By Shannon Lukens.
Close to 800 runners and cyclists competed in this weekend’s Emerald Mountain Epic at Howelsen Hill. Athletes came from across the country with many from Steamboat Springs and Routt County.
Saturday was mountain biking on Emerald Mountain, where the cyclists could ride one lap for 26 miles or two laps for 52 miles.
Then Sunday was the half marathon of 13.1 miles or a full marathon run for 26.2 miles. Some athletes were on teams. Others competed back-to-back days and did both cycling and running.
Those athletes who rode the full 52 miles on Saturday and then ran the full marathon on Sunday competed for King and Queen of the Mountain.
That honor goes to David Norris of Steamboat Springs, who competed in the Emerald Mountain Epic for the first time.
“The bike was a little more scary with the fact that I was pushing it on the downhills and trying not to crash and just finish in one piece. But then running with the tired legs from yesterday, definitely climbing out of Beall trail was really hard today. It’s definitely cool to be a part of such a Steamboat event.”
Norris will be competing at the end of the month in a 50K run in Chamonix, France.
He took the King of the Mountain title over last year’s top finisher, Andrew Farney, of Steamboat Springs, who now lives in Carbondale. Third place King of the Mountain was Benen Gattis of Gunnison.
Norris had a full marathon time of 3:07:37.83. Barton Tofany was second at 3:37:00:09. Andrew Farney’s time was 3:37:03:33. Nate Iler finished in 3:40:54.79
On the women’s side, Sarah Pizzo of Steamboat was the Queen of the Mountain and Ella Dewolf of Laramie, Wyoming, finished second.
Pizzo’s marathon time was 4:03:20.65. Pearson Alspach was second in the marathon with a time of 4:07:56.99. Anna Boylan was third at 4:34:35.39.
Those competing for the Prince and Princess royalty titles biked one lap of 26 miles on Saturday and then ran a half marathon on Sunday.
Prince
- 1st place was Emmet Subka from Boulder.
- 2nd place was Beau Cahill from Steamboat Springs.
- 3rd place was Devin Hirschi from Park City.
Princess
- 1st place was Deanna McCurdy from Steamboat Springs.
- 2nd place was Skylar Weir from Steamboat Springs.
- 3rd place was Alisha Johansson from Steamboat Springs.
Proceeds from the Emerald Mountain Epic go to benefit two local nonprofits: Routt County Riders and Partners for Youth.