Local racers, Marie Walsh and Kurt Ireland joined 68 other racers as they departed Durango yesterday to tackle the 500 mile off-road Colorado Trail Race. The race should will take between 4 and 8 days to complete.
The CTR: 500 miles and 70,000′ of elevation gain winding through the Colorado Rocky Mountains between Denver and Durango. Approximately 300+ miles of singletrack at elevations ranging from 5500′ to a gasping-for-breath 13,200′. The CTR is a monster! If the monster is in a good mood, you may experience Colorado’s beautiful sunny blue skies and wildflowers blooming as far as you can see! But, be warned — the CTR’s mood can change on a whim, and you may just as likely find yourself getting besieged by massive hailstones and lightning bolts. In short, don’t come to this race unprepared — no one will be there to rescue you.
The CTR is similar to The Arizona Trail 300 and Tour Divide. There is no entry fee, no support, no registration, and no prize money. It is a self-timed ITT (Individual Time Trial): all that is provided is a route description, a suggested start time, and a list of results. However, all individuals participating are strongly encouraged to donate time or money to the Colorado Trail Foundation. Without them, we wouldn’t have this trail!
Marie’s blog gives great info about her prep and equipment: https://goo.gl/EPR4Og
You can track the racers LIVE below.
