Article originally posted on Pikes Peak Sports. Used with permission.
The goal in Pack Burro Racing is to win the Triple Crown, races in Fairplay, Buena Vista and Leadville. George Zack and his racing companion, Jack, had come close in 2012 and 2014, winning two out of the three races. But this year, Jack sprang to life at key moments and they dashed to victory in all three events. George is a 46-year-old MUT runner from Broomfield, longtime Pikes Peak runner and friend of many in the Colorado Springs area. Jack, 18, or thereabouts, spends most of his days nibbling grass on the Laughing Valley Ranch near Idaho Springs.
We asked George about burro racing and his experience racing with Jack this summer. He responded with some great answers.
What attracted you to the Burro Racing scene? I first heard of Pack Burro Racing in the 1990s. I went to a Boulder Road Runner seminar where road racing star Jon Sinclair was going to speak. We all thought he’d discuss his training, racing, and principles of physiology. He instead gave an entertaining talk on burro racing. He had won the World Championships in Fairplay in 1977. I think half of the crowd was disappointed in his presentation but the other half was entertained. I was entertained and the seed was planted.
My wife’s parents moved to Fairplay in the mid 2000s. As the town was at altitude with big hills around it, I would look to get in good training for Pikes Peak whenever we visited. One of my favorite runs was on the Mosquito Pass Road – which the Fairplay Pack Burro Race runs on. One day I actually ran into the race without even knowing it was going on. It was intriguing to see these folks running at 6-something pace with a burro at 10,000 feet.
Of course with my in laws in Fairplay, they knew all about it and were encouraging me to do the race as they thought it would be a hoot.
Finally in 2010, Justin Mock, a local road runner in the Front Range area said he was doing it and that really lit the fire for me to get going. We had heard of Bill Lee and we made contact with him at Laughing Valley Ranch. He has several burros up there and so we made the trek to meet burros and Bill. That is what got us going in the sport. My first burro race was in Fairplay in 2010 with Jack and we placed fourth that year.
For some, they do it once and they never want to do it again, but I have always found it to be a unique challenge in that it requires some running skills but is different in that you are running with an animal – and one that you need to have a connection with to be successful. And my family always smiles and laughs at this race more than any other. All of it and the community keeps me coming back.
You’ve tried for some time to win the Triple Crown, what went right for you this year? Jack and I had been a possibility for the Triple Crown two times before this year. The Triple Crown is three races over three consecutive weeks in the towns of Fairplay, Leadville and Buena Vista. To win the Triple Crown a runner and his burro (the same burro and runner) have to win all three of the races. In 2012 and 2014, Jack and I had won Fairplay and Leadville but came up short in the Buena Vista race. The Buena Vista race is different than Leadville and Fairplay. Those races are long climbs starting at 10,000 feet up to Mosquito Pass (13K plus) and then long descents back into town. Fairplay is 29 miles and Leadville is 22. Buena Vista is low, with its highest point being around 9,000 feet at the most and it only runs about 12 miles. In 2012 and 2014 Jack and I came up short (third and sixth). We just could not use the same tactics in the shorter faster race of Buena Vista.
Two things were different this year: Buena Vista was the second of the three races instead of the last (Boom Days in Leadville was on a different schedule) and we were able to win that race. In Buena Vista, Jack and I held on with a pack of six teams. With about four miles to go, Justin Mock and his burro Yukon Jack, and my Jack and I got away from the larger pack. I was able to get a little bit of daylight between them and us on the Whipple Trail. It was enough of a gap for us to hold on for the win when we came into town.
Tell us about Jack, how did you come to race with him and how long have you been running together? Jack is the only burro I have ever raced. I have trained with him since Bill connected us in 2010. I have trained with other burros, but I have only raced with Jack. After we lost a couple of races in 2013, I was considered running with another burro, but when I went up to train with others at Bill’s place, Jack would just come over and hang out next to me. We clearly have a connection. He may not be the fastest burro on the course and I am not the fastest runner, but we have been able to connect pretty well to get solid results.
Something about you and Jack seems to click on these long runs, can you tell us what it is … are you the burro whisperer? I am no burro whisperer. There is an on-going joke that it is all about a relationship that the runner has with his ass. While it is a joke, there is some truth in it. The more you know what your burro will tolerate, what motivates them, what bugs them, what they like to avoid, and how to keep them moving, the better off you will perform as a team on race day. It is not a guarantee but it helps.
We think Jack is 18 years old. He is not a young burro anymore and like all of us aging, we have both lost a step in our speed. But he can still hang with the lead group on the climbs, and then gets moving well on the downs on the roads and single track.
We’ve seen a lot of runners in these events trying to motivate their burros to move. Has there been a time when Jack motivated you to pick up the pace? Jack surprised me a couple times this year. At Buena Vista, just before we came onto the Whipple Trail, he started clipping off at 6-minute pace and breaking away from Justin and Yukon. Justin and I have shared a lot of miles together and we were both pretty surprised that he did that. It seemed that he was going to be content to run in the herd for a bit but then he just made the break that set us up to win the race.
You ran in the Leadville Trail 100 and Jack made a surprise visit at the halfway point in Winfield. Tell us about that. That was pretty surprising and huge emotional boost for me. I came off the Sheep Gulch Trail and was feeling the effort that you feel after running 50 miles. And there Tim Johnson and Angela Romero had arranged with Bill to get Jack out there with a big sign saying “get your ass up the pass.” It was great. Jack seemed to be enjoying the attention from the crowd and the grass that was there for the eating. Nonetheless, when he saw me he was ready to do the work. I took the rope on the way back for a few strides and Jack decided to break into 7-minute pace – well, because that is what we do when we get together. Of course, I could not handle that and I had to let it go.
It was a really nice touch to the summer. It really reflected how this burro racing community is a family and the friends we have in it. Bill Lee met me just before the finish. It was pretty emotional for me to see all these people at Leadville, my family, my crew, the burro racing community cheering for me and supporting me. Seeing Jack there was just an incredible touch to an amazing summer.
Back to the Triple Crown. After winning in Fairplay and Buena Vista, Leadville must have been a little intense. Can you tell us how that race went down? I knew going into Leadville there were a handful of teams that were really able to win that race. I figured it would come down to Justin and Yukon (he was second in all the races) and Hal Walter and Full Tilt Boogie. Hal has won Fairplay like seven times, and Leadville probably another handful. He really knows how to run these courses, how to keep burros moving and he always comes to the line with his eye on a the win.
I knew that Jack and I would not get away from these teams on the climb up to Mosquito so I just wanted to keep contact with them. I figured if we lost contact, the race would be over at that point. I also knew that we’d probably not have a shot to get away until we got over to the last four miles, or the drop through California Gulch.
Sure enough, Hal and Boogie commanded the race and were first to the Pass. We kept in contact but it seemed that Jack and I, and Justin and Yukon were barely hanging onto Hal and Boogie most of the race. At one point, on one of the last climbs before California Gulch, Hal and Boogie had built a gap of about 200 yards. Jack and I were just standing going nowhere and I was convinced that we had probably lost the race right there.
But again, Jack surprised me and he started a steady trot and over the next five minutes we bridge the gap. All three teams were together at the top of the Gulch and we just knew it was going to be a question of who could keep moving best over the last four miles.
And Jack did what he has done there ever year I have run with him – he just started running well and steady with no breaks or mistakes. We got a 10-yard lead, then a bit more and then we got out of sight. It was amazing. It was exactly what I thought it would take for us to get the win, but it was pretty stressful in the race because we were trying to break each other for the first three hours of that event.
Of course, finishing with the win on our third try at the Triple Crown was awesome. I felt it showed what a great burro Jack was and how great his ranch, Laughing Valley Ranch was. LVR burros took first and second in each of the Triple Crown races.
Looking back on the Triple Crown, what moment will always stand out for you? Tough question because each race really gave me its own surprise. In the first race in Fairplay I didn’t think we’d get away from the faster runner in Justin and the younger burro in Yukon. But when we got off the Mosquito Pass road and onto the single track trails, Jack started running the path like he knew it like his back yard. And then to win the Buena Vista race after we had come up short there in the prior years was a huge surprise. I had in fact signed up to do the Pikes Peak Marathon and the LT100 because I was pretty certain I would not need to do all three Triple Crown races (because I’d lose one). But Jack showed me otherwise. The moment is really that realization over and over that Jack was a lot better than I gave him credit for. He is amazing.