SCENES FROM | 2022 Emma Crawford Coffin Races

For Jim Mayo and his crew, inspiration struck over a bottle of wine. Or two, or maybe it was three?

Mayo wasn’t impressed when he first saw signs advertising the Manitou Springs coffin races a couple of years back. He was in town from Texas to visit his son, who lives in Colorado Springs. “Well, how stupid is that?” he thought of the races.

But the idea percolated, haunting Mayo’s subconscious for two years until it surfaced under the proper conditions: a family Christmas party. With alcohol.

“I says, ‘You know that stupid race we were talking about? Let’s enter,’” Mayo said. “And here we are.”

PHOTOS: 2022 Emma Crawford Coffin Races

Racers such as Mayo’s family travel from across the country to Manitou Springs’ “stupid” annual Emma Crawford Coffin Races. The tradition, now in its 28th year, returns after a two-year COVID hiatus.

The race is rooted in a rather macabre moment in local history. Crawford was buried on Red Mountain upon her death in 1891. Some erosion later, her casket resurfaced in 1929 and slid down the mountain into the canyon below, where it was found by a couple of boys.

Competitors have any number of reasons for entering Crawford’s namesake race or, in some cases, no reason at all.

A handful of residents who grew up in Manitou say competing is almost an inevitability.

“As a little kid seeing this yearly, you just think that’s what adults do,” said Curtis Jeffries, who competed with his six-man “Aquatic Life”-themed team.

Things fell into place this year for his team, which had “always” wanted to compete but never found the inspiration. What some might say was a well-placed ad others call divine intervention.

Ian “Papa Ianzie” Stewart, as he’s known among his friends, happened across a $5 coffin on Craigslist. His mind naturally went straight to the races, given his status as a lifelong Manitou Springs resident.

“It was just kind of like this sign from the gods, the Craigslist gods,” said Mitch Kautza, part of Stewart’s six-person team.

Signing up is just the half of it. Next comes coffin design.

Most teams establish a theme to work from, such as the “Aquatic Life” team. Their bright blue uniforms and red hats were easily recognizable and provided a nice break from many of the darker themes that surrounded them, they said.

Others, like Pikes Peak Roller Derby, which is composed of “women that skate,” incorporated a hint of their business mission into their coffins. The team rallied together costumes for some of film’s most formidable women: Carrie, the Sanderson Sisters from “Hocus Pocus,” the bride of Chucky and Bellatrix, to name a few.

“There’s nothing tougher than a lady of horror,” said Brianna Salazar, dressed as Regan from “The Exorcist.” “Especially when she’s possessed and vomiting all over herself.”

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And Mayo, alongside his wife, Lulu, daughter Teri Thrower and friend John Little, channeled inspiration from promises of what’s to come.

After the race, Mayo is taking his family on a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, dubbing them “Team Prereq” and decking out in Day of the Dead attire. They could only go, he said, if they agreed to participate in the race.

Regardless of reason or theme, there’s a general consensus among the racers that nabbing first place is hardly the inspiration behind pushing each other up a hill. More simply, it’s the fun of it all. That, and a feeling of accomplishment.

“Our hope is just to finish with all of us being from sea level,” Mayo said. “I think if we can make it the first 10 feet, we’re OK.”