For some Grants residents, the Mount Taylor Winter Quadrathlon is a way of life.
Take Isaac Atencio, for example. When he was a kid, his parents helped organize the event while Atencio tested his mettle in the youth race. As he got older, he progressed to the adult version. Today, everything has come full circle, as Atencio is in his second year as race director. It’s a progression that isn’t all that uncommon as the Quad celebrates its 40th anniversary on Saturday, Feb. 18.
“It’s really awesome to have an event going on this long in our area,” Atencio said. “The Quad has always been there. A lot of the people that are in the committee now, their parents grew up helping and running it. We’ve kind of just gone from there. So it’s really cool.”
The Quad tests both endurance and versatility as competitors race up Mount Taylor – the highest point in the Cibola National Forest at 11,301 feet – by foot, bike, ski and snowshoe for a 44-mile round trip. The journey begins with a 13-mile bike ride to the foot of the mountain that features a 1,000 foot elevation gain over the last 2.5 miles. From there, athletes transition to a five-mile run up a snow-packed road, where traction cleats are recommended to navigate the icy terrain. The race moves on to a two-mile ski before concluding with a one-mile snowshoe trek to the summit of Mount Taylor. Then, it’s time to do it all over again on the way down.
The view is quite breathtaking, so much so that the official Quad website quips that it should post a registration booth for the next year at the top of the mountain. And just to keep things interesting, the course tends to vary from year-to-year due to weather conditions and changing terrain.
“It’s just a hard race,” Atencio said. “There’s really nothing out there like it that we can think of in the winter that just tests all your abilities – your ability to bike, your ability to run, your ability to ski and snowshoe. You never know what race day is gonna be like. It may be a beautiful warm day or it may be a blizzard.”
As a veteran of the course himself, Atencio has a couple tips for beginners.
“I would say the leg of the race that people struggle with would probably be the ski. The course may be icy, or the course may be beautiful,” he said. “Or we may have to go up an alternate route if we didn’t get enough snow. I think that’s the one that people struggle with the most.”
It’s also important to pace oneself, particularly at the outset of the race when adrenaline is running high.
“Normally we tell them don’t use all your energy right out of the gate on the bike. Try and maintain your good speed on the run,” Atencio said. “The ski uphill can be a little tough once you get to Heartbreak Hill. Once you’re past that, it’s all uphill until you get to the top.”
Not everyone is cut out for the solo Quad, which Atencio calls “one of the hardest things I’ve done.” Team races are also an option, whether it’s four people choosing one leg apiece, or two to three participants who divide the duties among themselves. Additionally, the kids’ Quad will be holding its 10th annual race on the same day. Atencio hopes to secure approximately 200 participants for the adult race and another 100 for the kids’ version.
When all is said and done, the Quad always tends to attract racers of all ages and aptitudes.
“We get some very competitive athletes who come down and do this in three hours. You get some other athletes who are going to take eight hours to complete it,” Atencio said. “We have 80-year-olds racing, we have 16-year-olds racing. It’s something for everybody. It really just tests your spirit and endurance.”
