24 Hours of Gnar

Another year of running a bunch of loops on a dirt road up in Fort Collins.  Went up Friday evening to join some friends at Intersect Brewing, and then at 8AM on Saturday I started running one mile laps at some youth school just east of the highway.  I ran really well for the first twelve hours, then hiked mildly OK for the last twelve hours, though the breaks at the van got longer and longer as the time passed.  Ended up with 76 loops.  Great event but next year I'm only doing the twelve hour run.

Caught up with Kircher at Denver Beer Company on the way home.  DBC no longer has this brew on tap but holy hell I wish I could have tried some.

Monday was a big, fat zero day as I was super sore.  Four miles on Tuesday on the Garden trails, still sore but improving.

On Sunday a great friend and stalwart of the Pikes Peak Road Runners passed away.  Not sure how the local running community will replace her.

Franktown

Been way off my usual routine lately and it's showing up in the human powered numbers.  

Went to Franktown for three straight days for some EMT classes, on top of dog sitting anywhere from one to three extra pups.  Plus a heavy SAR week.  On top of that, I got a shingles shot which knocked me on my ass for a full day.  Oof.  Good thing it's the offseason.

Happy eleventh anniversary to Fossil Brewing.  Good times over there on Saturday.

For the week:

run - 19 miles, four hours

hike - 16.5 miles, eight hours

No Doubt

Not much going on fitness wise.  Did get up Mt. Herman for a SOTA activation on Saturday, and made the trek up to Barr Camp on Sunday with Mookie.

Get to hang out with Kircher's dog Ollie for a bit.  Lots of dog park hikes in the near future.

We will be making our first, and probably last, trip to the Sphere this May.

For the week:

run - 48 miles, eleven hours

hike - 30 miles, 15 hours

bike - 41 miles, 3.5 hours

September

Been pretty lazy since Pikes, allowing life to get in the way of miles.  Had a nice trip down to Florida for the in-laws 50th wedding anniversary, saw some cool birds and got to drink a ton of Yuengling.

For September:

run - 134 miles, 27.5 hours

hike - 125 miles, 60 hours

ride -  88 miles, eight hours

Definitely need to nudge those higher this month.

Barely October but the '26 travel schedule is already taking shape.  Looking to add three more states to the marathon total - Arkansas, Missouri, and Iowa.  

Pikes

Another good weekend on the mountain.  Sunday was my 28th finish between the two races.

The Ascent on Saturday went really well.  I was solid and consistent the entire climb.  Got to the summit in 3:41:33.  228th overall and 9th in the 50-54 age group.  Pretty happy with this race.

I'm a bit too old now for the days of not feeling the Ascent on Marathon day.  Not nearly as good a day on Sunday but I kept moving forward and got the job done.  4:02 to the summit, which was a lot slower than I wanted but was what I had on the day.  Then an uninspiring downhill to finish in 6:34:08.  180th overall and sixth in my age group.

Great to see so many friends out there challenging themselves.  Always a great weekend here in our little running community.

summits on the air

Happy Pikes week to those who celebrate!

Lets get the bad news out of the way: neither my Panthers or Steelers are undefeated any more.

We took a very quick overnight van trip, leaving Saturday evening for the Crags trailhead over in Teller County.  On Sunday we headed up Pikes.  A little chilly, a bit of snow, but we were prepared for much worse.  Great family hike.  The humans went 15 miles, the dog was well over 20.  My 44th full summit (using the 3000 foot rule) of America's mountain.

Something different on the summit, I hauled a small ham radio to the top and was able to activate the peak, meaning I made at least four contacts.  My first successful Summits On The Air exercise.  I had tried this once before on Pennsylvania Mountain but failed miserably.  Having a city of 500,000 within line of sight made things a bit easier.

Another uninspiring week, though I did get an incline and a Pikes summit in.

run - 23 miles, 4.5 hours

hike - 40 miles, 19.5 hours

bike - 36 miles, 3.5 hours

Not expecting much for Pikes, which I deserve for the lack of training since Rio Grande.  Sub four for the Ascent, maybe 6:40 for the 'thon.  Excited to get out there though.

getting fat

Been fairly lazy and uninspired since Rio Grande.  In my defense, this was a big SAR week so a lot of my time was spent in that world.

And we also caught the Weird Al show up at Ford Amphitheater.  Incredible concert.

For the week:

run - 20 miles, 3.7 hours

hike - 32 miles, 16 hours

ride - 27 miles, two hours

Both my Panthers and Steelers are still undefeated!

21:03

Recovering well from Rio Grande.  Jumped into a local 5k on Sunday and gave it a shot.  Physically and mentally I just didn't have it.  And my middle mile (I split 6:32, 7:06, 6:52) was hot garbage.  Also not the fastest course, the first mile is mostly on grass, the rest of the race is on the sidewalks of the balloon festival and you have to weave in and out of thousands of people.  Work to do but I think I still have a sub 20 in these old legs.

For the week:

run - 26 miles, five hours

hike - 19 miles, nine hours

For August:

run - 260 miles, 70.5 miles

hike - 106 miles, 46 hours

Rio Grande

Another hundo in the books.  Made the short drive down to South Fork this weekend for the Rio Grande 100.  Typical Tempest Adventure gig, extremely hard course but marked well.   A part of the San Juans I hadn't spent any time in, so that was cool.  I was slow but steady and crossed the line in just over 34 hours.  Second straight hundred without pacers.  Ten hours before I got there a chick won the overall race.

Biggest disappointment for me was getting trounced in the mile 21 Pool Table aid station push up contest.  Whoever did the most push ups there won $50.  I was a very distant third place.

dog rescue

Another decent week in the books.  Mountain fitness is coming around.

run - 51 miles, eleven hours

hike - 32 miles, 13 hours

More importantly, I had my first dog rescue.  Whiskey was hit by a rock and really messed up his front paw.  SAR hiked back in and carried him out.  We've been updated and the pup is going to be fine.  You can read the details over here on the pup's GoFundMe.

catching up

Been a hot minute.

Another successful van trip in the books.  Headed north through Spearfish, SD, to Medora, ND.  Got to take in the geographical center of the USA in Belle Forche, SD.

I ran the Maah Daah Hey trail 58 miler, a chunk of the 150+ mile trail through the badlands of North Dakota.  Nice run but Jesus Christ it was hot.  At 4PM I was at mile 40 and it was still 105F.  Was not ready for those conditions but I survived.  State number 32.

After that we headed south to Sheridan and visited some old favorites, including the Crazy Woman Saloon near the Bighorn finish and The Mint Bar.  

Sheridan is a great town, but after a long morning dog hike we were on the road again.  Ended up in Winter Park, doing some brewery visits before heading out Vasquez Road for the night.  Next day was down to Salida to see some friends, then Creede for the next night.

From Creede it was over to Del Norte for the Rhythms on the Rio festival.  This was a fantastic time, and we'll hit this up for the next few years before it becomes too big.  Highlights included Frasco, Magoo, Jeremy Garret, and the Kitchen Dwellers.  Dog friendly, awesome camping venue, easy access to the river, and nice hiking on Lookout Mountain.  Loving the valley more and more each time we visit.

Came home and officially became a grumpy old man, turning 50.  For my birthday I ran up Pikes from the house, ending at WestFax Brewing.  50k on the day.  Believe me, I noticed the much slower time up the Peak.

Then caught King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard at Ford Amphitheater.  Great time!

BTMR

Low running week, mostly due to a Big Richard concert, the WestFax one year anniversary shenanigans, and lots of time spent helping with the Barr Trail Mountain Race for SAR.  Did get in 13 miles of hiking up to Barr Camp and back on race day with a 50+ pound pack.  Good times.

run - 28 miles, 5.5 hours

hike - 43 miles, 17.5 hours

ride - four miles, 25 minutes

Seeing Cake on Wednesday evening, then it's off on the annual van trip.  Headed up to North Dakota to run a chunk of the Maah Daah Hey trail, then slowly making our way down south to Del Norte for the Rhythms on the Rio festival.

Barr Camp

SAR kept me busy but I still got some miles in, including a good long run on Sunday where I ran up to Barr Camp, returned, and then did the incline.  Hot as balls that day and I was pretty wiped afterwards.

run - 60 miles, 15.5 hours

hike - 23.5 miles, ten hours

bike - 26 miles, two hours