March 19, 2010 (Steamboat Springs, CO) – Colorado sun and snow, views of the Continental Divide, and feed stations with double shot espressos along the way. What more could you say about the North Routt Coureur des Bois 45k and 90k marathon and ultra-marathons, classic and skate races on groomed course from Steamboat Lake to Wyoming and back? As one participant put it, “This course was a great oxygen deprived adventure with mental, technical and aerobic challenges I have not seen in any other course I have ever skied. S count me in for next year.”

This popular, end of the season event has grown in popularity, as word of the challenge has spread. David Cahill of Norwich, VT, prefers the longer races, and had his eye on this 90k since he heard about it last spring. Competing in the 90km freestyle event for the first time this year he placed 9th with a time of 5:07:26 He explained to SkiTrax how the race unfolded:

“The race starts with a feeling of calm before the storm – a dead flat 14km loop around Steamboat Lake. No one was pushing the pace. It was just a steady, orderly line of skiers. When one guy fell, everyone waited. To explain this phenomenon, a picture is worth one thousand words. Next to Steamboat Lake is Hahn’s Peak, a 10,000 foot tall pyramid of black rock. Everyone in that race knew (or was about to find out) that when we came off the lake, it was a 5km climb over the shoulder of that mountain.

“Once the climb began, the sun came out, the trail softened a bit, heart rate monitors were sounding alarms, and the pack fractured. At the top of the pass, a steady head wind began to blow, and the race broke up into small groups of two or three, trying to take shelter and work together. The wind blew hard as we gained elevation and headed north to Wyoming. Every once in a while my group came across a solitary skier struggling in the wind. For me, this reinforced the importance of working together. I skied easier than I could have, just to stay with the group, because the prospect of bonking at 60km was not too appealing.

“Once we reached our highest elevation on the Continental Divide and started heading south, and wind became less of a concern, it was every skier for himself. Basically, this meant that the guys who bonked started going very slowly, and the rest of us staggered up the hills and bombed down the descents.”

For a write-up on this year’s event, read Joel Reichenberger’s piece in the Steamboat Pilot here.

Full results here

Results (brief)

90K Men’s freestyle
1. Daniel Weinberger, Boulder, 4:33:35.2
2. Michael Brothers, Monument, 4:38:03.7
3. Nathan Schultz, Boulder, 4:41:46.6

90K Women’s freestyle
1. Lenka Palanova, Boulder, 5:26:29.8
2. Anne Donley, Denver, 5:41:55.5
3. Katie Lindquist, Steamboat, 5:42:31.7

45K Men’s freestyle
1. Benjamin Blaugrund, Boulder, 2:11:46.7
2. Barkley Robinson, Steamboat, 2:21:59.0
3. Brian Woodard, Boulder, 2:25:24.4

45K Women’s freestyle
1. Sarah Konrad, Laramie, Wyo., 2:22:30.4
2. Tammy Jacques-Grewal Steamboat, 2:32:38.9
3. Deborah Rose, Steamboat, 2:46:09.2

90K Men’s classic
1. Zach Beresford, Salt Lake City, 6:39
2. Paul Sachs, Steamboat, 7:24
3. Frank Smith, Clark, 7:25

45K Women’s classic
1. Jessica Kisiel, Los Alamos, N.M., 3:35:16.6
2. Emily Lovett, Steamboat, 3:38:56.7
3. Paula Maresh, Littleton, 3:40:02.0

45K Men’s classic
1. Benjamin Barbier, Steamboat, 2:37:25.3
2. Kyrill Kretzschmar, Steamboat, 2:40:28.2
3. Jon Freckleton, Steamboat 3:03:29.5