On Saturday, September 9, 2023, at 8 a.m. runners, some costumed, some with excitable dogs by their side, gathered in front of TEENS, Inc. at 151 East Street in Nederland for the annual Ned*Ned. The Ned*Ned Trail Fest was created 41 years ago by local author and community leader Kay Turnbaugh, along with Pat Willis, as a fundraising event for TEENS, Inc.

The event is part of the Colorado Mountain Half Marathon Series and was the winner of Best of the Rockies by Elevation Outdoors Magazine in 2016 and 2017. This year’s 41st Ned*Ned was sponsored by Eldora and organized by Peak to Peak Endurance and offered a half marathon course, a 10k, and a 5k course, as well as a mountain biking race for the first time in the history of the event.

For the nearly 400 participants, as well as all the attendees, there were vendor tents from Deuter, Ibex, Laird, La Sportiva, and local apparel brand 303 Running. Eldora and Peak to Peak Endurance also supplied a medical tent and several beverage stations for runners and mountain bikers to rehydrate.

Emcee Lonnie Somers provided excellent coverage, signaling the start of every race and excitedly announcing each racer as they crossed the finish line. Later in the afternoon beer was served and Denver-based string band Chain Station took the Eldora stage and energized the crowd with their original bluegrass style.

The half marathon course launched first at 8 a.m. and took runners into Old Town and then up Sugar Mag Trail, into West Magnolia trails and crossing Highway 119 onto East Magnolia Road, then downhill back towards TEENS, Inc.

Out of the 168 runners who tackled this first course, John Novack won the half marathon with a time of 1:46:31, with Steve Lecey finishing second with a time of 1:55:48, and Dustin Quandt only 9 seconds behind Lecey.

The Magnolia Backcountry Mountain Biking Race launched at 8:30 a.m. and was a 25 mile course with an elevation gain of 2,839 feet. Of the 31 participants Andrew Huck took first place with his time of 2:21:42, with Chad Kittles in second with 2:28:45, and Erin Huck just over 30 seconds behind Kittles at 2:29:16.

The 10k course launched at 9 a.m. and took runners through Old Town and up Sugar Mag. Of the 95 runners Andy Ames took first place with a time of 00:47:59, under a minute over his first place time in last year’s 10k, with Bradley Allf at 00:49:27 followed by Timothy Schuermer at 51:46.

The 5k launched at 9:30 a.m., went to the Nederland Middle Senior High School and back to TEENS, Inc., and was also a family friendly course that allowed babies in strollers and leashed dogs, with runners encouraged to race in costume. Members of Nederland’s track team, Ned XC, also raced in this year’s 5k.

Of the 89 runners Jackson Barcheck took first place with a time of 00:19:42, with Lukey Mahorski at 00:24:30 with Ben Weber exactly one second behind at 00:24:31.

This years Ned*Ned asked for registered individual runners and registered teams to reach certain fundraising goals. The 41st Ned*Ned Trail Fest raised thousands of dollars this year, with the proceeds going to fund TEENS, Inc.

TEENS, Inc. has served the youth of Nederland and the Peak to Peak region by providing them with programming aimed to educate and empower; such programming as Youth Employment prepares teens with the job related skills and interview practice needed as they venture into the workforce.

For more information on TEENS Inc. go to: https://teensinc.org.