GRP Snow Tackles Race to the Top of Vermont

Caitlin Patterson raises her arms in victory. Photo: Granite State Race Services

Adam Martin crossing the line. Photo: Granite State Race Services

The GRP Nordic Skiers and Biathletes put down a solid team showing for the Cedar Sprigs at the Race to the Top of Vermont last weekend. Testing their mettle on Mt. Mansfield against almost three hundred other athletes, the GRP women swept the podium while the men put five in the top eight. The athletes climbed twenty-five hundred feet of elevation up the toll road in just over four miles. An intermittent rain soaked the dirt course and clouds blanketed the summit. 

In the men’s running race, Adam Martin separated from the field early on and ran away with the title, finishing in 34:12 - an eight minute per mile pace - all at an uphill grade averaging eleven percent. Adam has a history with the Race to the Top, having won the event in 2019. “I had some splits from two years ago when I did the race that I was trying to beat,” Adam said, “and I was pretty close most of the race. I ended up being just a few seconds slower at the finish line.” 

“It’s a great race,” he continued. “It’s really a grind. I really like it because it’s got a big uphill with easy footing that doesn’t limit your speed at all so it’s just a test of fitness.”

Biathletes Raleigh Goessling and Luke Brown were third and fourth with skier Akeo Mafeld-Carucci in seventh. Biathlete Carsen Campbell placed eighth. 

Caitlin Patterson put in an impressive performance, taking the women’s victory and placing tenth overall. Caitlin has earned six top fives in the Race to the Top in the last ten years. She discussed her strategy for the race, saying, “My main goal was to run efficiently and keep it under control but be willing to suffer, especially up toward the top when it gets hard and dig in a bit.” 

Caitlin also shared a story from her first Race to the Top in 2011 while she was an undergraduate at UVM: Being too young to officially rent a car, she and her brother rented a Uhaul to drive from Burlington and Stowe to get themselves to the start line. The hourly rate on the moving truck may have encouraged some speedy running but the stage was set for Caitlin’s uphill excellence. 

But focusing back on this year, Alex Lawson ran with Caitlin through mile three and finished strong to place second for women (eleventh overall). Skier Margie Freed earned a podium spot in third (fourteenth overall). Biathlete Hallie Grossman placed fourth with skier Annika Landis in sixth. 

In the biking category, biathlete Kelsey Dickinson rode to third. 

All proceeds from the race go to The Catamount Trail Association, a non-profit that works to expand access to Vermont’s backcountry.

Go Sprigs!

Written by GRP Biathlete Luke Brown