The Racing Gnome 5k & 10k snowshoe races, put on by the Donner Party Mountain Runners at Auburn Ski Club, took place on a very cold and blustery Sunday, February 9, 2020. The event was organized by Helen Pelster and Peter Fain as co-Race Directors, and Peter once again designed the course, with optimal suffering in mind for his fellow runners.
Despite (or perhaps because of) the harsh elements, we had nearly twice as many women compete in both events compared to the men.
In the women’s 5k event, KelleyAnn Schilke edged out 2nd and 3rd by about a minute, in a winning time of 38:32. KelleyAnn’s finish was fast enough for 3rd overall in the race. Alexandra Yakovleva took 2nd female in 39:25 and Kirstie Polentz rounded out the women’s podium in a very close 39:35. For complete results for the women’s 5k, click here.
In the men’s 5k event, Todd Wright dominated the field with a smoking-fast time of 32:44, 2nd place went to Dez Taylor-Douglas in 38:14 and Kelly Barber wrapped up the men’s podium in 39:10. For complete results of the men’s 5k, click here.
Of special mention, our most-senior finisher of the entire field for both races (women’s and men’s) was Carol Patterson, at age 76, who finished the 5k. Watch for Carol in the coming months as she prepares to run her first ultra, the TRT 55k in July.
Carol crossed the finish line with her good friend Sharon Fong (62), who has completed the Racing Gnome 10k several times but decided to do the 5k with her husband Kin. Well, Kin (70) took off hot and ended up finishing 9th for the men. Sharon reports it was his first race ever (as far as she knows) and the spirit of competition was strong.
In the men’s 10k race, Peter Fain returned for another win on his signature course in 58:35. Robert Wright followed in 1:02:14, and Jack Macy rounded out the podium in 1:09:17. For complete results of the men’s 10k, click here.
In the women’s 10k race, Briana Jaskot dominated the field (which was more than twice the size of the men’s!), with a time of 1:13:40. Sian Turner took 2nd in 1:16:07, and Renee Jacobs took 3rd in 1:20:53. For complete results of the women’s 10k, click here.
Thank you to all the volunteers who made this event possible – course marking, timing, course cleanup… the list goes on. Thanks to Auburn Ski Club for hosting us and letting us use your wonderful facilities. Thanks to Alpenglow Sports for generously donating so many pairs of Atlas snowshoes for our runners. Stay tuned for the 2021 event, with DPMR board member Christopher Thomas stepping in as our new RD!
For complete results click here and for Helen Pelster’s photos from the events click here. Congratulations to every #unafraid runner that came out despite the elements.
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