Tour of the San Juans - Spur #2
Congrats to our segment completers!
Glenn Richardson - Stages 1-4
Drew Ralston - Stages 1, 2, 4
Abbie Auger - Stages 1, 4
Lara Touryan-Whelan - Stages 1, 4
Jillian Wall - Stage 1
Kathleen Poshusta - Stage 1
Note: This is included in your Long/Short/Nolan's registration. You will given access prior to race start.
After leaving Durango, the Colorado Trail runs along the San Juan Mountains, home to your first "14ers", and some iconic Colorado mountain towns.
Our second spur challenge encourages you to explore a 73 mile route through Telluride and over Imogene Pass, stopping by the beautiful Blue Lakes and Mt. Sneffels before taking a break in Ouray - continuing over rough 4WD road and over the summit of Handies Peak. You'll meet up with the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River and pass Lake San Cristobal before taking a rest in Lake City - before continuing along the Colorado Trail!
This challenge runs from 7/1-7/14, and is encouraged as both a tag-along for friends and family, as well as a "warm-up" for the Front Range course beginning 7/15. There will be a few random prizes throughout to be announced along with the rules on 7/1 - as always, the challenge will be tailored to the latest features and configurations of the RunSignup virtual platform.
The Rules:
Welcome to the San Juans! The beautiful jagged peaks and ridgelines of this mountain range in southwest Colorado contain great wealth – mineral and natural. Many of the mines have been replaced with tourism, but the legacy of this region is still strong in towns like “Silverton” and “Telluride” and “Engineer Pass”. Most, though, know the area for the stunning views, passes, and the more rugged feel than one gets on the Front Range.
https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/3235442161
Our 72.43 mile route for the next 2 weeks runs from the iconic Colorado town Telluride, to the vacation spot of Lake City. It crosses the beautiful Imogene Pass and takes you up the 14er Mt. Sneffels, with views of the beautiful Blue Lakes, and down again into the town of Ouray. You’ll then cross the backroads 4WD road Engineer Pass, passing over the summit of Handies Peak, down Grizzly Gulch and alongside the creeks and ATV roads that lead you finally past Lake San Cristobal and into Lake City.
To make this challenge a little more fun and manageable for everyone – and easy to track - we’re going to break it down into “segment challenges”. You’ll submit your mileage/elevation for each ‘segment’ on the same “View/Post Results” screen as usual at the end of each segment, within a different dropdown.
And to keep things a little fair, results will be approved based on ‘proof’ you submit from your Strava, route map, or other ‘convincing evidence’ (not taking it too seriously except for the big prize)! Based on the segments you complete, you’ll get collectible glossy photo prints featuring photos of each segment added to your ‘medal bag’ for your event, beginning shipping in late July for the Colorado Trail or early August for the other distances. Photos will all be revealed throughout the challenge.
Here’s how the segments break down:
July 1 - 3th – Telluride over Imogene Pass, to the base of Sneffels
12 Miles – 4,300 feet - Mileage OR Elevation
July 4th – Free Day (Happy 4th!)
4 on the 4th, you get 4 free miles to walk to the base of Mt. Sneffels as you enjoy the sights in Yankee Basin! Anything more you submit today – comment which segment you want it applied to in the final results.
July 5th - 7th - Blue Lakes / Sneffels
We’re giving you the weekend to get up Sneffels if you so choose, and back down into Ouray
16 Miles, 2,800 feet. Do Mileage AND Elevation, or 20 miles without elevation.
July 8th - 10th - Ouray to Handies Peak
17 Miles, 6900 feet - Mileage OR Elevation
July 11th - 14th Handies to Lake City
This one’s almost all downhill! Take the weekend to get your mileage in on the home stretch.
22.4 Miles – Mileage only
Lastly – if you qualify in every segment, you will be entered into a random drawing to get an actual canvas print of the photo of your choice! This challenge – the standard of proof will be a bit higher.
Thanks for joining us! We hope you enjoy this spur from the Colorado Trail, or kickoff before the Front Range.
