Running series to cover Killington
Posted: Jun 7th, '17, 17:20
Rutland Herald | June 07, 2017
By GORDON DRITSCHILO
STAFF WRITER
KILLINGTON — “Taking a run at Killington” will have a very different meaning this summer.
Under Armour — a Baltimore-based sportswear company — announced this week that Killington Resort would serve as one of three locations for its Mountain Running Series, which features a weekend of racing events.
The series opens July 21-23 on Mount Bachelor in Oregon. Killington’s turn comes Aug. 18-20 before the series wraps up on Copper Mountain in Colorado Sept. 8-10.
“This is part of the longterm strategy of trying to bring in more and different activities all year long,” said resort spokesman Michael Joseph. “ We’ve got so much going on all summer — there’s an event pretty much every weekend.”
Races include a 5k (3.1 miles), a 10k (6.2 miles) a half marathon (13.1 miles) a marathon (26.2 miles), a marathon relay and a 50k (31 miles).
While some materials from Under Armour advertised a “vertical k” — a race with a kilometer of elevation gain over as short a distance as local terrain will allow — the “vertical challenge” up Killington Peak comes in at just less than half a kilometer of elevation gain over 1.25 miles. That’s still plenty steep with an average grade of about 23 percent.
“ That’s going to be a doozy, for sure,” Joseph said. “ I’m thinking the 5k, for me, which is going to be a loop, might be a little easier.”
“Easier” is a relative term, however, as the 5k course will go up and down on a loop for a total of roughly 1,500 vertical feet and grades reaching as high as 42 percent.
“It’s definitely not your typical 3-miles-down-theroad 5k,” Joseph said. “It’s a kick in the teeth.”
The 10k adds roughly 1,100 vertical feet to the 5k’s total, while runners in the half marathon will run 4,789 feet in elevation up over their course — less than 500 feet shy of a mile. Marathoners will double that, running two laps around the half-marathon course.
The 50k takes runners on a loop with numerous steep slopes for a total of 10,150 feet in elevation gain.
“Basically, we’re utilizing the entire expanse of Killington Resort and Pico, too,” Joseph said. “As the most expansive four-season resort around, we’re using every inch of it.”
Lyle Jepson, executive director of the Rutland Economic Development Corp., said the event fit in perfectly with the effort to use outdoor recreation and the draw of Killington to market the region as a whole, both in drawing more tourists and encouraging tourists to relocate here permanently.
“ I t underscores the opportunities that are present in our adventurebased surroundings,” he said. “ They’re capitalizing on what Killington is creating, which is a destination location for a year-round resort.”
Jepson said he had no statistics on how big of a tourist draw such running events are, but a look at the popular Spartan Race provides an encouraging example.
“There are thousands of people that flock to that event,” he said. “Any time you can combine healthy activity with outdoor adventure, you will get people to attend. … I can’t help but think that as people meet and are introduced to our area that they’re going to love it here.”
gordon.dritschilo @rutlandherald.com
By GORDON DRITSCHILO
STAFF WRITER
KILLINGTON — “Taking a run at Killington” will have a very different meaning this summer.
Under Armour — a Baltimore-based sportswear company — announced this week that Killington Resort would serve as one of three locations for its Mountain Running Series, which features a weekend of racing events.
The series opens July 21-23 on Mount Bachelor in Oregon. Killington’s turn comes Aug. 18-20 before the series wraps up on Copper Mountain in Colorado Sept. 8-10.
“This is part of the longterm strategy of trying to bring in more and different activities all year long,” said resort spokesman Michael Joseph. “ We’ve got so much going on all summer — there’s an event pretty much every weekend.”
Races include a 5k (3.1 miles), a 10k (6.2 miles) a half marathon (13.1 miles) a marathon (26.2 miles), a marathon relay and a 50k (31 miles).
While some materials from Under Armour advertised a “vertical k” — a race with a kilometer of elevation gain over as short a distance as local terrain will allow — the “vertical challenge” up Killington Peak comes in at just less than half a kilometer of elevation gain over 1.25 miles. That’s still plenty steep with an average grade of about 23 percent.
“ That’s going to be a doozy, for sure,” Joseph said. “ I’m thinking the 5k, for me, which is going to be a loop, might be a little easier.”
“Easier” is a relative term, however, as the 5k course will go up and down on a loop for a total of roughly 1,500 vertical feet and grades reaching as high as 42 percent.
“It’s definitely not your typical 3-miles-down-theroad 5k,” Joseph said. “It’s a kick in the teeth.”
The 10k adds roughly 1,100 vertical feet to the 5k’s total, while runners in the half marathon will run 4,789 feet in elevation up over their course — less than 500 feet shy of a mile. Marathoners will double that, running two laps around the half-marathon course.
The 50k takes runners on a loop with numerous steep slopes for a total of 10,150 feet in elevation gain.
“Basically, we’re utilizing the entire expanse of Killington Resort and Pico, too,” Joseph said. “As the most expansive four-season resort around, we’re using every inch of it.”
Lyle Jepson, executive director of the Rutland Economic Development Corp., said the event fit in perfectly with the effort to use outdoor recreation and the draw of Killington to market the region as a whole, both in drawing more tourists and encouraging tourists to relocate here permanently.
“ I t underscores the opportunities that are present in our adventurebased surroundings,” he said. “ They’re capitalizing on what Killington is creating, which is a destination location for a year-round resort.”
Jepson said he had no statistics on how big of a tourist draw such running events are, but a look at the popular Spartan Race provides an encouraging example.
“There are thousands of people that flock to that event,” he said. “Any time you can combine healthy activity with outdoor adventure, you will get people to attend. … I can’t help but think that as people meet and are introduced to our area that they’re going to love it here.”
gordon.dritschilo @rutlandherald.com
