The ‘Rad Off-Road Race, CO’s Hardest New Sport Climb, and 6 More Stories to Start Your Week

The ‘Rad Dirt Fest kicked off its inaugural offroad ride and run over the weekend. Over 1,300 cyclists and 600 runners flocked to the fest’s kitschy and historic host city of Trinidad, Colo.

Produced by Life Time and presented by Wahoo, The ‘Rad Dirt Fest is an eclectic, desert-meets-snow peaks festival comprising three gravel cycling races — the Stubborn Delores (165 miles, 11,213′ elevation gain), the Antelope (99 miles, 6,465′ elevation gain), and the Frijole (38.5 miles, 2,916′ elevation gain) — and two trail running races — the Lost Mesa 50K (31.1 miles, 2,713′ elevation gain) and the Half Radathon (13.1 miles, 1,040′ elevation gain).

GearJunkie sampled The ‘Rad cycling course back in April, and reported that “almost every grueling climb is rewarded with a mesmerizing view of sharp, snowcapped peaks and long, windy descents.” Notably, winners from each category took home an acoustic guitar, handpainted by mountain biker and native Coloradan Marley Seifert.

Sport climbers should feel pretty stoked after last week. The last days of Sendtember saw not one but two mega ascents by two famous American climbers. First, the controversial figure known as Joe Kinder quietly established the hardest sport climb in Rifle Mountain, Colo., with his first ascent of “Kinder Cakes” (5.15a).

Then, Sean “Steezy” Bailey bagged the third ascent of one of the world’s two hardest routes, “Bibliographie” (5.15c/d) in Ceuse, France, on Friday. The letter grade is up for some debate when it comes to Bibliographie, reports Sam Anderson for ExplorersWeb.

Established in 2020 by Alexander Megos, the route was originally graded 5.15d. Italian climber Stefano Ghisolfi nabbed the second ascent of it this summer and suggested a logarithmically softer grade of 5.15c. Crag urchins eagerly await Steezy’s opinion on the grade; he has yet to weigh in.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sean Bailey (@steezybailey)

On Sunday, Bahrainian road runner Kalkidan Gezahegne set a new speed record for the women’s 10K. The athlete bagged her win at the Giants Geneva race with just 29 minutes and 38 seconds on the clock. Gezahegne’s new time dethrones the previous women’s 10K race time, set by Joyciline Jepkosgei in 2017, by a decisive 5 seconds.

Bahrain’s Gezahegne won the Giants Geneva 10K in 29 minutes 38 seconds on Sunday to take 5 seconds off the women’s world record for a 10K road race when men are also competing. https://t.co/JlnpvtH0pk

— Reuters Sports (@ReutersSports) October 3, 2021

The Transvulcania Ultramarathon has been canceled for 2021 — but not because of the pandemic. According to iRunFar, on Sept. 28, “race organizers have released an official statement canceling the 2021 Transvulcania Ultramarathon due to the recent volcanic activity on the island of La Palma, where the globally competitive race takes place … [The] eruption began on September 19 and … could last anywhere from 24 to 84 days.”

Race legend Steve Prefontaine’s winning race bib from the 1970 NCAA cross-country championship sold for $27,000. Prefontaine set a litany of American running records before his untimely death at the age of 24. He is credited by many for spurring the ’70s running boom and holds the 3- and 6-mile speed records to this day.

From now through Oct. 31, Revel is raffling off a custom mountain bike to raise money for the LoveYourBrain Foundation. According to Bikerumor, Revel tricked out “the one-of-a-kind mountain bike … with a custom white paint scheme topped off with special ‘LoveYourBrain Purple’ accents. All funds raised go directly to LoveYourBrain to help them further their mission of improving the quality of life of people affected by traumatic brain injury.”

Pledge and enter to win the bespoke spokes at LoveYourBrain.com.

The weeks-long search continues for beloved Navy SEAL vet and retired National Park ranger Kim Crumbo. Crumbo and his half-brother went missing during a backcountry canoe trip in Yellowstone. The body of Mark O’Neill, Crumbo’s half-brother, was recovered by a rescue crew on Sept. 21.

Crumbo was a much-loved conservation and wildlife rescue icon, continuing his efforts well after retirement. In a dedication published to the anti-trapping coalition, Footloose Montana, longtime friend and fellow conservationist Stephen Capra described Crumbo as “a person of quiet dedication and loyalty to people and the cause of wildlife and conservation … a strong, burly man with a walrus mustache and hands of steel, yet that is softened by his voice and calm he belies to those around him.”

And a bit of hopeful news for Planet Earth — conservationists just pledged $5 billion to protect 30% of land and sea by 2029. Advocates have dubbed it the ‘Protecting Our Planet’ challenge.

The Guardian reports, “[T]he money covers the estimated cost of the 30% goal for this decade, one of the 21 targets included in the draft Paris-style UN agreement for nature currently being negotiated. It also includes plans to eliminate plastics pollution and reduce pesticide use to slow species extinctions.”