There are actually two Fairplay races - a 15-miler and a 29-miler. Both head up Mosquito Pass, a 13,185' mountain pass from Fairplay to Leadville. The 29-miler goes to the top and comes back to Fairplay (> 3,000' of climbing)
Sunday we went into Fairplay to wander around pre-race and see the burros. The burros need to carry 33lbs, including a pick, shovel and gold pan - official rules here
Curtis Imrie - 3-time champion (in the fun hat)
Hustling to the start
Front Street was again packed
This is a great video - the start of the race
We came up with a not well thought-out plan - drive up Mosquito Pass as far as we could and I would run to the top and then back down while Maureen would watch the race from an aid station near Highway 9. Doing the math we realized she would be driving through all the racers - bad idea. We turned around after 3 miles but a few racers were already on the way up. We pulled over and got a few great pics
George Zack would go on to win the race
We got off Mosquito Pass Road and parked at Aid Station 1 - I'd guess this was 4.5 miles into the race
Heading up Mosquito Pass Road
This is more a very fun event with great people than a race
