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Paco’s Fun Race goes off at Auburn Ski Club

Mark Nadell
Special to the Sun

Although there have been a couple of early races on the nordic schedule this winter, Sunday’s 10-kilometer competition at Auburn Ski Club marked the first local entry to the schedule. Re-scheduled from Dec. 18 because of the lack of snow, Paco’s Fun Race was treated to some of the best skiing of the year, with cold, fast snow and wonderful conditions.

Competitors 115 strong vied in three separate races for top honors in this popular event, and the competition was as close as it comes. Starting off early in the Interval Start format was junior Far West Nordic racer Carl Reid from Palo Alto, who posted the early time to beat, and then got to watch as every other competitor fell short. Reid’s time of 23 minutes and 6 seconds edged out Truckee Master division racer Rick Reynolds by a mere 3 seconds. It was a good day for skiers from the South Bay, as Steve Axt, of Menlo Park, posted the third fastest time of the day at 23:48.

In the women’s division, Beth Reid, of Palo Alto, showed once again that she is the one to beat in the local races, easily out-distancing arch rival Judy Rabinowitz (26:23), of Larkspur, by more than 35 seconds. Laura Stern, also of Menlo Park, showed that Bay Area skiers were the ones to beat this day by taking third for the women with a time of 26:23.



The two junior races were hotly contested, as well, with three Truckee boys at the top of the results sheet. Daniel Gelso dominated the boys 5-kilometer race with a time of 11:46 over Jordan Nadell and Russell Kennedy. Joanne Reid (13:41) made it a clean sweep for the Reid family by winning the girls race over Sara Violett (Brownsvillle, 13:58) and Kelsey Dion (Truckee, 14:33). Truckee’s Justin Ondry (10:30) and Mariah Cushman (12:22) won the younger junior division’s 3-kilometer race.

Next up on the Far West Nordic schedule is the annual Sierra Skogsloppet Race, a 15-kilometer event that is a major fundraiser for the Truckee High School and Middle School Nordic Teams. The race takes place Monday at Tahoe Donner Cross Country. For more information and complete results on the Far West race schedule, go to http://www.farwestnordic.org.


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