Latest News – June 8

Fishing and Running by Leadville Waterways

Aaron Hardee (far) and his son “Mash” (Malachi Aaron Scott Hardee) take in some fishing at Turquoise Lake on Saturday. While it was a FREE fishing weekend, The Hardees get out and enjoy regular family time outside. The Hardees own Leadville’s Dependable Auto Glass shop. Photo: Leadville Today/Kathy Bedell.

Last weekend’s FREE fishing pass had Lake County residents and visitors out in force on the local waterways. From Turquoise to Twin Lakes anglers and fly-fishing fanatics grabbed their poles, packed up the family and headed out for a day by the water.  And while fishing is great there was even some catching going on and Leadville Today got out to capture what seemed like the first real weekend of warm weather. So here are some of those photos. And the good news is that the fair weather is forecasted to return again this weekend. So get out and enjoy it!

Brian Almanza of Leadville shows off one of the catches of the day while spending time with his family during last weekend’s FREE fishing weekend. It was his first time at the sport.

Last year over one million fishing licenses were sold in Colorado. The sale of fishing licenses allows CPW to maintain and conserve fish habitat that promotes better fishing in Colorado.? If you decide that the FREE fishing weekend made you a caster for life, then you can pick up an official license at the following local outlets: Twin Lakes General Store, Sugar Loafin Campground, Saturday’s Discount on Hwy 24 south of Leadville and of course, Colorado Fly Fishing Guides located downtown.

Chances are if you were out by Turquoise Lake or at the Fish Hatchery last weekend, you also saw some athletes, taking in the great outdoors in their own way as the Leadville/Lake County Sports Hall of Fame hosted their annual races which benefits local sports programs.

Races Benefit Leadville Sports Hall, Nordic Program

Thirty-three year old Pat Cade of Leadville started off the race season strong last weekend, taking top spots in both the Turquoise Lake Half Marathon and the Fish Hatchery 5k. The weekend also saw near perfect conditions with bluebird skies and sunshine, a sure sign that summer is not far off, in fact its scheduled to return this weekend!

Last Saturday’s half marathon saw 98 racers, cross the finish line on June 3 after taking on the 13.1 mile race course which travels along one of Lake County’s favorite bodies of water: Turquoise Lake.

The Turquoise Lake Half Marathon saw numbers rebound this year, good news for the race’s beneficiaries: the Leadville/Lake County Sports Hall of Fame and Leadville Nordic.

Cade clocked in to the top podium place at 1:20:34. The first female finisher was Jen Bryne (40F), of Lakewood Colo. with a time of 1:40:47. Runners welcomed near perfect conditions with bluebird skies and some cloud cover as the day and heat progressed.  Participation was up over last year by nearly 20%. And that’s good news for the local programs who benefits from the proceeds, which include Leadville (youth) Nordic and the Leadville/Lake County Sports Hall of Fame. Here are the complete results: Turquoise Lake Half Marathon 2017 RESULTS.

Then, the next day, June 4, the sun returned and warmed things up for the friendly Fish Hatchery 5k. Located at the historic Leadville National Fish Hatchery, this shorter distance race features a scenic cross country style course that winds through subalpine forest near and around the Evergreen Lakes and lower Rock Creek area.

Once again, Leadville’s Pat Cade (33M) from Leadville cross the finish line first with a time of 19:39, followed closely by Marco Peinado of Leadville (29M) at 20:03. The first female finisher was Alexandra Paddon-Jones of Houston, TX (42F) with a time of 25:46. Here are the complete results: Fish Hatchery 5K RESULTS.

Both race’s proceeds benefit the Leadville/Lake County Sports Hall of Fame, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Congratulations to all and thanks for supporting  the Leadville and Lake County community.

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