FAIRPLAY, CO

The Human Potential Running Series is proud to announce that our founder and Race Director John Lacroix has been hired as the new race director of The World Championship Pack Burro Race in Fairplay Colorado. John takes the reigns from long time race director Ralph Herzog, who has directed the event for the last twenty plus years.

The 72nd World Championship Pack Burro Race will once again coincide with Fairplay’s Annual Burro Day’s Festival on July 24, 2021, an event that draws over 10,000 people to the Town of Fairplay. The Fairplay Pack Burro Race is the oldest Burro Racing event in the country and features a short course of 14.2 miles and a long course of 27 miles, that reaches the top of Mosquito Pass. The Fairplay event used to travel all the way to Leadville, and in opposite years the race would travel from Leadville to Fairplay. In the 1950s the events split into two separate events instead of alternating directions. The Leadville event takes place in August as a part of Leadville Boom Days. The Fairplay Race is the first race of The Western Pack Burro Ass-ociation’s Triple Crown of Burro Racing, followed by races in Leadville and Buena Vista Colorado.

Pack Burro racing has seen a meteoric rise in popularity over the last half decade with events experiencing a steady increase in participation numbers. Each participant is required to secure their own Burro for the event, and the team must travel the length of the course together. Elite Ultrarunners Max King and Ryan Sandes quickly learned the challenges of pack burro racing in 2018, while Travis Macy is set to begin his journey with the burros this year. Author of New York Times Best Selling Book Born To Run Christopher McDougall recently released a book about burro racing titled Running With Sherman.

John Lacroix (“Sherpa John”) has been a race director since 2008 when he directed the first 200-Mile ultramarathon in the world. He is the founder and race director behind The Human Potential Running Series (HPRS), which he founded in 2014. HPRS is Colorado’s largest series of Ultramarathons, also hosting events in Arkansas and California. He brought HPRS to Fairplay in 2015 with his South Park Trail Marathon & Half, The Silverheels 100-Mile & Last Call 50-Mile, and The Sheep Mountain Ultras.

John’s more than 55 ultrarunning events directed is the most by a race director in Colorado history. In 2020 he was the only race director in the world to host his full schedule of events without a single cancellation, despite the challenges he faced in the Covid-19 pandemic, and did so without a single reported participant transmission of Covid-19. John’s leadership set the standard for hosting in-person running events by being the first to publish a black and white plan for hosting events during the pandemic. John is also a thought leader within the ultrarunning community as an advocate for crafting a more inclusive sport that celebrates the everyman and everywoman over the elite. His message has long focused on inclusivity, diversity, equality, accessibility, and the need to abolish elitism.

“I am incredibly humbled and honored to have been asked to take the reins of the World Championship Pack Burro Race in Fairplay. I look forward to volunteering my time and efforts towards hosting a top-notch event worthy of the term “World Championship,” that not only celebrates Colorado’s Summer Heritage Sport, but also celebrates the amazing history of Fairplay and its people. A very cool honor that I never expected in a million years. Lets go!”

The basic rules of Burro Racing remain pretty simple: a runner may carry, push, pull or drag the burro, but the burro cannot carry the runner. The burro must led by a halter with a tether of 15 feet or less linking him to the runner. The runner and burro must be connected at all times. The burro must carry a pack that weighs at least 33 pounds and includes a pick, shovel and gold pan. Runners may add other essentials such as water, food and extra clothing, but those items are added on top of the required 33 pounds. There has been talk recently of removing the 33 pound requirement from burro events, but Fairplay race officials are intent on leaving that history intact.

You can learn more about this unique sport, Colorado’s Official Summer Heritage Sport, at the Western Pack Burro Ass-ociation’s Website: http://wpba.bcconsulting.com/

You can learn more about John on his bio via the HPRS website: https://humanpotentialrunning.com/about/about-our-race-director/