Grin & Bear It set to run, and ride, this Saturday in CB

New race added

By Than Acuff

For the 42nd year, Crested Butte Nordic will host the Grin & Bear It Trail Run on Saturday, July 12. This event has gone from a local, kook event to a mainstay on the trail running circuit for both locals and visitors alike and this year features a new event, a bike race, for the annual event.

The Grin & Bear It has gone through a couple of changes over the years. What started as a race from the Nordic Center up the Green Lake Trail to Green Lake and back down has recently seen some additions with the opening of the Baxter Gulch trail. In 2020, CB Nordic worked to gain the proper permission from stakeholders and added a new course to the mix giving runners the option of doing the 15-kilometer classic up and down course or a 25-kilometer loop via Baxter’s Gulch, along the Carbon Creek trail (aka Para Me Y Para Te trail) and then down the Green Lake trail to town. 

Now, CB Nordic has added a bike race to the mix.

“We’ve heard from various community members that there’s a desire to have more bike races and we’re looking to fill that gap,” says Crested Butte Nordic events director Linsey Bachofer. “We also have training events for the Grand Traverse run and ski but we didn’t have one for the GT bike race so we thought if we could add a bike race it could provide that opportunity.”

The bike race follows the same course as the 25-kilometer running race starting at the Crested Butte Nordic Center heading up the doubletrack behind the ice rink to Journey’s End Road, out to highway 135 briefly and then up Baxter Gulch to the Carbon Creek trail, across to the Green Lake trail and down to the Crested Butte Nordic Center.

“It’s a challenging bike ride,” says Bachofer.

The bike race is limited to 50 riders and as of press time there are plenty of spots left but Bachofer expects more to come in leading up to the race, and in the years to come.

“Registration has been pretty quiet,” says Bachofer. “But the first year of the summer GT bike race was cancelled due to lack of registrations and this year it sold out once again. It just takes time I think.”

As for the two running race options, the classic up and back 15-kilometer and the 25-kilometer loop, there are only a few spots left in each of those races. 

Once again, Crested Butte Nordic will have the traditional awkward load out there with one available for both men and women in the 25-kilometer run and the bike race and available to the first person willing to grab it. Runners need to jump into Green Lake to get their awkward load with bikers grabbing theirs, with a challenge involved, where they turn down onto the Green Lake trail descent. Each person that opts to grab it and carry it to the finish line will get $100.

“The awkward load is going to be a little spicy for both the bike and the run,” says Bachofer.

No local race can be pulled off without volunteers and Bachofer says they still need some help at the Green Lake aid station. Sign up to volunteer at cbnordic.org. Registration for all races can be done online as well at cbnordic.org and if spaces remain the day of the race, you can show up and register Saturday morning at the Crested Butte Nordic Outpost building starting at 7 a.m. But be prepared to register before your race start with the 25-kilometer race starting at 8 a.m., the 15-kilometer running race starting at 9 a.m. and the mountain bike race slated to start at 11 a.m.

As for the Summer Grand Traverse Run and Bike races August 30 and 31, those are completely full with the waiting list at maximum capacity as well.