Valley of Tears gravel brims with rich rewards for Swenson and Villafañe

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In the red clay hills of the Texas panhandle on Saturday, Keegan Swenson and Sofia Gomez Villafañe led the way for victories in the open categories at the inaugural Valley of Tears. It was a big day for the small town of Turkey, Texas, as both the number of people in the tiny town, estimated at 325 residents, and the prize purse, which started at $26,000 for elite athletes, doubled on race day.

At the start line, organisers of Valley of Tears announced the prize purse would expand to $52,000, and paid deeper from the top 10 to the top 20 for the men’s and women’s fields. The influx of participants for elite and age group racing pushed the number of people in the town to over 1,000 for the first-year event.