In front of a crowd of thousands, twenty-five teams competed in 2025 Estes Park’s Frozen Dead Guy Day coffin races on Saturday at the Estes Park Events Complex.
“It was awesome. We did this last year, got DQ’d but had a good time, so we had to come back and redeem ourselves this year. It was a great time,” said Tyler Bybe, a member of the Border Burger Bar, the coffin team that captured first place.
This was the third year Estes hosted the event after the rights to the festival were purchased in 2022 by hotelier John Cullen from organizers in Nederland, where the festival began in 2002.
The teams involved in the coffin race vied for various prizes, including one for the best theme and one for the best wipeout. A panel of three judges – Estes Park Mayor Gary Hall, Trustee Kirby Hazelton, and Visit Estes Park Chair Sean Jergens – determined which teams would win the awards.
Coffin races involve heats where two teams, each with seven members, compete against the clock to run an obstacle course. Six people carry the coffin. One team member sits in the coffin as the “corpse.”
Before the race began, team captains walked through the obstacle course to get a lay of the land. During the first round, every team competed in elimination rounds. Twelve teams advanced to compete in round two.
Part of the sport includes having coordinated costumes around a team theme and decorating the coffins. This year, the Night Mares won the Best Theme Award. Six coffin carriers galloped through the obstacle course as their corpse rode in the coffin and carried a riding crop as a prop.
A few wipeouts occurred throughout the competition, but in the end, team Tomb Shroom – who had the best time the previous year – won the best wipeout award.
The obstacle course was changed for the second round, and the competition continued into the quarter-finals, then the semifinals, until only two teams remained.
In the last heat, Border Burger Bar raced against the Irish Goodbye. The former dressed as Mario characters, and the latter embraced St. Patrick’s Day by dawning leprechaun attire. This was a rematch for the teams, who had competed against each other in the semifinals, with Border Burger Bar winning, but both were able to move on to the finals due to having the fastest times.
It was a close final race, but Border Burger Bar took the win, completing the obstacle course in roughly 45 seconds. Irish Goodbye took second place, and Zombie Tigers, who competed in the race for the first time, took third.
“It was a really good time. I love the creativity of the costumes, and I was voting for Mario Party the entire time, so I’m glad that they won,” said Angela Haught, a spectator of the coffin race.
The day’s festivities included live music and multiple vendors.
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