For the second year in a row, local athletes and athletes traveling into Durango will compete in the 100-mile Valkyrie Multisport Relay on Saturday.
The relay consists of seven disciplines. Athletes will compete in trail running, mountain biking, stand-up paddle boarding, open-water swimming, road cycling, canoe/kayak paddling and road running.
“Things are going pretty well,” Valkyrie Multisport Relay co-founder and co-race director Dan Merkley said. “Last year was a fantastic success. Couldn't be happier about how things went. Great feedback from athletes and their families who participated in the race. We had and we do have great support from the city of Durango’s Parks and Recreation Department. They've really made our path straight for us to succeed here.”
Merkley said Durango is the perfect place for a race like this with its cityscape and a naturescape. There are so many viewing spots in the race which makes it special.
The idea for the Valkyrie Multisport Relay came from Merkley’s background in planning and operating major services for Olympic Games and co-founder Shawn Snow’s background in endurance sport trade shows and cycling racing.
When Merkley was living in Vancouver and working for the Winter Olympic Games, he got involved in a seven-sport relay and loved it. He knew with his background and Snow’s background, they could pull something off like it in Merkley’s home state of Utah. They started it around the Wasatch Range in Utah and then decided to move it to Durango because of the support of the city of Durango and its businesses. Merkley’s sister and co-race director Erin Hughes has lived in Durango for 20 years which also factored into the decision to move it to Durango.
Businesses supporting the Valkyrie Multisport Relay are Innovation Medical Group, CommonSpirit, Tailwind Nutrition, Ska Brewing, Coca-Cola of Durango, Visit Durango, 2nd Ave Sports and many more.
“As we grow, we'll probably find the greater need for a presenting sponsor who can be a great community anchor with the race,” Merkley said. “The race has to have a native feel or it just doesn't work. It's so integrated with beloved spaces and trails so it needs to have the support of the local community. We don't drive up with a semi-truck like Tough Mudder or Spartan or even Ragnar like an invasion force, drop everything and then leave. It's a year-round promotional exercise and it's supposed to be a hometown fixture.”
On Saturday at 6 a.m., the race will begin at Santa Rita Park with the trail run. Athletes will run 9.3 miles on trails like Horse Gulch Trail and Rocky Road. Then the mountain bike leg will begin and will go through the new Mesa Flow trail system. It’s a fun and fast 14.9 miles.
Then athletes will get on their stand-up paddle boards at Lake Nighthorse for 3.1 miles. Swimmers are up next with a 1.2-mile out-and-back course on Lake Nighthorse.
After the action on Lake Nighthorse, the road cyclists will take on the 41.9-mile route from Lake Nighthorse to Wildcat Canyon and then to the Animas River Valley. The road cycling route ends at Oxbow Park where the canoe/kayak paddlers make their way down the Animas River.
Finally, the 16.1-mile road running leg begins at Santa Rita Whitewater Park and heads south to the Dallabetta Bridge before runners turn around and head north to finish at Santa Rita Park.
Merkley said there will be a few individuals doing all seven legs but the relay will be mostly teams of 7-9 people with each person doing a stage. A trophy will be given out to the top team from a local business. There will be teams made up of families, classmates, armed forces and first responders.
There will be music and fun activities for families at Santa Rita Park for families and supporters who want to enjoy the action.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
