Laura Knapp and Howard Grotts led all finishers in the 5- and 10-kilometer races, respectively, in the fourth annual Winter Warrior snowshoe race Saturday at the Durango Nordic Center.
Knapp, a runner who borrowed snowshoes and was a last-minute entrant, was faster than the 12 other 5K entrants. The Durango High School track coach finished in 35 minutes, 8 seconds – faster than all other women or men.
The fastest man was Garrett Hoanin, who finished in 38:31. Richard Bagienski (52:08) won the 45-plus men’s category while Jill Brazell (47:21) was the fastest 45-plus woman.
Meanwhile, in the longer race, Howard Grotts set a new course record, finishing in 51:59. He was well ahead of second-place finisher Dylan Peterson (58:44) and 45-plus men’s winner Don Williams (1:21:28).
The women’s 10K winner was Leah Fein in 1:13:01.
Event promoter Steve Ilg said conditions for the course trails, rolling 5K or 10K through forests, were perfect.
“We’ve been working nonstop for 48 hours, and the sacred snows held off just enough,” he said following Saturday’s event.
The event was sanctioned by the U.S. Showshoe Association and was a regional qualifier for the U.S. National Snowshoe Championships that will be held Feb. 28-March 2 in Woodford, Vt.
johnp@durangoherald.com
