Sweater Sweater Recap!
The first race in the Front Range Freeze Series put on by Green Events stayed true to its name. Temperatures were chilly, but that didn’t stop over 500 runners from participating in the Sweater Sweater Race on Saturday December 12th and filling the air with warm holiday cheer.
The run consisted of a 4- mile loop on country roads just north of Fort Collins with beautiful scenery of the snow dusted foothills to the west. Although the morning was cold, runners who stopped at the aid station at mile 2 could warm up with a cup of hot chocolate as they prepared to brave the remaining 2 miles.
The race grew considerably from last year’s race with 520 finishers compared to 393 finishers in 2015. Thanks to clear roads and a flat course, the Sweaty Sweater Run saw fast times with the overall male winning time going to Shawn Lidbom (21:33) followed by Rory Shulte (22:13) and Erik Peterson (22:56). The overall female winner was Dani Cook (24:22) with Ellie Butler (25:52) and Katie Kissane (26:14) finishing shortly after. Awards were given to the top three overall male and female finishers as well as the top three male and female finishers in each age group. Award winners enjoyed an ugly sweater Christmas ornament, gift cards, and holiday candy.
Runners had the option to register as a part of a team which brought in a total of 17 teams. The first place team was the CSU Triathlon Team, 2nd place went to the Tuesday Night Track Club, and the 3rd place team finisher was Runners Roost. Teams that registered 12 or more runners received Santa hats to honor the festive theme.
Once runners had finished, they were cheerfully welcomed into the Anheuser Busch Biergarten stocked with beer (of course) coffee, hot chocolate, donuts, fruit, popcorn, and cookies to refuel and thaw out as they awaited the start of the Ugly Sweater Contest.
The Ugly Sweater Contest adds a fun, festive element to the race and offers cash prizes to the top three winners. This year’s contest saw everything from hand sewed and decorated sweaters to costumes and themes, but of course they were all ugly.
The volunteers and sponsors who support these events can never be thanked enough. The Sweaty Sweater had bright, cheery volunteers out in full force from Poudre and Rocky Mountain high school cross country teams, the CSU Triathlon team, Harvest Farm, and local individuals.
Raintree Athletic Club, Sierra Trading Post, Runners Roost, and Marvin Windows and Doors sponsor the Front Range Freeze Series. The Sweaty Sweater holiday post-race party was sponsored through in-kind donations from the Biergarten, King Soopers, Sprouts, Mary’s Mountain Cookies, and Lamar’s Donuts.
The Front Range Freeze features 3 winter running events and the Sweaty Sweater Race was only the first one! January will feature the Polar Bear Run And Plunge 5K on the 21st at Horsetooth Reservoir and in February the Anheuser-Busch Biergarten will host the Catch Me If You Can 4-mile and 10K. Visit the Front Range Freeze website to learn more and register for the other two events.
