The Steamboat Pilot & Today

There seemed to be problems everywhere Saturday morning at the Rio Stampede staging tents of Dave Marrs and Kelly Boniface, at the base of the Steamboat Ski Area.

Some of the snacks were difficult to eat, while riding the difficult 11-mile loop that carried competitors to the top of the gondola before sending them hurtling back down Mount Werner’s slopes.

The earphone cord wasn’t long enough for the iPod. The cool and cloudy morning had given way to a beautiful but sure-to-be-hot summer day.

And there were the other competitors skidding in after their second lap on the course, hanging just minutes behind Boniface, the women’s 12-hour race leader.

But there was no problem that was going to stop Kris Cannon and Cara Marrs.

They refilled water bottles, handed out supplies, cleaned off sunglasses and even dished up a sandwich with a few sage words of advice.

And in the end, none of the nagging issues even slowed either of the competitors Cannon and Marrs were there to help. Problems? Three hours into the monster bike race, no one had time for problems.

“We have three kinds of drinks here,” Cannon said, pointing her way around the camp and showing just how much preparation went into Boniface’s race. “We have coconut water, regular water and Heed sports drink.”

Cara Marrs was obligated to man her husband’s support tent while Cannon was doing a favor for Boniface, a longtime mountain biking friend.

Boniface flew down from the mountain first, finishing her second lap in a little less than three hours. She had barely even hopped off her bike when Cannon and Marrs began scurrying about to get her back on the trial as quickly as possible.

“It’s all about minimizing everything,” Cannon said. “We want to minimize her time here as much as possible.”

Ready for anything

Boniface was racing Saturday for the win. She grabbed a small pre-cut piece of a sandwich from Cannon, then kicked away to start her third lap.

Dave Marrs, meanwhile, spent a few minutes at the camp instead of a few seconds. He switched out some equipment and shared a few laughs, catching his breath.

A downhill specialist — on skis and on a bike — the worst part of his lap was directly in front of him, and he didn’t appear as eager to tackle it as Boniface did.

“He’s in it to do better than he did last year,” Cara Marrs said. “He’s doing great so far.”

Still, he kicked away and charged up toward the steep slope.

Rob Peterson watched everything while relaxing beneath a wide, black tent directly behind Marrs’ and Cannon’s front-row location. Already recovered from his own trip up the mountain, he soaked up the atmosphere and enjoyed watching others complete laps. He competed Saturday as a part of a singlespeed team, racing with Sam Gordan. Their team name was enough to set their motives apart from Boniface, who was racing to win, and Marrs, who was racing to finish.

He calmly sipped on a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon. All was well with team “Switch Beers, not Gears.”

“I love this stuff,” Peterson said. “We’re on single speeds, so we’re technically doing this for fun. My goal is two beers per lap.

“We’ll see about the last lap — we might have to go with three for that one.”

Cannon and Marrs slowed back down to Peterson’s pace once their racers were back on the course. They laughed and talked and traded stories with other support teams, but didn’t wait long to go back to work.

They set about organizing the camp, setting up the food and getting ready for the next pit stop, at least an hour away.

“We might need to do some maintenance on the next stop,” Cannon said, wondering aloud what Boniface’s tire pressure might be after she finishes her third lap, and looking over an extra bike ready for any disaster.

The morning on the mountain had her ready for a race of her own, a 24-hour competition next weekend in Gunnison. She didn’t ever focus much on the future, however. With nine hours to go and her competitor on the far side of the mountain, Cannon found plenty to keep her mind occupied.