Running Up a Snowy Slope - Winter, 'Tis the Season

This past weekend a couple Team Coloradans took to the slopes in a slightly different manner: running upslope rather that skiing down it.

John Tribbia and Alex "Axel" Nichols duked it out with the top winter/adventure/XTERRA athletes in the country at the Winter Mountain Games' Vail Uphill. This 2.06 mile race climbed a lung- (and sometimes a nut-) busting 2,475 feet from Lionshead in Vail Village up to Eagles Nest at 10,328 feet. Sounds horrible, doesn't it!?

Tribbia was in the money with a repeat of this 3rd place finish from 2012 in a time of 32:54. Nichols placed 6th OA with a time of 34:44.

Axel rockin' the Kenyan-born Obama beanie                                      photo courtesy of Matt Trappe (trappephoto.com) 

Results

On the Scrambled Legs side of things, Simon "Gute" Gutierrez and Peter "The Prez" Maksimow ran race #3 of the Pikes Peak Road Runners Winter Series, a 5 mile run into the wind, placing 6th OA in 27:57 and 8th OA in 28:48, respectively.

Gute taking an early lead in Winter Series #3                     photo: Tim Bergsten

This race catapulted Team Scrambled Legs into the lead in the series, ahead of Team H.A.R.T. (High Altitude Running Team), which recruited a ringer, Justin Chaston, a three-time steeplechase Olympian from Great Britain.

Note the socks--hence the team name: Scrambled Legs        photo: Tim Bergsten

Video of the start. Results.