Swank, Vinogradova Win 2009 California Gold Rush in White-Out Conditions

Challenging conditions for Gold Rush competitors

Donner Summit, CA—

More than a foot of snow fell on Donner Summit overnight Saturday and continued prior to the start of the annual California Gold Rush, a 46k cross country ski race held at Royal Gorge.

The weather resulted in a delayed start and slight course change.

The races started at 9:30 a.m. and instead of a two-lap 21k loop, Gold Rush competitors skied three laps of a 15.3k loop.

Silver Rush Competitors skied two laps (30.8k) and Bronze Rush skied a 9k.

The only thing more challenging than trying to skate ski through the soft, fresh snow was the visability, or lack of.

Adam Swank, 33, of Duluth, Minn. won the Gold Rush race with a time of 2:28.49.

The Minnesotan said the conditions were the toughest he’d ever seen at the race.

There were sections where it was coming down so hard, he was trying to skate through “boot-high” snow.

“It was like an expedition out there,” he said. “There were times when you couldn’t see the trail in front of you.”

Swank took the early lead and broke away from the pack around 7k, along with local skier Ian Case of Truckee.  The two were soon joined by Nikolai Aniken, also from Duluth, who bridged the gap within two or three kilometers after Swank’s initial break.

The three leaders worked together for the first two laps before Case dropped off heading into the final lap, leaving Aniken and Swank to battle for the win. Swank was able to put an impressive two minutes on Aniken on the long final climb up to the finish.

His best finish prior to Sunday was 2nd in 2007.

Aniken easily took second with a time of 2:30.36, while Case hung on for third with a time of 2:34.17 after skiing the entire third lap alone.

On the women’s side, Katerina Vinogradova of Auburn won with a time of 2:45.22.

Behind Vinogradova were Sarah Max of Bend, Ore., with a time of 2:51.03 and Lenka Palanova of Boulder, Colo., with a time of 2:56.00.

Swank had nothing but praise for the race organizers and groomers who dealt with the challenging conditions.

“They did a good job,” Swank said. “Free beer and chili (for racers) will keep you coming back.”

Besides the racing, Swank said he enjoys coming to the Sierras to train in the 60-degree spring weather.

“I love coming out here,” Swank said.

Silver and Bronze Rush

In the shorter races it was all about girl power.

Joanne Reid, 16, of Palo Alto was the first-place female (2nd overall) finisher with a time of 32:50.5 in the Bronze Rush. Behind Reid was Janelle Webb with a time of 40:18.0 and Nancy Rosenblum with a time of 40:29.7

The first place male was Truckee junior Justin Ondry, with a time of  31:58.3 followed by Alex Kopytko (38:02.8) and Bill Aaron (39:40.5).

The top two finishers in the Silver Rush were Beth Reid (Joanne’s mom) of Palo Alto with a time of 1:47.46 followed by Cathy Howard of Truckee with a time of 1:57.48. The 3rd place female was Kari Rust with a time of 2:04.09.

The men’s race was won by Adam Wright of Truckee with a time of 2:00.58 followed by Glenn Jobe with a time of 2:01:21 and Scott Fairman with a time of 2:01.30.

Results:

GOLD RUSH 46km – WOMEN

Place	Class	Name		Time	Place Overall
1	GFM1	Katerina	Vinogradova	2:45:21	10
2	GFM1	Sarah	Max	2:51:03	14
3	GFS2	Lenka	Palanova	2:56:00	22
4	GFS1	Chelsey	Holmes	3:02:29	27
5	GFM3	Julie	Young	3:07:34	31
6	GFS2	Stephanie	Howe	3:08:25	32
7	GFS2	Abbie	Harris	3:09:25	34
8	GFM4	Carol	Bennett	3:12:41	40
9	GFS1	Kara	LaPoint	3:13:41	41
10	GFM2	Dayna	Deuter	3:26:28	51
11	GFS1	Jessica	Snyder	3:27:08	52
12	GFM2	Amy	Petersen	3:32:16	56
13	GFS2	Alexandra	Jospe	3:33:07	57
14	GFM4	Laura	Stern	3:33:22	58
15	GFM4	Darlene	Young	3:50:39	65
16	GFM3	Jody	Burrill	4:07:48	70
17	GFM4	Susan	Hida	4:48:10	73

GOLD RUSH 46km – MEN

Place	Class	Name		Time	Place Overall
1	GMM1	Adam	Swank	2:28:49	1
2	GMS2	Nikolai	Anikin	2:30:36	2
3	GMS2	Ian	Case	2:34:17	3
4	GMM5	Jon	Engen	2:38:04	4
5	GMM3	Peter	Hanson	2:39:50	5
6	GMM3	Dan	Packman	2:40:33	6
7	GMS2	Zach	Violett	2:43:55	7
8	GMM1	Tav	Streit	2:44:44	8
9	GMM5	Rick	Reynolds	2:44:57	9
10	GMM3	Barry	Makarewicz	2:47:00	11
11	GMM4	Terry	Daley	2:50:35	12
12	GMJO	Dimitri	Luethi	2:50:49	13
13	GMM2	Matt	Zak	2:51:03	15
14	GMS2	Chris	Mallory	2:51:55	16
15	GMS2	Jakub	Benes	2:52:57	17
16	GMJO	Alexander	Taylor	2:54:30	18
17	GMM5	Jeff	Schloss	2:55:06	19
18	GMM4	Michael	Dietzman	2:55:07	20
19	GMM5	David	Stover	2:55:25	21
20	GMM2	Matthew	Sanford	2:57:32	23
21	GMM3	Randy	Anderson	2:58:05	24
22	GMM5	Mark	Nadell	2:59:19	25
23	GMM3	Bill	Arnoff	2:59:58	26
24	GMS1	Nick	Sterling	3:04:56	28
25	GMM6	Russell	Reid	3:05:22	29
26	GMM2	Daniel	Buchanan	3:07:07	30
27	GMM2	Jason	Walenta	3:08:34	33
28	GMM6	Peter	Rayton	3:09:35	35
29	GMM6	James	McClatchy	3:09:35	36
30	GMM3	Willie	Stewart	3:10:09	37
31	GMM5	Joe	McDaniel	3:10:09	38
32	GMM5	Terry	Tansley	3:11:27	39
33	GMM5	Mark	Clifford	3:13:50	42
34	GMM4	Peter	Mayfield	3:15:55	43
35	GMS2	Greg	Walker	3:18:49	44
36	GMM6	Richard	Knoebel	3:20:08	45
37	GMM3	Ryan	Gini	3:23:42	46
38	GMM5	Paul	Mckenzie	3:23:45	47
39	GMM5	Bruce	Pauly	3:23:52	48
40	GMM2	John	Juba	3:24:27	49
41	GMM6	Byron	Beagles	3:25:35	50
42	GMM5	Gary	Bowlin	3:27:08	53
43	GMM3	Gunnar	Lille	3:27:47	54
44	GMM4	Ed	Klotz	3:31:57	55
45	GMM5	Bruce	Eisner	3:35:22	59
46	GMM4	Kyle	Brutschy	3:40:47	60
47	GMM5	Mark	Mench	3:47:23	61
48	GMM6	George	Hall	3:47:23	62
49	GMM6	Robert	Lopez	3:50:00	63
50	GMM7	Nick	Wynn	3:50:00	64
51	GMM2	Trevor	Hallstein	3:53:13	66
52	GMM5	Patrick	Joda	3:53:44	67
53	GMM6	James	Rosen	3:54:30	68
54	GMM6	Rick	Mitchell	4:04:55	69
55	GMM6	Ralph	Hendrix	4:16:43	71
56	GMM7	Chris	Courter	4:40:56	72

SILVER RUSH 30.8km

Place	Class	Gender	Name		Time	Place In Gender
1	SFM4	F	Beth	Reid	1:47:46	1
2	SFM3	F	Cathy	Howard	1:57:48	2
3	SMJO	M	Adam	Wright	2:00:58	1
4	SMM6	M	Glenn	Jobe	2:01:21	2
5	SMM3	M	Scott	Fairman	2:01:30	3
6	SFM2	F	Kari	Rust	2:04:09	3
7	SMM2	M	Ben	Grasseschi	2:05:39	4
8	SMM3	M	David	Eastwood	2:06:56	5
9	SMM5	M	Steve	Miller	2:10:35	6
10	SFM5	F	Debbie	Hakansson	2:12:15	4
11	SMM7	M	John	Cobourn	2:18:29	7
12	SFM4	F	Cheri	Kopytko	2:19:13	5
13	SMM4	M	Michael	Svalberg	2:19:45	8
14	SFM5	F	Martha	Bellisle	2:21:56	6
15	SMM7	M	Tomas	Pastalka	2:22:06	9
16	SMM8	M	Otis	Kantz	2:23:43	10
17	SFM1	F	Jamie	Noble	2:25:03	7
18	SMM7	M	Peter	Werbel	2:28:57	11
19	SMM6	M	Thomas	Altenbach	2:29:07	12
20	SFM7	F	Dagmar	Eriksson	2:35:34	8
21	SMM4	M	Stan	Tissue	2:36:59	13
22	SMJO	M	Samuel	Joda	2:39:45	14
23	SFM6	F	Maggie	Fillmore	2:39:51	9
24	SMM1	M	Benjamin	Sturm	2:42:45	15
25	SMM5	M	Mark	Huffman	2:43:30	16
26	SMM8	M	Frank	Sarnquist	2:48:21	17
27	SFM2	F	Helen	Pelster	2:48:40	10
28	SFM2	F	Valli	Murnane	2:48:40	11
29	SMM4	M	Paul	Quinlan	2:49:40	18
30	SMM1	M	Joseph	Merydith	2:49:57	19
31	SMM7	M	Norm	Ploss	2:54:52	20
32	SMM4	M	Russ	Jones	3:03:09	21
33	SFM6	F	Sandy	Hill	3:03:59	12
34	SFM4	F	Jennifer	Willmann	3:05:11	13
35	SMM7	M	Chris	Ward	3:12:12	22
36	SMJ2	M	Joe	Piercy	3:12:23	23
37	SMM7	M	Mike	Shaw	3:15:45	24
38	SFS2	F	Jaimi	Ellison	3:21:12	14
39	SMM5	M	John	Gerbino	3:21:19	25
40	SMM5	M	Allen	Takahashi	3:22:31	26
41	SMM6	M	Chris	Polk	4:38:38	27

BRONZE RUSH 9km

Place Overall	Class	Gender	Name		Time	Place In Gender
1	BMJ2	M	Justin	Ondry	31:58.3	1
2	BFJ1	F	Joanne	Reid	32:50.5	1
3	BMJ2	M	Alex	Kopytko	38:02.8	2
4	BMM6	M	Bill	Aaron	39:40.5	3
5	BFS1	F	Janelle	Webb	40:18.0	2
6	BFM4	F	Nancy	Rosenblum	40:29.7	3
7	BFJ3	F	Katrin	Larusson	41:31.6	4
8	BMM3	M	Joel	Chew	42:23.4	4
9	BFM6	F	Karen	Seaward	43:09.9	5
10	BMM6	M	Bruce	Culbertson	44:04.3	5
11	BFJ3	F	Raylene	Chew	44:19.4	6
12	BMM9	M	Jack	Wilson	45:35.9	6
13	BFM8	F	Hedda	Anya	48:19.2	7
14	BMM8	M	Bill	Goerke	48:29.8	7
15	BMM3	M	Collin	Morton	50:26.3	8
16	BMM8	M	William	Thauvette	53:01.4	9
17	BMJ4	M	Skyler	Mullings	56:54.9	10
18	BMM9	M	Jerry	Colligan	1:01:48	11
19	BFJ4	F	Kyla	Burrill	1:03:58	8
20	BMM5	M	Todd	Burrill	1:04:02	12
21	BFJ3	F	Bria	Riggs	1:07:05	9
22	BFM7	F	Renate	Ringsven	1:20:56	10
23	BFM7	F	Gloria	Ploss	1:22:58	11
24	BFM7	F	Marlene	Mirassou	1:25:01	12
25	BFM11	F	Bev	Biggar	1:40:59	13