Dirt. Mud. Snow. Concrete. Runners experienced a little bit of everything at the 2011 Teva Mountain Games 10k Spring Runoff in Vail, Colo., on Sunday, June 5.
Just over 350 athletes, including some of the top mountain runners in the country, headed out of Vail Village this morning before hitting single track that shortly reduced all but the best to a power hike. The course snaked its way up Vail Mountain on dirt roads, snow covered slopes and muddy trails.
Check here for a slideshow of photos from the Teva Mountain Games 10k Spring Runoff.
Max King of Bend, Ore., wasn't the first one to the top, but he used his speed on the technical downhill to take the lead. King finished first in 41:30.
"This is what I'm built for," said King after the race. "I love going up hard and coming down on the technical trails and the grass ski hills. I was able to fly down those and that's where I made up time."
King, who was also the USATF Half Marathon Trail champ and the Xterra World champ in 2010, made his Teva Mountain Games debut this weekend. King took second place at the Vail Pass Half Marathon on Saturday.
Jeremy Freed of Broomfield, Colo., won the BolderBoulder citizen's race just five days ago. He recovered quickly, placing second this morning in 41:40. Freed was the first one to the top, but admits he isn't as experienced as King when it comes to charging down trails.
"I haven't actually done a real trail race before so it was a new experience," said Freed. "I got to the top and I thought this is good and then Max just flew by me on the way down."
Matt Tero of Boulder, Colo., was third today in 42:33.
Defending champ Mario Macias of Alamosa, Colo., was in second place before taking a tumble in a snow field on a section of downhill about two and a half miles from the finish.
"That's the thing with trail running," said Macias. "I guess my shoes didn't have much traction because I wore some Asics flats and it was dangerous on the snow. It was a rough day but overall it was a great weekend."
Macias ended up fifth overall, but won the Vail Pass Half Marathon the day before.
Megan Kimmel of Silverton, Colo., was second in the 10k Spring Runoff in 2010. This year she returned for the win, crossing the finish line in 49:51.
"I was happy with the race. I think I did a really good job handling the snow," said Kimmel. "But I knew Melody Fairchild was right behind me the whole time."
Kimmel will spend the rest of the summer finishing up the La Sportiva trail race series before hitting the Pikes Peak Ascent in August.
Melody Fairchild of Boulder, Colo. was second in 50:05, just one day after finishing third at the Vail Pass Half Marathon. Fairchild said she loved the course, even though she lost her footing a few times on the descent.
"The course was awesome. I took a few diggers on the downhill," said Fairchild. "We had to run across icy snow in sections. Last year I lost a shoe in the mud so at least that didn't happen."
Megan Lund of Basalt, Colo., was third in 50:39. Lund placed second in yesterday's Vail Pass Half Marathon.
Check here for the complete results of the 2011 Teva Mountain Games 10k Spring Runoff.
Check here for more results and photos from the Vail Pass Half Marathon.
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