Race Review: Run With The Burros (Donkey) Race- April 13th, 2024

So many FIRSTS to write about in this first race review of a donkey race.  Both Michelle and I raced the donkeys in different distances at this event.  It was also the first time we had hauled our donkeys anywhere in our new (to us) horse trailer and the first time we had towed anything a significant distance with an electric vehicle (EV)…which was an adventure in itself.  I’ll write about towing the horse trailer with an EV in a brief, semi-kind review in another post.

The “Run With The Burros” Donkey Race was held April 13th 2024 in Inokern, California….just outside the larger town of Ridgecrest….also known to some as China Lake.  This put the race about 3 hours north of us.  At the time of its running, it was the only donkey race in California and attracted donkey racing teams from all over the Western US.  Upon arriving, we were surprised to see over 60 donkey’s, numerous trailers and herds of people prepping for the race the next day.

Signup and information for the race was seamless.  The race was setup on a fantastic website of its own but it was also featured on Ultrasignup.  Race information, directions ect was fantastic…but a few details had to be either assumed or asked, like where the donkey’s would be corralled and how they would be fed.

Upon arriving, the corral setup was easily apparent and we were able to easily get parked in a huge backup spot with our new (to us) trailer.  The donkeys went into the general population corral, where they were able to socialize and take advantage of the abundant hay and fresh water.  This was great.  After picking up our race packets through the well organized check-in process, we stayed around the staging area for another hour or so to listen to the excellent donkey racing presentation by Amber and Brad Wann, donkey racing aficionados from Colorado who own the Rocky Mountain Beverage Burro Company.   Don’t know what a beverage burro is or how one might operate one?…click the link….it’s a hoot and turns out you can rent them all over.

After check-in and the presentation, we grabbed a quick bite in the small town of Inokern and then found our hotel in downtown Ridgecrest, about a 20 minute drive away from the start line.  The next morning we packed up and headed back to the start line to prep the donks and ourselves for our very first donkey race.  -A note here:  For this race, they allowed teams to enter the race without kit…meaning we did not have the requisite 35 pounds of saddle, shovel, pickax and gold pan that’s needed by most races in order to qualify for prizes for any other recognition.  We appreciated this…since we don’t have that gear yet, but we will.

For this first race, I was doing the ten-miler and Michelle and the kids would be doing the 5-miler.  The 5-miler was more of a fun run as there was no official entry or cost, while the longer distances were more official, with numbers, entry fee, checkpoints ect.  Race distances were the unofficial 5-miler, the 10-miler, a 17.5 miler and the 26.2 marathon distance long course.  The majority of the runners and donkey teams seemed to be there for the 10-miler.

Ten-Mile Course

I was nervous about this race, as we had just adopted Courtney D. Buttercup (donkey) in November.  She was a BLM donkey who had come out of the Panamint Mountains in Death Valley and I have been working through a gentling process with her, but except for the 15ft lead rope, that’s all I had to keep her with me.  The start of the 10-miler was a mass start of regular runner and donkey teams but they had warned us ahead of time that it would be a real shotgun start…it was.  I had purposefully lined up in the rear of the start pack.  Buttercup was nervous so we turned her away from the other donkeys….shotgun went off and off we go.  RACE STARTED.  I had not scouted the route very well as I knew we would be in the back of the pack, so we just followed.  I was prepared for Buttercup to be upset about being away for her donkey friend (Micki) but she didn’t seem to care, she just REALLY wanted to pass any donkey ahead of her….but I could not run that fast, meaning that she started to drag me right off the start.  I was prepared for that but I thought she would slow down as we went on, but she didn’t.   So started a process of struggle and fatigue.  As in…struggling to keep up with my donkey while trying to run and apologize as my semi-wild donkey runs past (close) people or as I’m trying to slow her down by wheeling her around….to the chagrin of several runners who kindly understood and got the hell out of the way of the bucking, hooves in the air donkey who wanted to run.  There were several comments made in the process by other donkey teams whose donkeys seemed to be more sedate, but Buttercup wasn’t having that, she wanted to race.  Once we got to the uphill, things smoothed out as she pulled me through the ups, making the uphills seem so much easier.  Except, several times on the uphills when Ferdinand Buttercup the donkey simply stopped or slowed to look at the views and figure out if she could get to the wildflowers just off the road.  I didn’t let her, and we kept going.  Then we started getting to the downhills and Courtney D. Buttercup decided to remind me of her running skills, but again…there’s no fracking way I was going to keep up, so we had more rounds of rearing, bucking and braying to work on the donkey brakes.  More comments from other donkey teams.

As we came to the last steep downhill, we were able to watch a lone, loose donkey enjoy running up the steep side of the hill we were on,,,,.from over 1/2 mile away.  That donk had escaped but a runner who came up from behind me caught it and suddenly became a donkey racer for a bit.  Another team on that downhill admitted their donkey was just too fast and trying to get away (I think it was a rental donkey) so they had called race officials and the donkey would eventually be brought off the course by trailer (I think).  I understood, as I was having enough trouble with my own donk.  Along the way, Buttercup also decided she didn’t like the top of the California Aqueduct, so she would only walk/run on the dirt, not wanting to set foot on the concrete.  But this section was only about 1/2 mile, so we figured it out.  At about 5 miles we found the first aid station and then at about 6 miles we found the middle, large aid station.  The aid station was really well stocked with plenty of available help (if you needed it), communications and water/snacks.  Buttercup did not want any of the available cold water, she just wanted out of there, to get back to racing.  So off we went.

A bit later in the course…it was time to try to find an appropriate place to take a pee.  This is hard on a race course WITH a donkey.  There’s no going off course and hiding but since we were SLOW….there was really no one around us.  A quick stop and we were back on the road.  Except on the road meant that Buttercup only had two speeds….walk at the wrong time or run really fast so I couldn’t keep up.  On the nice fire roads between miles 7-10….I tried to get her to find a pace I could run at, and we eventually started to trot along.  We did well and seemed to make up some ground, as we slowly started to pass race teams.  Most recognized us, as they had passed us way earlier when I thought I was going to have to divert or get help with Buttercup.  I think some of those teams didn’t think we were going to be able to keep racing and neither did I.  But we did.  The hardest sections seemed to be in miles 9 and 10;  a series of small, sharp uphills that Buttercup wasn’t really liking and WASN’T into pulling me up anymore.  So it was a slog.  We did it.  Coming into mile 10, I could see where we were and we half-circled behind the finish line, through a dip into a dry creek and back to the fire road we had started on, straight back to the finish line.  Except that Buttercup wasn’t happy anymore and didn’t wanna run.  One of the teams behind us caught up and we went into the finish neck and neck.

We finished 20th out of 41 teams, but we were unofficial since we didn’t have the qualifying gear.  Regardless, I can’t think of a better learning experience for all of us or a better FIRST race.  California Breakfast Burritos did a fantastic job putting on this race and we really appreciate it.  We’ll be back in 2025 with the right gear and better training.

• In The News: California Breakfast Burritos

Five-Mile Course

Michelle and the kids raced the Five-Mile Course but they were the only donkey racing team doing that course, so they WON, unofficially.  The five mile course followed the first few miles of the 10-mile course before it took a left at one of the junctures with the California Aqueduct, then came back down the same route.  Micki, Michelle and the kids had a blast on the course (as the pictures attest) and it was a great intro to longer distance donkey handling.   Even if you don’t want to race a longer distance Donkey Race, I would highly recommend this scenic and well maintained 5-Mile Course.

Conclusion

We were nervous about a lot of things coming into this race.  But by signing up, packing up, racing and getting back home- there were definite learning lessons that just can’t be learned by reading on the internet.  This is a great race and this is also a great race because the terrain is gorgeous but not too killer and the distances are manageable depending on what you want to do.  The race was was well managed and well organized.  

Here’s my quick info:

Where: Inokern, California, USA.      When: April 13th, 2024. (April 12th, 2025).

Cost: $75 for the 10-miler.

Signup: Signup was seamless on Ultrasignup.

Potties: Yes, as the start/finish.

Race Swag: Yes, everyone who finished got swag.

Prizes/Recognition:  Yes.  We didn’t stay for the ceremony, but we saw the sweet prizes.

Paddock/Food/Water:  There was a large communal paddock where our donkeys stayed.  A separate stall area was also provided if you wanted alone time for the dunks.  Uncut Jacks were not allowed in the communal paddock.  Abundant feed and fresh clean water was provided at no cost to race donkeys.

Brewery:  YES.  Within 1/2 mile of the start line is the Indian Wells Brewing Company.  This was too perfect after the hottest part of race day.  We checked out the Brewery and loved the quick food, cold micro-brewed beer and craft soda.  The kids loved the video game room and we checked out the excellent store with IWBC products and cold drinks.  In fact, we brought some home we loved it so much.

Hotel/Lodging: There are numerous hotel and lodging choices in Ridgecrest, about a 20-min drive from the finish line.

Sorry, not many pictures of the actual race….cause we were racing and handling 400+ pound animals at the same time!

This is an independent race review.  We did not get free entry to say these nice things about the race but honestly, we thought this race was great and we’re happy to help promote the sport.  We are members of the Western Pack Burro Ass-ociation and we run the 2-9 Donkey Racing Team.

We’re going to continue to travel with kids, race donkeys and write about these experiences.  We’re thrilled with our readers and hope you tell your friends to follow our little website.

Like our writing, support our travels and racing!