Jeremy Rietmann (l) & Greg Strokes (r) transitioning for the second climb. Jeremy passed Greg on the catwalk at the end of the last descent to take the win.

Starting a race at 6:30 a.m. in the dead of winter is never easy, but this one was totally worth it. Wednesday morning marked the first citizen’s race of the 2013-14 season at Sunlight above Glenwood Springs. Randy Young and Doug Stenclik of Cripple Creek Backcountry organized the race with the help of Brian Edmiston. Approximately twenty of us were greeted with warm temps and a beautiful, nearly full moon for the crack of dawn start.

It took me the entire first climb to get my legs going, but then I felt pretty good for the second ascent. Other than a hard crash in some heavy snow on the final descent, the race was a great way to start the day. I recently came across this quote, “The best way to get in race shape, is to race.” So far, this is definitely working for me.

The next Citizen’s Race is January 22. Come check it out!

Results from memory:
Jeremy Rietmann
Greg Strokes
Doug Stenclik
Sari Anderson
Lindsay Plant
John VanNordstrand
Unfortunately I missed the remaining finishers in order to get to work.