Saturday, May 4 – The inaugural Tiger Claw 22-Miler, a creative 8,000+ft., choose-yer-own-adventure erupted on Tiger Mountain in Issaquah, WA this past weekend. We had the fortune of having 3 athletes compete in the sold out event: Maria Dalzot, Nikki Buurma and Maxx Antush.
Tiger Mountain, the biggest of the Issy Alps, has long been the training ground to some of trail running’s greatest runners. Technical trails, relentless climbs and quad-blowing descents make for perfect training and trail fun. Never has a race like this existed in the Issy Alps – until now…explore some of the toughest grinds under the lush canopy of fir and moss. Tiger Claw is a unique challenge consisting of three of the most difficult ascents of Tiger Mountain’s West peaks. The best part, you choose the order in which you ascend! To EARN an official Tiger Claw finisher, you must complete all three loops within the 9 hour time cutoff. Do you have what it takes to tame the Tiger?
The 3 loops consisted of a pink loop, a white loop and a yellow loop.
The Pink – Considered the “mid” level loop, it features a 3 mile trek to the top along Tiger Mountain Trail (TMT) with 2500ft in gainz.
The White – Follows the brutal Section Line trail; is considered “hard,” and is just under 3 miles to the summit of West Tiger #2, with another 2500ft in gainz.
The Yellow – This gnarly trail line follows the popular Poo Poo Point Trail, and is the longest, taking you over 5.5 miles to reach West Tiger #2 with over 3k in vert.
Check out their beautiful website for more information on the race and its courses HERE!
Maria kicked ASS with a 2nd place F, in 4:02:18 (14th OA), behind 1st Place’s Claire Devoe of Seattle. She has a lovely race report on her website HERE! Nikki was 8th F in 5:03:56 and has a great race recap that you have to read HERE! Maxx was 8th OA in 3:54:00. Full Results!
Saturday, May 4 – Saturday morning was also host to the 39th Annual Sunflower Trail Marathon & Half, where Katelyn Steen dominated in the 1/2 with a 1st Place finish in 1:30:07 (2nd OA)! The Sunflower Trail Marathon & Half begins at 2180ft at the Sun Mountain Chickadee Trailhead, and ends at Twisp. Full Results!
Saturday, May 4 – Concluding our weekend of race roundups, Bellingham’s beloved Haggen to Haggen 5k set off, and with it a few of our teammates earned PR’s at the distance. Organized & presented by Haggen NW Fresh and GBRC, H2H begins at Sehome Haggen and winds through several neighborhoods including downtown Bellingham before it ends at the Meridian Haggen. Derek Thornton was the first of BDP to cross the line, narrowly missing a PR, finishing 4th in 16:10. Right behind him was new teammate, Roberto Aguilera Jr. in 5th in 16:26. David Larpenteur helped pace Courtney to a PR; she finished 1st in 16:40, with him right there beside. Next through was Alma McMurtry in 2nd Place with a new PR of 17:58. 3rd Place went to teammate Brittany Grant, who is visiting from Colorado where she’s since moved to; Brittany finished 3rd in 18:20. Teammate Amber Morrison and friend Kristen Schafer helped pace Kathryn Merrill to a PR; Kathryn finished 6th in 19:00.03. Rounding off the Top 10 was Shelby Traeger in 9th in 20:15! Full Results! Many thanks to the incredible GBRC, Haggen, and Fairhaven Runners who continue to host really fun, fast local races, and for supplying the top racers with awesome swag!
