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

Ian CaseMarch 23, 20091

Challenging conditions for Gold Rush competitors

Women's Winner Katerina Vinogradova (photo by Emma Garrard)
Women's Winner Katerina Vinogradova (photo by Emma Garrard)

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.”

Adam Swank (Fischer-Craft) finishes lap 2 and heads out on his final lap. Photo by Emma Garrard.
Adam Swank (Fischer-Craft) finishes lap 2 and heads out on his final lap. Photo by Emma Garrard.

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.

photo by Emma Garrard
2nd Place Woman Sarah Max laps through the stadium. Photo by Emma Garrard

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
photo by Emma Garrard
photo by Emma Garrard
photo by Emma Garrard
photo by Emma Garrard
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One comment

  • bbrooker

    March 24, 2009 at 11:22 am

    Congrats to those that found the inner strength to finish this race! Your ability to get through the storm is a true testimate to your passion for nordic skiing. This race was like the current state of our economy, you could see the storm coming and no matter how bad it got you pushed thru! Ironically it’s named the Gold Rush………think about it!

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