The Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Allen Belshaw is a skinny guy, no doubt a product of a careful diet and the hundreds of miles he logs training for trail-running ultra-marathons each summer.

But his only thought of calories upon finishing last weekend’s four-day Mountain R.A.T.S. trail-running stage race was that he desperately needed some.

Belshaw crossed the finish line near the top of the gondola at the Steamboat Ski Area on Sunday in second place, but he didn’t stop running.

“First thing I did at the gondola was run up to the snack bar and grab myself a burger, because I was definitely a little strung out there at the end,” the Steamboat Springs area doctor said.

The 75-mile race took a toll on Belshaw and the 23 other runners who finished the grueling Routt County event. Plenty agreed afterward, however, that the race, which organizers hope will become an annual event, was a success.

“Everything went really well,” race organizer Reid Delman said. “People loved the course, especially the Mountain View trail right above the ski resort. They said it was some of the best trail they’ve ever been on.”

It was some of the best and some of the most difficult, Belshaw said.

The race broke down into four events, each day bringing a new trail and new challenges. Racing late in the summer and nearly entirely above 10,000 feet of elevation made the effects of repressive heat and altitude ever present.

The first day featured a 7.6-mile course. Each of the next two days took racers down 24.4 miles of trail, and the final day featured a 17.5-mile run that ended at the gondola, overlooking Steamboat Springs.

“It was a pretty tough race,” said Belshaw, who came in behind Scott Jamie. “It was harder than I expected.”

The race came with plenty of built-in obstacles, starting with the fact that competitors weren’t let in on the course until they showed up for registration the day before the start.

Racers also had to carry all their own clothing and food from day to day because the entire field spent the night camping together in the wilderness each night.

“I tried to pack light because I’m a skinny guy — a big pack can make a big difference,” Belshaw said. “That was a mistake. I skimped on calories and what I brought definitely wasn’t enough.”

Belshaw wasn’t the only local competitor to enjoy a strong showing. Jenna Gruben finished second among the women, behind only Helen Cospolich. Gruben edged Cospolich out on the final leg, but she couldn’t make up a sizable hole from the first three days of racing.

Belshaw had a lead after the first day, but he fell 90 seconds behind after the second and 15 minutes behind after the third.

He’ll certainly have another crack at the title next summer if he opts to race again. Delman said he plans to bring the event back to the Steamboat area.

“We want to change the course every year and do it in a different format every time, so we’re looking at some other trails in the area of Steamboat,” he said.

— To reach Joel Reichenberger, call 871-4253

or e-mail jreichenberger@steamboatpilot.com