You had to be just a bit touched to get out and race this past weekend. Single digit temps with double digit below feel like. Hats off to everyone that raced either at Lake Manawa or the Stampede Run.
Our lads took their NRGE Trail Show to the latter with Pete Kostelnick winning the 5 Mile, Kyle Clouston winning the 15 Mile, and Jeremy Morris taking 3rd in the 50K. Neither Cow, nor Goat, nor Ordinary Man able to keep the mates from their appointed podium rounds.
Kyle’s recap:
“Looking for a way to get back into racing after Rocky Raccoon, the Stampede Trail race out in Roca worked out perfectly. The race had a “no frills” feel to it which was welcomed. The mantra for the day which was stated in the pre-race briefing, “there is beer here in the barn for any of you crazy people that want to drink at 10am, oh wait, you’re out here about to long run in this crap. You guys are crazy already!”
All novelties aside, this was a well orchestrated race by Jim Craig and Angry Cow. It was also a healthy sampling of who’s who in the long distance trail scene around these parts with runners like Chad Seilers (LRC) making his debut at the distance with an impressive win. (unsure of times) Our mate Jeremy ran a gutsy race finishing third. Kaci Lickteig, Miguel Ordorica, Todd Nott, Angie Hodge and a few KC Trail Nerds also braved the conditions to knock out a never-easy distance of 30+ miles.
Pete took care of business right from the gun to secure a victory in the 5 mile race. His biggest pre-race fear was realized about a quarter mile in the race but you’ll have to ask him about it if you want to know more..
I followed my game plan and ran within myself. I didn’t set any land speed records but I’m happy with how my legs performed coming off a few down weeks. Being rusty is never ideal but knowing that each individual run will substantially improve my fitness makes the process enjoyable.
Looking forward to racing with the mates next weekend!”
Jim Craig does some good things for his devotees. NRGE will be supporting all of his races excepting the one scheduled for the same day as Ni-Bthaska-Ke. We are well over 150 entrants into Ni-Bthaska-Ke, the first 300 are guaranteed this year’s highly collectible pint glass. The first 500 guaranteed the best trail run in Nebraska.
Ni-Bthaska-Ke’s reputation as the best trail run in Nebraska is partially based on the large amount of amenities for the registration fee. Included are chip timing, the post race food provided by Omaha Steaks, hand crafted beer from the Upstream Brewing Co., awards and door prizes from Cabela’s, and bragging rights for conquering the Toughest Trail in the Midwest thanks to Ivan Marsh.
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