Women's Winter Record Broken

Pandora Down teamed up with past winter Patch champion Cole Starkey

Willsboro, NY-- On the final weekend of eligibility for winter Patch Sprint status, five elite racers successfully covered the course, headlined by local runner Pandora Down, who crushed the former women's winter course record.

Down, guided by three-time Patch Sprint champion Cole Starkey, covered the four mountain, 13.6-mile route in a tie of 3:05:04, some 90 minutes faster than the previous mark.  For Starkey, this was his third winter title, to go along with three in the main event.

The previous day, all-time Patch Sprint champion Jason Fiegl (combined 15 summer and winter titles) led two winter rookies - Derek Payne and Ryan Campagna (left)- to a finish time of 3:43:48. "Really fun, beautiful day," Fiegl said of the sunny and mild weekend conditions.

Despite the fact that the 2021 vernal equinox occurred early on the morning of March 20, winter Patch rules state that any successfully recorded and reported effort between December 21 and March 21 is recognized.

---