GOLD RUSHSILVER RUSHBRONZE RUSHJUNIOR RUSH |
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GOLD RUSHSILVER RUSHBRONZE RUSHJUNIOR RUSH |
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A record crowd showed up on a snowy, blustery Sunday for the 22nd Annual California Gold Rush at Royal Gorge Cross Country Ski Area. This year’s event contained a stellar field of current and ex-Olympic athletes competing in the 50 kilometer Gold Rush, and, as usual, the Gold Rush is also the culminating event of the American Ski Marathon series of races across the country. A new twist for this year’s event was that the Silver and Bronze Rush races were the final events of the Subaru 2002 Masters National Championships.
Even though the Masters Nationals pamphlet advertised a bright sun and palm tree, the past weekend’s events had just about everything but warm, sunny skies. What is traditionally a fast course for the first one or two laps (often turning into slushy conditions later in the race), became conditions more appropriate for mid-January, with cold, powdery tracks along with wind and snow in the sky.
Almost 500 skiers braved the conditions and registered for this year’s event, making it the largest in recent years. Plus, a whopping 166 registrants were from states other than California and Nevada, giving it a true “national championship” feel. Minnesota’s John Bauer, 2002 U.S. Olympian, was the pre-race favorite, and proved that once again he is currently the fastest skier in the country. Fresh off his commanding 10 minute win in last week’s Yellowstone Rendezvous marathon, Bauer broke the pack early in the race to cruise to win 2:20:23, making this his second Gold Rush win in 2 years. With a 7 minute lead by the end of the race, the rest of the men’s field realized early that the only race was for second place. Bauer’s Rossignol teammate Marc Gilbertson (1998 U.S. Olympic team) edged Subaru/Fischer/Salomon Factory Team member Scott Loomis for the silver medal by a mere 9 seconds. The fastest local racer was Truckee’s Tim Hill, with a 9th place finish, just behind University of Nevada, Reno skier Ian Skinner.
The women’s division also saw a dominant performance with Factory Team skier Unni Odegard skiing away from the field with a time of 2:48:33, good for 12th place overall. Second place honors for women went to the veteran Suzanne King, with 2002 Great Ski Race winner Brooke Baughman taking third. Top local honors went to another UNR skier, Kari Todd (7th woman).
While usually the smaller sibling of the Gold Rush, this year’s Silver Rush turned out to be the main event for a majority of racers. The 30 km. championship race for Masters Nationals went to Kent Murdoch of Fall City, WA with a time of 1:39:35. Barry Makarewicz, Thursday’s gold medallist in the Pursuit Race at Tahoe Cross Country, was second, and David McLean was third. The women’s division was dominated by the Factory Team’s Barb Jones, who cruised to a more than 5 minute lead over teammate Kristina Joder. JoAnn Hanowski took home the bronze. John Woods and Karen Radebold were the top local finishers; Woods being the 5th male finisher, with Radebold the 6th woman.
In contrast to the other races, the 15 km. Bronze Rush had more of a local flavor of the “junior” variety. Two of Far West Nordic’s Junior Olympians, Phillip Violett and Andrew Van Blarigan, took first and second for the men, with Masters Nationals Champion Bob Gray, of Newbury Vermont, showing the kids that a 62 year old still can have a lot left in the tank. For the women, it was another of Far Wests Junior Olympians, Natalie Joffe, winning outright over Ketchum, Idaho’s Cindy Hillemeyer (who won the Masters Championship gold medal for the women.) Joffe’s teammate, Kara LaPoint of Truckee, won the bronze.
Not to be left out of the fun, 23 juniors (15 years old and younger) took part in the 6 kilometer Junior Rush. Truckee’s Matt Gelso showed why great future results are expected of him, easily winning the race in a time of 17:23. Putney, Vermont’s Patrick O’Brien was second, with Palo Alto skier Carl Reid taking third. Sara Violett made the shorter races a family affair, matching her brother’s win with one of her own. Kentfield’s Gabrielle Joffe took second, with another Marin County resident, Heini Ilmarinen winning the bronze.
The California Gold Rush is one of Far West Nordic’s largest fundraisers for its Junior Cross Country Skiing programs. A big thank you goes to Royal Gorge for donating all proceeds to the Far West for this event, making it the most successful Gold Rush fundraiser in history.