Annual race from ski hill to the Red Dog culiminates season
<p>Karen Alexander, a ski patroller at Turner Mountain, carves deeply into the fresh powder that coated the mountain just in time for the annual Top to Dog race Saturday, March 23. </p>
<p>Ben Bernal, right, enjoys a beer in the Red Dog parking lot after completing the Top to Dog race. He did all four phases of the race by himself and still had the best time of all teams that competed.</p>
<p>Perry Stebbins, who runs Perry’s Powder Palace rental shop at Turner Mountain, completes the downhill portion of the Top to Dog race as onlookers cheer him on. </p>
Seven teams competed at the 2013 Top to Dog relay race on Saturday.
Ben Bernall, who handled all four phases of the relay by himself, won top honors. He finished in just more than an hour and a half, beating the second-place team by more than 15 minutes.
Jared Lampton, Heather Scott and Tom Ostrowski also completed the race individually.
The race starts at the midway point at Turner Mountain and ends at the Red Dog Saloon on Pipe Creek Road. The first phase is a hike to the peak of Turner, followed by a downhill to the parking lot. From there, participants run 3.2 miles to the east fork of Pipe Creek Road before a final 12-mile stretch on mountain bikes that ends at the Red Dog Saloon.
Top to Dog Race Results
1st Place Team:
O’Be 1
Ben Bernall
Time: 1:26:31
2nd Place Team:
WWJD
Climber: Wendy Janssen
Skier: Jesse Stephens
Runner: MaryBeth Balentine
Biker: Teagan Blaz
Time: 1:37:35
3rd Place Team:
New Kids on the Block
Climber: Chris Brus
Skier: Brian Farbridge
Runner: Cody Pate
Biker: Cody Pate
Time: 1:38:44
4th Place Team:
1-a-b
Jared Lampton
Time: 1:54:00
5th Place Team:
Karens Dream Team
Climber: Damon Repine
Skier: Greg Hoffman
Runner: Callie Reichen
Biker: Jamie Graham
Time: 1:56:07
6th Place Team:
Perry’s Powder Palace
Climber: Scott Markel
Skier: Perry Stebbins
Runner: Tessa Schilter
Biker: Rachel Reckin
Time: 1:57:07
Individuals:
Heather Scott: 2:01:17
Tom Ostrowski: 2:13:31