Kristal Romans of Rocky Road Adventures and Kristal Romans Photography hosted the Horses Wild Joker Run and Duathlon Sept. 28.
About 10 years ago, Romans was diagnosed with cancer. After she beat the odds, she started mountain biking with her family and developed a love for trail running and biking. After moving to Lincoln County, she states, “I felt like I hit the motherload when it comes to trails. Whether it’s mountain biking and trail running, anything really.” When the BLM was first putting in the trails, Romans tracked the progress. Then she got all the permits to hold the Horses Wild Joker Run.
The event took place in Barnes Canyon and included both a 30K and a 28K. There were four aid stations, one at the beginning and several spread throughout the course. The race started at 8 a.m. and ended at 12:25 p.m. The 30K was an advance duathlon that incorporated a trail run as well as biking. The first lap started with biking 10.1 miles, leading into a second lap run that was 8.75 miles. The 28K was an advance trail run comprised of two laps that were 8.75 miles each.
Romans stated, “It’s a business that I’m trying to start out here by just putting on some events.” She’s working hard to get people out to Barnes Canyon and believes it’s a good introduction to mountain biking both for herself and others.
Though only four people showed up to the race, Romans hopes it grows in the years to come and the community gets more involved. Since the road leading up to Barnes Canyon can be a little rough, she had a shuttle driver meet the runners between 6 and 7 a.m. at Thomas Petroleum. They could take the shuttle or follow the shuttle up to the trailhead safely.
There were no vendors this time, but she would love for the event to grow to include local vendors.
There were designated spots to collect poker chips for each lap. Participants could collect five different-colored poker chips for the hand in order to win the Poker Run challenge. The winner of the 30K was Michael Wichmann from Las Vegas. The winner of the 28K was Leon Durbin from Mesquite.
