FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

31st Annual Pepsi Challenge XC Race

The 31st Annual Pepsi Challenge X-C Ski Race/Great River Energy Rush Races are taking place on Saturday, March 7th, 2015 at Giants Ridge. “Giants Ridge has received 30” of snow since November. The Nordic trail system at Giants Ridge is 100% open (60K) with a solid 5” base and it is in excellent condition,” said John Filander, Giants Ridge Winter Sports Director. Deb Maki, the Race Coordinator is reminding skiers to sign up to ski now. March 5th is the last day to pre-register on-line with ChronoTrack. Mail-in registration forms can be down-loaded off our website: www.pepsichallengeskirace.com. The price for the 24K & 48K races is $75.00 until Feb 22nd – price increase on Feb 23rd to $85.00. Being pre-registered will also put you into the mix for the prize drawings at registration.

Our wonderful sponsors of the 2015 Pepsi Challenge are: Giants Ridge, The Pepsi Bottling Group, Great River Energy, SmartWool, Rossignol, PolyMet Mining, Minnesota Power, Hammer Nutrition, Zeal Optics, Bennett & Koch Construction, Range 11 – KBJR TV6, Biwabik Area Civic Assoc., Nature Valley Granola Bars and Cold Snap Technology. We are welcoming new sponsors this year: PolyMet Mining & Rossignol. PolyMet Mining is a corporation working to create jobs and build strong communities by bringing a new era of sustainable copper-nickel mining to the Iron Range. Rossignol is a corporation that started producing skis in France in 1907 and came to the United States in the seventies. They design and manufacture skis, bindings, boots, snowboards, technical equipment and soft goods for all seasons. Many champions and Olympic legends have won on Rossignol skis.

The Pepsi Challenge is the name of the 48K races – classic and freestyle, and is sponsored by The Pepsi Bottling Group. The 24K races – classic and freestyle, are sponsored by Great River Energy and called the Great River Energy Rush Races. Giants Ridge is the sponsor for the 10K races.

On Saturday, March 7th, there will be five races total. The 48K & 24K Classic Races start at 9:00 am, 48K Freestyle race begins at 9:30 am, 24K Freestyle race at 9:40 am, with the 10K Race starting at 9:50 am. All races this year will be mass starts. All race registration and bib pick up will take place at the Biwabik Park Pavilion, Biwabik, MN. Bib pick up and registration will be from Noon until 10:00 pm on Friday, March 6th and from 7 am to 8:30 am on Saturday – race morning. There will be a participant luncheon (soup & sandwich feed) on March 7th after the race, in the lower level of The Lodge at Giants Ridge from 11 am – 3:30 pm. Awards ceremony will start at 2:00 pm at The Lodge.

For Race information check out our website: www.pepsichallengeskirace.com or e-mail: [email protected].