Brief by Central Staff
Pack-Burro Racing – July 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine
Central Colorado’s only indigenous sport is pack-burro racing, now in its 53rd season.
The season began with a 13-mile race in Lasauces on June 9.
Where’s Lasauces?
The winning racer, Hal Walter, explained that Lasauces is in the San Luis Valley, “about eight miles east of Sanford, which is four miles sort of east of La Jara, almost right on the Rio Grande.”
If you’ve never done it before, and you’re interested in running through steep territory at high altitudes with a donkey, then you might be interested in the “Notorious 2nd Annual Amateur Burro Race.” It goes for three miles into Cripple Creek on Saturday, June 23.
On the next day, the “professionals” run an 11-mile course from Victor to Cripple Creek. For more information on either Cripple Creek race, contact Faye McNab at 719-689-3514.
The racers will venture into the Interstate 70 Sacrifice Zone on July 14 for a six-mile race that starts and ends in downtown Frisco in Summit County. It’s sponsored by the Rotary Club there, and Sue Brown at 970-262-9229 has more information.
Then comes the first — and oldest — of the big three races. It’s the 29-mile World Championship course from Fairplay to the 13,188-foot summit of Mosquito Pass and back on Saturday, July 29. There’s also a 15-mile short course. The contact is Annie Monson at 719-836-1535.
A week later, on Sunday, August 5, the humans and burros will tackle the other side of Mosquito Pass, racing from downtown Leadville to the summit and back. The men run a 22-mile course, and there’s a 15-mile women’s route that loops around bald mountain. For more information, contact John Ozello at 970-468-8417.
Fairplay and Leadville are the first two legs of the Triple Crown; the final is on Saturday, August 11, in Buena Vista. It’s a 17-mile course that starts and ends in town during Gold Rush Days; Barb Dolan at 719-395-0882 has more information.
And now there’s a web site for the sport — www.packburroracing.com — where race results should be available through the season.