60 racers gathered Saturday for the Durango Nordic Center’s 7th Annual Winter Warrior Snowshoe Races and festivities.

Durango’s Anthony Kunkel, 24, won the men’s under-44 10k race with a time of 53 minutes, 47 seconds. Kunkel, also known for his unusual racing attire, was good enough to win by more than five minutes, but not enough to match the record of 51:59 set in 2014 by Olympic mountain biker Howard Grotts.

Pete Mech came in second place in 58:52, and Drew Gunn rounded out the podium finishes with a time of 63:33.

In the ladies under-44 group, defending champion Kathryn Ross broke her own record with a time of 62:41 to beat the rest of the field by 12 minutes and claim the top prize. Leah Fein came in second in 74:56 and Tiffany Fancher was third after finishing in 87:32.

In the 45-and-over men’s group, 57-year-old Eric Pierson claimed the best time (65:45) with Gerry Gerrahty finishing second (79:32) and New Mexico’s Stuart Sandoval taking third after an 87:41 effort. Liesl Rael of Albuquerque won the women’s 45-and-over race in 87:28.

The event also had junior and ladies 5k races. Durango’s Rosemary Knight won the under-44 5k with a winning time of 39:39. Heather Freeman was second in 41:59 and Tammy Tiong was third in 42:56.

The 45-and-over ladies 5k was won by Diane Thornton in 43:16. Beth Gaige took second (50:46) and Karen Bunning was third finishing in 53:16.

Youngsters 13-and-under also had a chance to compete. Fort Collins’ Landen Dodds took the top prize in the two-lap Kids Snowdash, while Israel, 7, and Sapa Zahne, 4, won the one-lap race together as they crossed the finish line holding hands. 14-year-old Paul Knight also came away victorious with a 36:42 5k.

All in all, it was another successful year for the Winter Warrior outing as hundreds of dollars were raised for the Durango Youth Nordic Kids and over $3,000 worth of prizes were raffled off to those in attendance.

heraldsports@durangoherald.com