finish like this or that perhaps I could make a strong play coming into town and Jack could get around.  It was pretty much like that for a quiet clip clop 10 miles.

We came into town the play for a sprint finish – which is not our strong suit ever – never really played out.  Curt / MM pulled a 30 yard win.  The faster donk on the day won the race. 

I was disappointed of course, but Jack ran nearly how he had run for the last six years – first three times, second three times, and nearly all of those in 5:20 to 5:40.  We have lost a step but not much.  No donkey has performed better at this race in the last half dozen years as Jack has 3 wins and 3 seconds (along with 5 Leadville wins and a Triple Crown in 2015).  And at the finish, I was surrounded by friends, family and donkey lovers.  I enjoyed some fun with Jack for crowd playing at the finish.
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For me the bigger story on the day was that KZ jumped into the 15 mile course about 2 minutes before the race actually started.  It was her first burro race, and her longest day of running in her life.  This kid loves adventure way more than I do … spontaneous for sure.  Really proud of her, even though I was concerned with the idea getting pitched at me at the start line. 





For first ass up the pass, we landed a pretty sweet mug.  Here I am with its potter – Renee Fischer. 


Ryan ended up sixth with Scratch in about six and a half hours.  It started to rain (we had no rain all day before that).  And the time kept ticking … no Max or Earl.  His film crew started to look worried.  Around 8 PM (9.5 hours into the race), I called him and asked him how he was doing.  “ah, you know.  I am walking a donkey in the rain.  And it is almost dark.” 

JZ headed out through the reeds to get him and caught him in the mine.  We got him back in as it got dark.  Seemed most his day was fighting to keep Earl on the course.

Nothing but respect for Ryan and Max coming and doing this race.  And sticking it out.  Those guys could stick with events they are great at and do just fine by that, but they elected to be a part of this nuttiness and gut it out.  They are more than all right by me.

Sunday 23JUL2017 Idaho Springs Pack Burro Race

Headed up to Idaho Springs for a short (5 miles) but challenging Pack Burro Race with Jack.

Jack got out well, and we were in the mix of the top 5 right away.  Sometimes we were leading, sometimes we were fifth and sometimes we were in the middle on the climb up the Oh My God Road.  As we neared the top of the climb, Jack slowed a bit and the group of three minis got about a 100 yard gap on us pretty quickly.  But as we hit the downhill Jack brought them back into the mix as quick as we hit some sections at sub 5 pace. 

There is then a REALLY stupid steep driveway and everyone was back in the mix (well the 5 of us).  And again, sometimes we were leading but then on the singletrack, Jack pulled up to the side and we let a couple of the mini teams and Roger Wright with Willie go by. 

The ravine down is borderline stupid with there being several high log leaps, weird turns tight trail and a small scree field.  I took a light tumble on that part with Jack as I lost my footing but we bounced up and were back at it pretty quick.  I gained some nice raspberries for my efforts. 

The five of us came out of the woods at the Argo Mine together, and as often is the case with these short races it came down to who had the best kick in the last 200 yards. Wright and Willie cantered away, Jon V and Crazy Horse did what they do and moved well in the last 75 yards and Jack and I got third.

It was a good day – a win at this would have been a bit of a steal as these shorter events play well to the quick kickers and the minis (minis took 3 of the top five spots).  Jack looks to be in good shape for the events to come.  Anything can happen.

Yeah, so he is pretty awesome.  Like really awesome.

Evening – 5.2 miles to workout some of the kinks from the spill.  Only minor oozing.

70 miles on the week, 9.5 hours, 4075 of climbing.  A race, some fartlek, some travel.  Bumped through 2100 miles on the year this week. 

Sunday 16JUL2017

AM – even though JZ was not heading out with them at crack of dawn, we were up early to see his Scout buddies off to Philmont.  With some luck he will be able to join them later in the week.  As I was up early, I decided to get a run in.  I have totally dropped the early AM running, and I realized that is pretty unfortunate … it is so nice to see the sun rise, enjoy the cooler temps, and quiet roads. 10 miles.

I grabbed a quick bite and then headed to Idaho Springs to get some burro running in.  I did the burro hill loop with Jack, not pressing him but just working on some basic stuff. 

66 on the week … it was a bit of a mess of a week with travel, travel delays, uber humidity, a broken wrist.  But that is all part of the good life.  I attempted some faster work in Alabama but I could not seem to put it together.  On the good news front, it seems that the icky sticky crap that was in my lungs and nose have finally passed out of me.  Blowing my nose this past week was a lot of this:

Friday 07JUL2017

AM – 6 miles with Greg and the team before heading up to Fairplay.

Afternoon – the upper loop of the Fairplay Burro Days course.  It was a slow day on whole with the snow crossings, helping people with river crossings, etc.  Nonetheless, a fun day up high in July.  The course has more snow on it than I think I have seen at this time in the year compared to past years.

Tagged on a few miles at the end with Jz to take the 10 mile loop to a 13 mile set.  Bigger day for me but I probably need that with a 29er on the calendar in 3 weeks.

Saturday 27MAY2017 Georgetown Pack Burro Race

First pack burro race of the season!  This serves as a bit of a rust buster, allowing folks to figure out what they and their donkeys need to work on before the bigger races later in the season.  Jack and I had done very little training together this year, so I was not sure what I was going to get.  Then again, I figured since we have a couple hundred miles of racing together in the books, we’d figure it out pretty quick.  On this, I was both right and wrong.

I got to Georgetown and it was raining.  Then it was sunny.  Then it was raining.  Then it was sunny.  This would be the case for the entire day, with some folks even seeing some snow.  It was a large field of racers – 67 teams with a rumored 30 coming out of Laughing Valley Ranch.  Some of the regulars like Justin and Yukon and John V and his mini crew were quickly spotted.  Other expected faces were missing:  Hal, Dave T. 

The race was to go off at 11, but on “donkey time” we started at 11:15.  I was surprised at how aggressive Jack took to the start and we were quickly rolling through the field up into the top 8, then the top five and then we were closing in on the top two which included Justin and Yukon (as expected). 

But Jack pulled a move on me that I did not expect.  As we came back through the newer part of Georgetown where our trailers were parked, he took a hard left directly for the trailer.  We were going so fast, and he made the move with such confidence, that I didn’t even see it coming.  And like that we were off the course, and in the parking lot.  I tried to quickly adjust and to that he determined he wanted to go back to the start and we whirled around and started going back up against the other racers.  I had not seen a move like this from Jack in a race (although he has done this me while training at Bill’s place).  He was whipping me around quickly, and we were losing ground to the field.  After what was probably 45 seconds of dealing with this mishap, I managed to get him back on course, pointed straight and moving. 

Once back on the route, he began his steady trot that rolled up other teams.  I am guessing we were about 25th at this point, but the lead group was well out of sight.  As we approached the under pass of 70, I looked over the highway and in the distance I could see Justin and a contingent of other racers already heading up the mining road to Union Gap well above the highway.  We were probably some 300 yards back.

As I did this math it seemed that Jack recognized the need to move up and he upped his pace.  We kept rolling up teams and as we hit the dirt where I could get long views, I recalculated that were probably now in 15th place.  On the short downs, Jack plowed ahead and I really felt my lack of speed work this year.  We blasted by Bob and Sheba and a handful of other teams.   The lead group was still far out but we had made up some ground, and I thought if we could progress like this through the race it would be a fun day.

We hit the single track, which is cliff wall on your left and large drop off to the highway to your right – passing is not really an option and so we were stuck.  Ellroy and Dave were marching on the steepest parts of this and while Jack clearly wanted to pass, it was clear this was not going to happen in this section. 

We crested Union Gap and there was no sight of anyone ahead.  Jack began to barrel the downhill and as we got the long view into Empire, it was clear that we had probably LOST ground to those teams working together and running nearly the same or faster pace than us. 

Jack and I kept rolling and we caught a group of racers out of Conifer, and it seemed that we were putting a dent into that stretch ahead of us.  This group and our team would stay near each other through the “lolipop” in Empire, which helped us.  Jack was not exactly sure how he wanted to cross 40 but when he saw the other burros do it, he quickly figured it out. 

As we turned back up to Union Gap, I could see that the last lead pack was out there but they were probably 150-200 yards out.  I rationalized that if we could get to close to them it would be a very good day given my earlier error.  We broke away from the Conifer group, threading between teams still coming down from Union Gap, and made our way back.  As we crested the gap on the way back, again I could not see any of the teams but as we curled around to the broader view sections I could see that they had splintered a bit.  There were five of them, including 2 minis, Justin and Yukon, Louise K and Pandora and Kirt C and Mary Margaret.   They had spread over 25 yards but with 2 miles left in the race it was any body’s to take. 

Jack was abusing me pretty well here, really running the down of the single track, as fast as I would have run it in a race without a donkey.  It was really impressive and any thoughts I had that “well we are another year older, maybe we are done” were being quickly put to bed. 

As we hit the wider section of dirt road out of the single track we began to catch the tail of the group.  There is a little climb before getting back to the asphalt road that goes under 70 and we came by Justin and Yukon.  Surprised, he asked “where did you guys come from?”   Winded I replied “we have been playing catch up all day.”  But now we were back in it.  Kirt and MM were up about 20 yards but we were in the mix. 

As we came back into town, Jack struggled a bit under the highway but we caught back up to everyone on the other side of the rotary.  All six teams were in the hunt now.  About a half mile from the finish, Andrew began to really drive Crazy Horse (John V’s mini) while the rest of us exchanged positions in the pack.  I was not overly eager to get Jack to lead to early as he can sometimes struggle from that position with other burros near behind him.  The energy rose with all of us as we curved around the last little bridge and we fought catch up to Andrew and Crazy Horse.  Jack got the spirit as we hit the final road and we ended up second.

Given the early mishap, I can’t help be hugely happy with the outcome.  Jack ran the 8.5 miles of the 9.2 course faster than any other donk, showed he has a lot in the tank for speed and that he has the nose still for the game.  All good signs!

I try to approach any burro race with a bit of a “this is going to be good day, regardless of what happens” because frankly – ANYTHING can happen.  And then when I get a much better than expected result like this, it is all the sweeter.  I approached this race with low expectations:  little burro training, little mountain running, hardly any speed work, and little expectation that we’d perform as a team.  I could feel the soreness setting on for the lack of work on my part, but Jack yet again put it in my head that we can have a fun run at the races later this summer.

Pix forthcoming.

I ended up bailing pretty early to get back to the Front Range for a graduation party. 

Introducing Sheba

My hammies were tight enough from the squats yesterday that I decided to skip doing those today … while tempted to crack at them for 2 days in row, I’d probably bust something.  I’ll come back at them tomorrow I hope.

In the afternoon, Bob and I headed down to Waterton Canyon to meet Amber and Brad … and Sheba.

We ran up the Colorado Trail a bit with her.  I ran with Jack.

She seems like a real sturdy and able donk.  Bob was rather smitten.