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The Loppet Foundation :: News & Stories :: Inaugural Loppet Marathons and Two-day Format a Success

Inaugural Loppet Marathons and Two-day Format a Success

The City of Lakes Loppet drew more than 11,000 participants across 21 events this past weekend in its first-ever extended two-day format. For the first time the Loppet Foundation held all of the classic cross country skiing races on Saturday, while the skate-ski races occurred on Sunday; it was also the first time the City of Lakes Loppet offered full-marathon-distance races. Matt Liebsch, a near-miss on the 2014 Sochi Olympic team, swept both the Hoigaard’s Classic and the Loppet Skate Marathon, the 42-kilometer races of Loppet Weekend.

There was one wave of the Hoigaard’s Classic with approximately 365 finishers, while the Puoli Loppet and the REI Tour Classic had 168 and 300 finishers, respectively. The Loppet Skate Marathon had 819 finishers, while the Puoli Skate had 212 finishers and 429 skiers completed the REI Tour Skate.

“We could not have asked for a better Loppet Weekend,” said John Munger, executive director of the Loppet Foundation. “The abundant snow, the weather conditions, the expanded schedule, the high level of competition and the energy around the event made for a spectacular experience for the participants, volunteers, staff, sponsors and spectators. We want to thank everyone for their support of the City of Lake Loppet Festival. We look forward to building on the success of this year’s event.”

Natalja Naryshkina of Verona, Wis. took first place in the Hoigaard’s Classic for women, while 50-year-old Mary Beth Tuttle, earned her inaugural first-place finish in the Loppet Skate race after placing second on more than one occasion. In the women’s category for the Loppet Skate marathon, six of the top 10 finishers are over 40 and three of those six, including Tuttle, are over 50. Seventeen-year-old Ian Torchia of Rochester, Minn. was the youngest top-10 finisher in the men’s and women’s categories.

Below are the top finishers for both the Hoigaard’s Classic and Loppet Skate Marathon for both men and women.

City of Lakes Loppet Hoigaard’s Classic Top-10 Finishers – Men
1. Matt Liebsch, 30, Orono, Minn. – 2:14:50
2. Mark Johnson, 26, Grand Rapids, Minn. – 2:16:44
3. Chris Pappathopoulos, 33, Sun Prairie, Minn. – 2:17:16
4. Bjorn Batdorf, 30, Wauwautosa, Wis. – 2:19:44
5. Andrew Brown, 25, St. Paul, Minn. – 2:20:21
6. David Chamberlain, 38, Boulder, Col. – 2:21:15
7. Jonathan Miller, 30, Roseville, Minn. – 2:22:57
8. Ian Torchia, 17, Rochester, Minn. – 2:24:04
9. Kellen Witschen, 21, Aurora, Minn. – 2:24:18
10. Nathan Porath, 31, Northfield, Minn. – 2:24:29

City of Lakes Loppet Hoigaard’s Classic Top-10 Finishers – Women
1. Natalja Naryshkina, 29, Verona, Wis. – 2:34:05
2. Alison Crocker, 29, Ottawa Hills, Ohio – 2:34:40
3. Bonnie Weiskopf Albrecht, 45, Stillwater, Minn. – 2:43:23
4. Kim Rudd, 42, Plymouth, Minn. – 2:48:04
5. Jan Guenther, 54, Long Lake, Minn. – 2:48:16
6. Josie Nelson, 35, Medicine Lake, Minn. – 2:49:10
7. Jenny Beckman, 24, Minneapolis, Minn. – 2:50:12
8. Angie Robinson, 46, Roseville, Minn. – 2:50:23
9. Leslie Hale, 49, Minneapolis, Minn. – 2:52:08
10. Xena Huff, 46, Minneapolis, Minn. – 2:52:47

Loppet Skate Marathon – Men
1. Matt Liebsch, 30, Orono, Minn. – 1:59:49
2. Mark Johnson, 26, Grand Rapids, Mich. – 1:59:55
3. Chris Pappathopoulos, 33, Sun Prairie, Wis. – 2:00:07
4. Nathan Porath, 31, Northfield, Minn. – 2:00:57
5. Peter Coenen, 28, Madison, Wis. – 2:01:23
6. Henry Reich, 26, Marine on St. Croix, Minn. – 2:01:28
7. Alex Reich, 24, St. Paul, Minn. – 2:01:28
8. Anders Bowman, 23, St. Louis Park, Minn. – 2:02:53
9. Cory Ellertson, 27, Albert Lea, Minn. – 2:03:09
10. Andrew Brown, 25, St. Paul, Minn. – 2:05:25

City of Lakes Loppet Skate Marathon – Women
1. Mary Beth Tuttle, 50, Pine Springs, Minn. – 2:17:36
2. Natalja Naryshkina, 29, Verona, Wis. – 2:23:14
3. Jan Guenther, 54, Long Lake, Minn. – 2:24:00
4. Alison Crocker, 29, Ottawa Hills, Ohio – 2:24
5. Christi Nowak, 25, St. Paul, Minn. – 2:24:22
6. Kim Rudd, 42, Plymouth, Minn. – 2:27:08
7. Bonnie Weiskopf Albrecht, 45, Stillwater, Minn. – 2:32:24
8. Cheryl Dubois, 52, North Oaks, Minn. – 2:33:01
9. Martina Sailer, 35, Golden Valley, Minn. – 2:34:32
10. Kara Salmela, 41, Duluth, Minn. – 2:34:32