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Frosty temps, slower times mark 2004 Paco’s Fun Race

Mark Nadell, Special to the Sun

What a difference a year makes. Last year’s Paco’s Fun Race at Auburn Ski Club featured a wicked-fast course, icy downhills and record times.

This year marked a complete reversal, with extra-cold temperatures, slow powder and beautiful sunshine.

The 117 racers braved sub-zero overnight temperatures and anxiously awaited the sun to warm the snow to create a bit of glide for the 10K freestyle (skate) race Sunday.



Though the temperatures warmed a bit, slow times were the order of the day, with Andrew Circosta, a senior division skier from Australia, winning with a time of 29:21, almost eight minutes slower than the winner of the same race in 2003.

Tony Bozzio of Tahoe City, a member of the nordic race team at the University of Utah, took second for the men’s division (30:14), with master division skier Terry Daley of Portola capturing the bronze (30:46).



In the women’s division, Emily Robins (Tahoe City, Montana State University) easily took top honors with a time of 32:03, outdistancing Debbie Hakansson of Truckee (34:59) and Judy Rabinowitz of Marin (35:08).

Even though it wasn’t an official stop on the “junior tour,” a number of younger skiers took advantage of the 5K and 3K race options for the day.

Matt Gelso continued his blisteringly fast ways, with a win in the boys’ 5K race and a time of 14:19. Alex Taylor of Truckee (16:11) outdistanced rival Nick Bozzio of Tahoe City by one mere second, while Maisha Goodpaster of Truckee cruised to a girls’ win in 17:41 over Sara Violett (Brownsville) and Kati Clark (Truckee).

In the shorter 3K race, it was an all-Truckee affair, won by Daniel Gelso (12:28) for the boys, while Sophie Aaron and Annika Taylor finished together with a time of 16:51.

Paco’s Fun Race was the fourth event on the Sierra Ski Chase calendar, a series of 13 races throughout the year, sponsored by Far West Nordic Ski Association and sponsoring businesses.

The first night race of the season is at Tahoe Donner tonight, and Sunday’s Alpenglow Freestyle 20K is at Tahoe Cross Country.

Mark Nadell is the Far West Nordic Administrator.


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