When Anny Malo crossed the finish line in Driggs she became the first person in the Pedigree Stage Stop Race’s history to win five consecutive times. Although she had a solid 25 minutes lead on her nearest competitor, it took a combination of skill and luck to maintain her position given the challenges of today’s course. And she did it. Her time was 2:07:47, a more than respectable 13.6 mph average. She was followed by Liz Thompson 90 seconds later, who was a mere 19 seconds ahead of Cathy Rivest in third place. Alix Crittenden and Laura Bontrager completed the top five finishers. For complete times including Cumulative Overall Time, click here.
This stage is notorious for its seven mile climb, and even more treacherous descent, tough for the most prepared teams, especially on the seventh consecutive day of effort. Temperatures remained nicely below freezing. The trail was much better than feared and a nice breeze kept the dogs cool. All 16 teams finished with smiles, “thumbs up,” and “high fives” making it a memorable seventh and final stage to this historic event.
Watch video highlights of Stage Seven below.