On Sunday, September 11 the Teva Extremesportsdoc.com Evergold 10k caps off a successful five event series in the Vail Valley. The out and back loop course starts at 10:00 a.m. at the Vista Bahn chairlift with a loop running out and back to Lionshead on the lower portions of Vail Mountain on mostly single track terrain.
“With the fall colors just starting to peek through the forest the views are stunning on this course. It doesn’t have the significant elevation gain and loss of the other races, but still offers outstanding vistas and challenging terrain,” said race director Mike Ortiz.
Run entirely on Vail Mountain, the course starts at the Vista Bahn Chairlift just south of Bridge Street. Runners meet up with the Berry Picker Trail soon after the start and an uphill climb. After a short traverse runners head down to Lionshead about 2.5k into the run. The first aid station is at the 3.5k mark and runners will traverse a bit east on a fairly level section and then traverse west for about half the distance and then climb up to the second aid station located at 6.5k. After another short westward traverse the course heads down hill crossing the Berry Picker and continues down to Windish Way to the Berry Picker and a downhill finish at the Vista Bahn. “The course is rolling with just enough technical terrain to keep runners focused on the trail,” said Ortiz, “This is a great course for our end-of-season finale.”
The Evergold is part of Colorado’s premier trail running series which runs June through September and includes events from 5k to the half marathon (13.1 mile) distance. The first race in the series was held on June 12 with the Teva First Bank 8K at 8,000 feet. The second race was held on July 3 with the 27th annual Teva Vail HillClimb followed on July 24 with the Teva Vail HalfMarathon. The fourth event in the race series was held on August 14 with a choice of a 5k or 10k with the Teva Berry Picker events. Register for the Evergold at www.active.com or visit Christy Sports in the Vail Village on Saturday, September 10 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to register for the early fee of $25 and to pick up runner race numbers. Race day entry fee is $35.
After their race finish runners will enjoy refreshments. Aid stations will be located at several points on the course as well as at the start and finish lines. Gatorade will also be provided at the aid stations along with water.
Participants are assured accurate results, commemorative T- shirts, and great prizes. Awards will be presented to overall and age group winners and new this year will be raffle prize drawings at the race awards ceremony featuring products from area merchants and national companies including Aqx Sports, Lenticular Pictures, and Gerber headlamps. Series awards will also be presented following the race.
Series title sponsor Teva footwear introduces their lightweight X1 trail racer available at Boulder Running Company and Christy Sports, both retailers serving as registration points for the series. Series sponsors include First Bank, Extreme Health Care, Vail Daily, Vail’s Mountain Haus, Tiga Advertising, Howard Head Sports Medicine Centers, and Gatorade.
Top finishers from the 2003 edition are listed below. For more information and to view a course map and profile visit www.vailrec.com.