GRANTS, NM – As the year ends, preparation for the annual Mount Taylor Quadrathlon that takes place on President’s Day Weekend, begins. Preparations have already begun for the 44th Annual Quadrathlon which will take place on Saturday February 17. This year they are looking to get more volunteers for the event as well as people who volunteer year-round of the board.
The Quad is a four-sport race up and back down the highest peak in Northwestern New Mexico. Contestants are challenged to bike 13 miles up the steep paved road leading to Mount Taylor then run an additional five miles on a snow packed gravel road before switching to a pair of cross-country skis and ascending two miles on a groomed trail. Finally, racers strap on a pair of snowshoes and trek the final mile to the summit of Mt. Taylor; 5,400 feet higher than where they started. Once stopping to catch their breath at the top, they turn around and brave the 22 mile stretch again to get back to the finish line.
The preparations typically begin in early fall with meetings of the Mount Taylor Quad Board. During these meetings they secure permits, make sure the route is open, and make sure they have reservations for the venue. One of the big things that the Quad is looking to do is get more volunteers to help with the event next year. The year-round crew for the quad is typically around 10-15 people, but as the race gets closer, they get more individuals involved. By race day they will have a total of well over 100 people that are involved in some capacity.
Race Director Kendra Brown, spoke about volunteers, “We have enough, but we’ve got so many volunteers who have been doing it for many, many years that they are getting a little bit worn out, and they are looking for young people to come in and replace them. So, we are hoping to get some fresh people in that are energetic and have good attitudes.”
Brown spoke about why volunteers are so important for the Quad, “We are a nonprofit event, and we really try to maintain a grass roots feel for the race. So, we’ve never sold out to a big sponsor, we’ve always maintained that we express our community through this race… It’s critical we don’t have a big budget to pay for a lot of people to come out and help us, we rely on the community.” Brown also spoke about how important the Quad itself is to the community, “Quadrathlon weekend is one of the biggest weekends in town, as far as generating tourism and additional tax revenue… Every year we hear so many comments about how wonderful our town is and how wonderful our community is. Our number one piece of feedback that we get from racers… is that our volunteers make the race as awesome as it is.”
What might surprise a lot of people is the fact that the Quad brings in some high-level athletes from around the world. Some of the recent winners have been nationally ranked racers. Brown said, “One thing that’s kind of cool is there is this cyclist who races in the Tour de France, their dad won [the Mt. Taylor Quadrathlon] two years ago.” Brown also said that the Quad is not just a local or regional event, and they are extending their reach to attract athletes to come out and race. They are hoping this year to have around 250 racers for the 44th Annual Quad, but according to Brown the number of racers depends on the weather.
There’s two ways to volunteer for the Quad. Individuals can volunteer to be a year-round volunteer which is a once-a-month commitment to sit in meetings and plan things out. Or they could volunteer for the week of race week which involves stuffing packets, getting transition boxes ready. The most needed time for volunteers is on race day, due to the unpredictable weather. Brown said there’s no certain qualifications to be a volunteer, they just need to be excited and have the want to give back to their community and be a part of something that is special to them.
If anyone is interested in volunteering for the Quad, you can reach out and express how you would want to help through these various ways: email mttaylorquadrathlon@ gmail.com, visit the Mt. Taylor Quad website at mttaylorquad.org, or reach out to Mt. Taylor Quadrathlon on Facebook or Instagram.