This past Sunday, the 48th annual Buena Vista Pack Burro Race was held in the small mountain town of Buena Vista, Colorado (population 2,700). The race is a part of the annual “Gold Rush Days” summer celebration of the town’s art and history, which includes Buena Vista’s place as an epicenter for the niche sport of pack-burro racing, a designated Colorado heritage sport where donkey and trail runner teams race together with a tether on trails for distances up to thirty miles.
The Buena Vista Pack Burro race is the second-leg of the “Triple Crown,” of The Western Pack Burro Racing Association, which includes three Colorado mountain towns: Fairplay, Buena Vista and Leadville. Triple Crown races are known for attracting the best competition, largest prize purses, and is where famous names are written in the history of the sport. The 2021 Buena Vista Pack Burro Race attracted several of the most renowned burros in the sport, including “Buttercup,” the first miniature burro to win the triple crown, which she did in 2019 and 2020.
This year’s course consisted of approximately 14 miles of single-track, Jeep-road, pavement and two bridge crossings along the Arkansas River. The start/finish was located adjacent to Main Street in downtown Buena Vista.
The race start in downtown Buena Vista, CO. Photo: Tayte Pollmann.
While in Buena Vista I interviewed several pack burro racers after the event to learn more about the people who participate in this historic sport, their burro teammates and what it’s like to run in one of these unique races.
Roland Brodeur and Tincup (Colorado Springs, CO)
How long have you been training with Tincup and do you rent or own him? I am renting Tincup and have been training with him since January this year. It’s his first year racing!
What’s your advice for trail runners signing up for a burro race for the first time? Train and become familiar with your donkey. Be confident as a runner. When you feel confident, the donkey will feel that and run more confidently too.
What was your favorite part of the Buena Vista course? This course is great. It’s fast, technical and there’s so much beautiful scenery. It’s green, full of flowers and a fun course to run.
Who’s more tired after racing? I’m actually gonna say Tincup is more tired today, but at the race last week in Fairplay it was definitely me. He’s the one going right for the food today!
A section of smooth Jeep-trail on the course. Photo: Tayte Pollmann.
Joe Polonsky and Jake (Monument, CO)
How long have you been training with Jake and do you rent or own him? He’s my burro and we’ve been together for four years.
What’s your advice for trail runners signing up for a burro race for the first time? Since most people rent, I’d recommend finding a donkey you can run consistently, race after race with. If you switch between donkeys throughout a racing season you won’t be as successful. Once you develop a bond together through training and racing together you both have more fun that way too!
What was your favorite part of the Buena Vista course? The finish! I ran together with the other top five finishers and it was exciting to come in all together. We gave each other a hard time back and forth throughout the race!
Who’s more tired after racing? Me! Jake ran 30 miles last week in Fairplay and 14 today and still looks like he could do it all again.
Teams recover after the race back in Buena Vista. Photo: Tayte Pollmann.
Dawn Faas and Teddy (West Salem, WI)
How long have you been training with Teddy and do you rent or own him? I’m renting my burro and we’ve been training together for two years.
What’s your advice for trail runners signing up for a burro race for the first time? Make sure you’re training not just by yourself but also training with your burro!
What was your favorite part of the Buena Vista course? The single-track on this course is really wonderful, but you do have to make sure you don’t get stuck behind other burros because it can be a hard course to pass on!
Who’s more tired after racing? Me! My Burro could keep going no problem!
Post race feed. Photo: Tayte Pollmann.
Rick Potretti and Pedro (Ferryville, WI)
How long have you been training with Pedro and do you rent or own him? I own my Burro and he’s 13 years old now.
What’s your advice for trail runners signing up for a burro race for the first time? Get a lot of training runs in!
What was your favorite part of the Buena Vista course? The beauty! One thing for runners to be aware of on this course is that sometimes it can be hard to pass, so make sure you get a good start!
Who’s more tired after racing? Me, no doubt!
Crossing the finishline in Buena Vista. Photo: Tayte Pollmann.
April Hoskins and Darby (Manitou Springs, CO)
How long have you been training with Darby and do you rent or own him? I rent Darby, but we’ve been running together for three years.
What’s your advice for trail runners signing up for a burro race for the first time? Be patient and expect to walk! Never give up! The people and the community of the sport are amazing.
What was your favorite part of the Buena Vista course? I love the technical downhill. Even though Darby is a tall burro, he’s fast and likes the downhill. He shakes his head, grabs my pack to let me know he wants to go faster!
Who’s more tired after racing? Me! Darby could keep going for sure!
Teams catch their breath at 9000′ above sea level. Photo: Tayte Pollmann.
Heather Wilson and Robby (Chandler, AZ)
How long have you been training with Robby and do you rent or own him? I own Robby and this is our first year racing together!
What’s your advice for trail runners signing up for a burro race for the first time? The race is not over until the very end. You could be first, then last, run super fast, then walk, and you could still have a good race and place well.
What was your favorite part of the Buena Vista course? I like the single-track, it’s beautiful and fun to run!
Who’s more tired after racing? I am, Robby could easily go another 20 miles
See full results from the 2021 Buena Vista Pack Burro Race.
Are you ready to try a pack burro race? Check out even more pack burro races on our event calendar.
You can follow Tayte’s adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If you liked this article, read even more of Tayte’s articles on our website.
