Hello Pedigree Stage Stop Race Fans,
I always enjoy a bit of number crunching. Last year saw a lot of fresh snow in Blackrock. Not so this year. And the run times clearly reflect that. In 2023 Anny Malo had the fastest time of 1.58.15. She was the only team running under 2 hrs. This year in 2024 Anny Malo finished in 1.49.18. That is a whopping 9 minutes faster than last year. You think that would have gotten her first place. Nope, that one went to Remy Coste finishing in 1.42.34, almost 16 minutes faster than Anny Malo ran in 2023. That is huge. So is his averge of 17 mph over the 29 mile course. And that course is anything but flat.
Notably the Top 6 Teams ran this years 29 miles in under 2 Hrs, or faster than 14.6 Miles an hour, which is what 6th place finisher Jess Moore ran this year.
Just for giggles another team as an example. In 2023 Michael Tetzner ran 2.17.39 which got him 12th place. This year Michael came in 3rd place in 1.56.32. Not only was that 21 !!!! minutes faster than last year, that was also faster than Anny Malo’s pace in 2023. All Top 5 Teams were faster than Anny Malo in 2023.
Between 3rd place Michael Tetzner, 4th place Laura Bontrager, 5th place Cathy Rivest and 6th place Jess Moore are a mere 4 minutes of separation. Notably Cathy did not have a clean run after running into some horses about 2 miles before the finishing line. One thing is for sure, those teams will be battling it out over the next several days.
Last year Austin Forney ran 2.18.12 for 9th place. This year he sped up by 13 minutes to 2.05.13 which got him 10th place.
The Yellow Bib will go to Remy Coste. He is going to be the last team out at 9.42 a.m. First team out is going to be Chris Adkins at 9.a.m.. If you are local, head on out to the South Pass Lake Louis Trailhead.
The drive to Lander from Blackrock saw some very low snow. Temperatures showed up to 45 above. That is why we are starting up at South Pass, and not Sinks Canyon. It is currently 25F above in Lander and already 31F above up high at South Pass.
When talking to Remy last night at the Meet and Greet, he once again plans to run 8 dogs today.
