Cirque Series Runs All Over The Beast Once Again

Saturday, June 27th was a gorgeous morning for all things Killington. The Bike Park was getting ready to spin, our new Adventure Center attractions were making their debut, and the K-1 Base Area was already buzzing with the return of Cirque Series. The trail running series, known for bringing big climbs and even bigger energy to mountain venues across the country, made its East Coast debut last year with races at Cannon Mountain and here at The Beast. This past Saturday, we were excited to welcome it back for year two.

Cirque Series was founded by Julian Carr, the former big air freeskier whose accolades include seven Warren Miller film appearances, two cliff skiing world records, and an X Games gold medal. After getting a new puppy over a decade ago, Julian looked to pivot his summer cardio from mountain biking to trail running and found the perfect venue at the nearby Mt. Olympus in Utah. He started looking for trail running races that matched the feel of his favorite hiking route: six or seven miles with 3,000’-4,000’ of elevation gain. Instead, he mostly found ultramarathons, relay races, mud runs, and other competitions that weren’t quite what he had in mind. Soon enough, Cirque Series was created to fill that void.

Despite the intimidating numbers, Cirque prides itself on being a beginner friendly race. Per their own figures, around 70% of their participants sign up in the Sport category (beginner/intermediate), including many first-timers at each race. Judging by the show of hands before the race, a clear majority of attendees were running this race at Killington for the first time, including a couple of brave folks who registered mere minutes before the 8+ mile race featuring around 3000’ of vert.

Just before 9:00 a.m., racers gathered at the starting line, with the pros and most experienced runners lining up near the front. As a self-described decent trail runner at best, I correctly opted for a spot closer to the back.

When the clock struck 9, more than 300 racers took off through the vendor village and headed toward the first peak of the day: Snowdon Mountain. The course started with a rugged work road before turning straight up Bunny Buster, where the positive energy from the start line could only carry us so far. Before long, plenty of runners in my section of the pack had settled into a walking pace for much of the first mile.

After a quick glance at the construction site of our incoming Snowdon Quad, we picked up the pace again along Great Northern toward Killington Peak. From there came a steep climb up Ridge Run, followed by what’s usually an early November rite of passage: a trek up the Peak Walkway. Instead of heading all the way up to the K-1 Gondola, the course took a detour onto Upper Catwalk, the steepest section of the day. Finally, it was time for a quick breather at 4241’ before the long descent began.

I treated myself to some electrolytes at the first aid station near the K-1 Gondola unload before heading towards this year’s new section of the course. For a more scenic route down the mountain, we took a left at the top of South Ridge and headed towards The Light, one of our longstanding K-1 mountain bike trails that follows the lift line of the original Killington Gondola. The previous night’s rain left the course plenty saturated, making for a muddy trek through the trees before we emerged onto Gateway, into The Stash, and down Bear Cub for nearly two miles. After continuing up Bearly and onto Snowshed Crossover, we reached the second aid station and the final big challenge: the grueling climb up Lower Needle’s Eye.

Finally, after a short trip up High Road and a muddy trip down Bittersweet, we made it back to the finish line, where an energetic MC and an engraved wooden medal greeted each and every one of the 317 finishers. A good deal of friends, family members, and previous finishers were there with extra encouragement, many of whom already were resting up with a freshly prepared lunch or a celebratory beverage.

The vendor village stayed busy throughout the morning, with giveaways and activations from several outdoor brands and local businesses alike. Our friends from Mammut, a premier sponsor of all Cirque Series races this year, were also on site for the first time at this Killington race. In addition to outfitting a number of participants, Mammut gave attendees the chance to enter an exclusive sweepstakes and check out some of its latest summer gear.

Thanks to the cooperative weather, plenty of racers and spectators stuck around for the 12:00 p.m. awards ceremony. First up was the prestigious Middle of the Pack Award, given to the runner who finished exactly in the middle of the field. That was followed by the Grom Award for the youngest finisher (11 years old!), and the Doug Award for the oldest finisher (68 years young). Emily Herbert from our Events Team also earned some well-deserved recognition, receiving the Lexie Award, given to the behind-the-scenes MVP of each Cirque event.

Next came the podium finishers in each of the Sport, Expert, and Pro divisions, with the men’s and women’s finishers clocking in with blistering times of 1:05:55 and 1:16:10 respectively. (Full results can be found at the bottom of this blog.) As the awards continued, the last racer crossed the finish line and was greeted by rousing support from everyone present.

Last came an impressive raffle, with around a dozen people each taking home huge prize packs, including a new smart watch, new trail running shoes, and tons of outdoor gear. As is customary at numerous Killington events, the final prize was, of course, a new YETI Tundra cooler. There are not many places where you can run 8 miles, enjoy scenic mountain views, and head home by lunchtime with some free swag, but for many Cirque participants, that was their Saturday at Killington.

Race results in each of the Pro, Expert, and Sport divisions can be found on runsignup.com.