2023 Mud n' Ice Results
Kait Miller, Hallie Grossman and Pete Johnson duking it out on the Wylie Hill downhill to T2.
After a good snowy March, the Mud-N-Ice Quadrathalon (ski-run-paddle-bike) was a far more certain thing this year compared to some recent years. This past Saturday featured more ice than mud with overnight lows around 20°F and temperatures in the mid-30s for much of the race.
Thirty-three iron-people, 9 two-person teams, and 19 three-five person teams took off on a blistering fast ski course. Craftsbury Ski Club ski coach, Audrey Magnan, noted that to ski four laps around Lemon’s Haunt in 18 minutes for the average skier is nearly unheard of.
Runners took to the roads on the second leg. Cormac Leahy popped a 5 minute first mile leading the high school team of Greta Kilburn and Linden Stelma-Leonard. They were leading the 3-5 person category after the paddle, but unfortunately Greta took a wrong turn on the bike leg.
The paddle caused many cold hands, but the high waters did not cause any major mishaps. Rick Constanza paddled his sleek craft to the lead after a solid ski leg by Ollie Burruss and run by Emma Podolin. Rick tagged off the lead to Eloise Girard for the cycling leg, but solo racer Eli Enman was not far behind. Eli caught Eloise about the 6 mile point, and hung on for the victory. The team of Jake Barton, Lucy Donaghy, Emily Dreissigacker & Alex Howe , and Averill McDowell took second in the large team grouping followed in third by Eli Smith, Jasper Henderson, Nate Fogg, and John Lackey. In the two-person teams, Marika Massey-Bierman and Gaelen Kilburn (Burlington) took the top spot followed by Hallie Grossman and Ethan Dreissigacker and in third, Robert Watt and Nolan Rogers. The bike was the longest leg both in time and distance but bikers were treated to pretty fast and dry conditions compared to some warmer and muddier years.
The Mud n' Ice is a celebration of the end of winter and beginning of spring with broad appeal. 130 participants joined in, ranging in age from 14 to 80, with a similarly large spread in intensities to the race as well. Eli’s winning time was around 2 hours, but some teams and individuals enjoyed the scenery a little more taking well over 4 hours to complete the journey. Thanks everyone who joined the fun!