GRP Row and Ski complete the Craftsbury Marathon
Craftsbury hosted their annual marathon weekend January 31st and February 1st. Saturday was a classic race with a 23k loop with the option to do 1 lap or 2. On Saturday, the women started first followed by the men 15 minutes later, and then the BKL skiers racing a shorter course. Saturday was quite cold but the sun came out and spirits were high. No GRP athletes raced the classic but they volunteered at different stations throughout the day to cheer on the racing and community. Despite the cold, the conditions were amazing for the racing. There was plenty of snow after the recent weeks of heavy snow storms and the trails were beautifully groomed.
GRP skier Brian Bushey
Sunday morning’s cold temperatures led to a pushed back start time. The GRP skiers were critical in helping the rowers prepare for what to wear and how to put KT tape on their race to stay warm. This was a rare opportunity where GRP rowers and skiers were participating in the same race and it was great to see all athletes give it their all. Sunday was a skate race in the opposite direction of Saturday and was 1 lap (23k). The men started first 15 minutes before the women, and the BKL kids followed shortly after. Brian Bushey led the race from start to finish taking his win by 52s over second place Francis Izquierdo-Bernier of Fondeurs-Laurentides and another minute or so over GRPer Jack Christner. Quin Woods was the fastest GRP Rower and finished in 1 hour and 46 minutes, placing 60th out of the field of 162 men.
GRP runner Britta Clark
Michaela Keller-Miller also had a dominant race to win and stretched her margin to 5:41 over second place Olivia Cuneo and 7:15 over GRP Runner Britta Clark. Michaela finished with an impressive time of 1:09:16. The first GRP female rower to cross the line was Natalie Hoeffer finished at 1:33:29. She placed 21st out of 63. This was the first time racing in the Craftsbury marathon for 8 of the GRP rowers since most of them learned to ski this winter.
Find the full results here. Photos can be found at Phil Belena’s Marathon Gallery.
The fantastic ski festival weekend would not have been possible without all of the amazing planning by the COC ski staff (big shoutout to Ollie) and all of the volunteers who spent time preparing, setting up and taking down, and many hours out in the cold to make the weekend run so smoothly. Up next, the GRP skiers will compete this Saturday in Craftsbury. In addition, the Olympics opening ceremonies are Friday and the first day of racing is Saturday. Make sure to tune in to the Olympics to watch GRP athletes Margie Freed and Jack Young.
