97 Nordic skiers compete in Pacoand#8217;s Valentine Race

Sunny skies greeted nearly 100 Nordic racers who participated in the first-year Paco’s 15K Valentine Race at Tahoe Donner Cross Country this past Sunday.

In typical fashion, former Olympian Beth Reid of Palo Alto raced to a first-place finish among women, and eighth overall, with a time of 39 minutes and 29 seconds. She was trailed by Kari Rust, who posted a time of 40:03, and Beth Thomas, who came in at 42:05.

Tav Streit won the overall with a time of 36:42 while Michael Collins finished runner-up in 37:04 and Rick Reynolds rounded out the top three in 37:17.

Jakub Benes (37:47) was fourth, followed by Peter Hanson and Joe Dengler. Kara LaPoint finished fourth among women and was trailed by Susan Reynolds and Julie Young.

Colin Deurlington took the win in the 7.5K race, finishing with a time of 21:41, while Bri Parker was the top female racer with a time of 28:44.

A total of 97 people took part in the race, which was formerly known as Paco’s Presidents Cup.