There were more runners than residents in the 230-person town of Comstock this weekend as more than 250 people converged into the area for the annual Border to Badlands race.
Comstock became the hot spot for running in Texas Saturday, as the Del Rio Convention and Visitors Bureau-sponsored race was held at Seminole Canyon State Park. The race is part of the eight-race Ultra Expeditions Eco Series. Each race is held in a different ecosystem in Texas
The event gave runners the chance to compete in a five-kilometer, 10-kilometer, half marathon, marathon, 50-kilometer or 50-mile race.
All results are still unofficial.
The top male in the five-kilometer race was 46-year old Aaron Smith from Bedford, Texas, who finished the course in 27 minutes and 45 seconds. Top female in the five-kilometer race
was Del Rio’s Courtney Greene, who finished in 22 minutes and 27 seconds.
Youth won the race in the 10-kilometer race as 17-year-old Tristen Smith, also from Bedford, brought home top honors in 43 minutes and 36 seconds. Karyn Stern from College Station finished in 51 minutes and 32 seconds.
Mason Bivens from Laughlin Air Force Base took top honors in 1 hour, 20 minutes and 40 seconds in the half marathon portion, and Jennifer Pope from Plano won the women’s portion in 1 hour, 43 minutes and 36 seconds.
Overall winner of the marathon was Abigail Blake who finished in 3 hours, 56 minutes and 52 seconds. The top male finisher was John Gorman, who finished in 3 hours, 59 minutes and 3 seconds.
The 50-kilometer race was won by a Laughlin instructor pilot, Luke Burgstahler, who blazed around the course in 4 hours, 4 minutes and 4 seconds. Dallas’s Sierra Houck was the top female, finishing in 5 hours, 39 minutes and 28 seconds.
The 50-mile race was won by Ryan Kudlacek, from Cat Spring, who finished in 8 hours, 58 minutes and 48 seconds. The top female was Maggie Callahan from Louisville, Ky., who finished the course in 11 hours, 5 minutes and 23 seconds.
All finishers received medals, T-shirts and other giveaways. However, the big winner may have been the City of Del Rio, as the CVB-sponsored event attracted guests from every major city in Texas and three states.
“A lot of the runners brought families as well,” said Jeanne Schaaf, one of Ultra Expeditions co-founders. “We are still working the numbers but it looked like this attracted between 500 and 600 people with our 250 registered runners.”
Blanca Larson, CVB executive director, said each of those visitors typically spends $150 per person, according to the State of Texas. “The state estimates that amount based on meals, fuel and other spending while they are in the community.”
“In a nutshell, this race had a nearly $100,000 impact on Del Rio,” Larson added.
This paints a bright future for the event that has been held at Seminole Canyon three times. “The race size doubled from this year to last year,” Schaaf said. “We have some events that really take off and some stay kind of static. This one is really taking off and we see a very bright future for it.”
All results for the event can be found online at 2021 Border To Badlanda Ultra Live Results (edsresults.com)
