Pre-Season TrainingWhy winter is no time

for timeoff

Running Your Life Turning resolutions into visions

Race Wrap Ups:The Rescue Run and

Winter Series 1

Volume 34 Issue 2 Running News for the Pikes Peak Region February 2010

President’s Letter

Meeting Minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

From the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Long Run Long Ago, Joyce McKelvey . . . . . . . . .6

Volunteer Spotlight, Micky Simpson . . . . . . . . .7

Letters & News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Volunteer Corner Micky Simpson . . . . . . . . . . .10

Volunteer Ventures, Lynne Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Nielson Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Coach Carmine’s Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

PPRR Takes on a Tough Trail, Tim Steffens . .14

Off the Pavement: Ute Valley Park,Daiva Cooper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

A 25th Mile Win: Sacto’s Cowtown Marathon,Amanda Ewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Training During the Pre-Season, Mike Hagen .18

Running Your Life: Set your 2010 Vision,Tom Huberty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Book Review: Born to Run, Linda Fuqua-Jones .21

600+ Open New Winter Series Venue,Mike Shafai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Race of the Month: The Rescue Run, Tim Steffens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

3

Elected Board Members:

President: John Gardner

Vice President: Mike Shafai

Secretary: Linda Ronas

Treasurer: Pat Lockhart

Jon Cornick Ron Garcia

Dillon Harder Thom Santa Maria

Tim Steffens Luci Stansberry

Jon Teisher

Appointed Board Members et. al.

Editor: Emily Nesbit editor@pprrun.org

Bulk Mail: John Cassidy

Webmaster & Results: Dave Sorenson

Equipment: Larry Miller

Membership: Pat Lockhart & Heather Evans

Race Coordinator & Insurance: Pat Lockhart

Course Certification: Travis Waldrip

ADTM: Sara Wulfkuhle

RRCA Rep: Tim Steffens

Scholarships: Ron Garcia

Trail Clean-up: John Gardner & Tim Steffens

Club Meetings Business meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each

month at 7 pm at the downtown Pikes Peak YMCA, 207 N

Nevada. Your board encougages PPRR members and friends

to attend. The next meeting is Tuesday, February 2nd.

Membership JMemberships last for 12 months. Check the expiration

date on you mailing label. A happy face tells you that you

have 3 months or less. You will NoT receive a renewal no-

tice. Renew early so you don’t miss a single issue! Third class

mail is not forwarded, so keep addresses current. Send re-

newals and address changes to:

Membership

Pikes Peak Road Runners

207 N Nevada

Colorado Springs CO 80903

Long Run Stuffing Party

Next stuffing is Wednesday February 24th.

Long Run mailing preps usually take place on the last

Wednesday of each month at 6:30 pm. at the Colorado Run-

ning Company, 833 N. Tejon (corner of Tejon and Cache la

Poudre). The Colorado Running Company graciously hosts the

parties and provides beverages. Food (usually pizza) will be

provided. Everyone is welcome to join the fun! Write

editor@pprrun.org for more information.

Long Run Submissions

Items for the Long Run are greatly encouraged and most

welcome! You send it, we’ll print it. (and if it’s broke, we’ll fix

it!) Write up a race you were part of or tell us about a favorite

running place or an upcoming event.

Email your submissions to editor@pprrun.org either as

attachments or in the message body. We accept any editable

Windows compatible file format.

Photos and graphics can be submitted to Tim Steffens at

timmahh2@hotmail.com.

Submission Deadlines

All feature articles should be received by the first of the

month to ensure inclusion in the following month’s newslet-

ter. Letters and photos can be submitted up to the second

week of the month.

Advertising

Advertising is welcome and we can help with design.

Contact Dillon (advertising@pprrun.org) for more information

and for submissions. The editor and the PPRR board reserve

the right to determine the appropriateness of any advertising.

Insert flyers will be included at the rate of $50 per issue.

The maximum folded size is 8.5 x 11. Do not staple. Please

ensure brochures are unfolded. For printing, send original to

advertising@pprrun.org (add $60; color also available). If pre-

printed, please notify advertising@pprrun.org and deliver

1200 copies by the Long Run stuffing date (see above) to:

PPRR Newsletter

c/o Colorado Running Company

833 N Tejon

Colorado Springs CO 80903

Please include check for $50 payable

to PPRR.

PPRR Information The Long Run, Volume 34 Issue 2

The Long Run is the official publication of the Pikes Peak Road

Runners, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. The Long Run is

published monthly. The subscription rate is $15 per year.

Editor in Chief: Emily Nesbit; Layout: Jim Kelleher;

Photo Submissions: Tim Steffens; Advertising: Dillon Harder

Volunteer Content: Lori Hawkins;

Editorial Committee: Jon Teisher, Jon Cornick, John Gardner,

Mike Shafai, Micky Simpson

Return Address: Pikes Peak Road Runners

207 N Nevada

Colorado Springs CO 80903

The Long Run2

mitment to Pikes Peak Road Runners and our members.Without your support, there wouldn't be a club. I'd also liketo recognize and commend the newsletter committee for theexcellent content and creativity with the Long Run.

Until next month, stay warm and run safely!Yours in running,

Welcome to winter! In fact,winter arrived early ascolder than usual temper-

atures have been the norm these lastfew months. However, our first tworaces of the year brought with themnot only beautiful weather, but recordattendance as well. The Rescue Run

on New Year's Day had over 800 runners register and ap-proximately $7800 was raised for El Paso County Search andRescue. The first race of the Winter Series saw 615 partici-pants on a new course held at Cheyenne Mountain StatePark. Perhaps these races are beneficiaries of still-fresh NewYear's resolutions, but either way, it's great to see so manypeople turning out to run.

The number of runners competing in Pikes Peak RoadRunners races has been steadily increasing; it's a trend that'staking place all over the country. While perusing the PPRRwebsite, I was surprised to find sixteen different runninggroups listed. Now you have no excuses for not having a run-ning partner! Speaking from personal experience, runningwith a group has kept me motivated and helps to hold meaccountable. Also, if racing is what motivates you, look nofurther than then the PPRR race calendar. If you haven't al-ready signed up, you can still compete in races three and fourof the Winter Series on February 13th and 27th.

The record crowds on race day not only require a greaternumber of volunteers, but demand more out of each one. I'dlike to personally thank all those who've worked so hard tomake our first races of 2010 such a success, including thenew members who have stepped forward.

And while we're on the subject of volunteerism, Ameri-can Discovery Trail Marathon race director, Sara Wulfkuhle,is looking for willing and able bodies to help in this year'srace. If interested, please contact her at the link on the club'swebsite: www.pprrun.org. As further incentive for volun-teers, Micky Simpson, past PPRR President and currentVolunteer Coordinator, is looking at new items with whichto reward volunteer hours. Stay tuned for further details.

As we move into February, there's no doubt we'll be chal-lenged by more winter conditions in which to run. But lookat the bright side: you'll have the opportunity to use thatcold-weather running gear you got for Christmas and thereare only 48 days left until spring. Of course, that's accordingto the official calendar, but as we all know, Colorado has itsown definition of spring!

In closing, I'd like to once again thank the returning andnewly-elected board members for their hard work and com-

Cover: Laura Anderson floats ahead of Amy van Tassel in the Winter

Series 1 race at Cheynne Mountain. photo by Thomas DewaneJohn Gardner, President

February 2010 3

From the Editor

Hello Readers, so how are yourNew Year resolutions comingalong? By the looks of the past

few races of this new year, they’re look-ing pretty good. There have been morerunners and volunteers participatingthis year, than last year. Great job! If it’s

too cold for your running preferences, as they are for mine,you can still get out there to help serve up water or regis-ter runners.

I have been noticing, quite happily, that our days arestarting to get longer. More sunlight! More time to get outand play after work… soon enough. Lately, I feel like I haveevery excuse of why not to get out there. It’s too cold, tooicy and slippery (never mind that I have a nice pair of Yak-traxs sitting in the corner, scornfully watching me in com-plete boredom), it’s too dark when I get home from work,and I have too much to do. All valid excuses; however, totalcrap. I tend to lose motivation once winter hits: hiberna-tion mode of some sort I suppose. I can always resort tothe hamster wheel (i.e. treadmill), but that leads to moreexcuses. I’m not a hamster, it’s boring, and I really can’t rationalize spending money on a crowded gym. I supposeI was spoiled before I moved here.

I know I’m more spoiled living here with beautifulmountains. However, back at my former home, I couldhead out my door for a run and not worry about what endof town I’m in (the good side, iffy side, or bad). Countrylife was boring, yet peaceful. And to give you an idea ofhow popular running was in my area (small Midwest farmtown): one day I was out for a run and my neighbor, whowas driving by, slowed down along-side of me to ask “Areyou running from something, or just exercising…?” The rar-ity of running was fun. You stood out more. And there wasnever anyone around my routes to impede on my peacefulZen, except for the occasional yappy dog belonging to aneighbor. Horrible little ankle-biters!

Now I live in a mountain city, sharing trails androads and everything else. It can be a bit disruptiveto my peaceful Zen escape when I have to call out,“On your left!” and hope this person moves by thetime I get to them; but it is, indeed, much morebeautiful. At least this way if I ever get hurt,there will always be someone around to assistme (as it has for many runners, Barr Trail hasscored a few points on me). I suppose I can escape the gen-eral public if I go far enough into the mountains. However,with my graceful genes, it’s best I don’t do this alone. I

wonder how many bars my phone would get?And with a mountain city comes many more runners,

the acceptable lifestyle of runners (no one to ask if I’m run-ning from something… I assure you, you’ll know when I’mscreaming and flailing my arms), and running clubs. Backhome, the closest running club I could find was about 2hours away (yep, I looked it up). It does take a bit of get-ting used to such a switch, but it’s great. We have a ratherlarge community of people who, no matter where they arefrom, share the same lifestyle. It’s not a sport for us, it’s alifestyle. Everything is fashioned around it. Our time,travel, clothing, expenses, entertainment - everything isfashioned around our great love. These are people withwhom you can discuss training, injuries, and best routesto run. No more having to Google anything when you aresurrounded by a group that has been there, done that, andexperienced it. All have stories to tell. Maybe I’m a bit be-hind as far as how many races and such that everyone elsehas run, but it doesn’t matter. It’s not about that. What itcomes down to is your shared love of running. Whetheryou’re a socializer, an exerciser, or an escaper in search ofpeaceful Zen, our great love of this lifestyle brings us alltogether.

So, for this month of love and mushiness that makesmost people gag, indulge yourselves in your great love ofrunning. Go splurge on your feet with some new kicks,spend some quality time on a trail somewhere, or what-ever else you can think of. And take heart that spring isjust around the corner, and the cold weather will soon end.

Happy Running!

PPRR Meeting Minutes

January 2009

Attendance (Linda)Present: Luci Stansberry, Pat Lockhart,Thom Santa Maria, Sara Wulfkuhle,John Gardner, Tim Steffens, Jon Teisher,Dillon Harder, Heather Evans, Jon Cor-nick, Dave Sorenson, John Cassidy, RonGarciaAbsent: Larry Miller

Excused: Mike Shafai, Micky Simpson, Emily NesbitGuests: Jim Kelleher, Anita Fromm

Meeting Minutes (Linda) – Last regular Board meetingminutes unanimously approved one amendment re: theScholarship item

Committee Member Appointments (John G.)Bulk Mail – John CassidyCalendar – Dave SorensonCourse Certifications – Travis WaldripEquipment – Larry MillerElectronics – Dave SorensonInsurance – Pat LockhartMembership – Pat Lockhart & Heather EvansNewsletter – Emily NesbitPromotion – Pat LockhartRace Coordinator – Pat LockhartRRCA Representative – Tim SteffensScholarship – Ron GarciaVolunteer Coordinator – Micky SimpsonWebmaster – Dave SorensonTrail Clean-up – Tim Steffens & John GardnerYMCA Board Display – Jon CornickPast Events:Nielson (1/2/10 Pat for Al) – 83 finishers, cold weather,20-30 newRescue Run (1/1/10 Dave) – Record turnout, 824 sign-ups, 778 finishers

Up Coming Events:Winter Series I (1/9/10 Mike/John G.) – Spoke to parkranger yesterday to finalize arrangements, ready to goADTM (9/6/10 Wulfkuhle) – Reviewed list of roles andtasks needing attention; there are still several volunteerpositions needing filled

Event Promotion (Pat) – Working with Winter Series;club’s membership w/Active.com updated to 12/31/2010

Road Runner Club of America (John G.) – Tim will handlegoing forward. Required membership fees were paid.Need to follow up on listing PPRR events on the RRCAcalendar.

Certifications/Measuring (Travis) – No reportYMCA – John G. to contact YMCA to see about having

representative attendScholarship/Grant Status – Ron to handle going forward.

He will create item for newsletterNewsletter (Emily/Jim) – Need to update verbiage regard-

ing advertising requirements; specifically PPRR doesnot print inserts. Jim will investigate amount of last in-voice. Need to discuss content of the last page of thenewsletter at the next Board meeting as it pertains tomembership renewal info. Also need to discuss ques-tion of keeping newsletter operating costs withinbudget. Suggestion to create handbook for newsletter“process”. Add’l discussion next month.Motion by Ron to offer 50% discount to BRC off backcover costs for one issue. Seconded by John C. Unan-imously approved.Archives (Thom) – Options explored to store previousversions. Pat will research re: potential interest con-flicts of non-profit’s info housed in for-profit companyand report out at next Board meeting.

Calendar (Dave) – Venue scheduling conflict betweenGreat Race and UCCS run on 9/11. Pat will inform JohnG. on City’s response re: reservation and John will makedecision re: location. Last year had 112 participants.

Webmaster (Dave) – Switched to different hosting planwith same provider. Supposed to be faster and accom-modate simultaneous users. New statistics packagecounts things differently so December’s #s looks larger.

Volunteer Coordinator (John for Micky) – Handout pro-vided of potential changes in volunteer awards. Mem-ber to review and discuss at next Board meeting.

Trail Clean UpPikes Peak Greenway (Tim/John G.) – Have partneredwith Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful. Next one 1/16;future dates posted on our website.

Race Coordinator (Pat) – Renewed memo of understand-ing with EP county parks. CS P&R have increasedpark fees substantially. Potentially keep membershipfees stable but revisit event registration fees. Suggestdropping CC’s Tiger run and picking up Pumpkin Run10/2 (Bob Small). Dave Owlsley requested help in Novwith Xterra event Oct 9, just finish line; Board felt clubcould take on. Run for Rachel 3/27, requesting finishline support. Pat motioned to pass on this race, Thomseconded; unanimously approved. Next month AnitaFromm will present info re: a 12/11 Christmas UglySweater run.

Membership (Pat) - Information provided. Need to obtainadd’l membership forms. Don’t want to change mem-

continued on page 7

The following minutes are condensed and pending approval. For full meeting min-

utes, contact Secretary Linda Ronas

The Long Run February 2010 54

Emily Nesbit, Editor

This month’s volunteer spotlight shines on 84-year-old Bill Bennett. Bill began his running career backin high school as a ¼-miler in New York City. As a

senior, he was considered to be the fourth best at that dis-tance in the city. He continued his running, while attend-ing Manhattan College with a best ¼ mile time of 48.5seconds.

Bill’s running was interrupted while serving as an in-structor during WWII and later as an Air Force officer inthe Korean Conflict. After retiring from service in 1972, Billbecame part owner of a small accounting and tax prepara-tion firm. He later learned computer programming, devel-oping software for tax professionals.

Joining the club in 1978, Bill found himself helping atthe finish line of a 5K in Monument Valley. His volunteerefforts just expanded from there. With his computerknowledge, Bill was recruited to write software that, whileupdated, is still being used by the club to report race re-sults. He has worked every position from water stops tofinish lines, even taking the position of Vice President dur-

ing Roger Allison’s presidency. For many years, Bill was incharge of measuring most of the local race courses. Theonly reason he stepped aside three years ago was becauseit became too difficult to get on and off the bike, but withhis recent knee surgery, maybe this will change!

Bill’s favorite course is the Garden of the Gods TenMiler. He calls it the “prettiest race in town,” though hedoes admit he hated to measure it. One reason Bill may lovethis race course so much is because it was his first race herein Colorado Springs back in 1979. He took 5th in his agegroup, and, as he says, the competitive bug hit. He laterwent on to win his age group in the Triple Crown, whichwe all know is a challenge. And while running theRawhide Marathon in 1985, he qualified for the BostonMarathon by running a 3:24:50.

Bill has also served the community as a Boy Scout Mas-ter while on active duty and as a Rotarian for twenty fiveyears. Volunteering just runs in Bill’s blood. These days youwill see Bill helping at the finish lines. Be sure to thank himwhen you do!

The Long Run6

Meeting Minutescontinued from page 4

February 2010 7

the Long Run Long Ago

by Joyce McKelvey

10 Years Ago

In February 2000’s Long Runcover article, “A Tall Tale in

the Making,” Steve Prudhommecompared Fox Run in BlackForest, with trees, ups, downs,and frozen precipitation cover-ing the ground to Germany’sBlack Forest. His Winter Seriesfirst run was a race to “tell thegrandkids about.” Dave Soren-son noted in his “President’sLetter” the vastness of area trailsand open spaces available due to TOPS’ efforts. He laternoted that, following California, Colorado had the secondhighest number of qualifiers (17) for the upcomingWomen’s Olympic Marathon Trials. Ross Wesley reportedon his “Taste of Colorado Running” the previous year invarious state events, including a new Grand Prix series inColorado Springs. The Triple Crown of Running an-nounced the return of a second-leg July event with the newSummer Roundup Trail Run beginning at Penrose Eques-trian Center.

20 Years Ago

Interestingly, Club PresidentBob Mutu wrote in the February1990 Long Run about the rumorthat the “Triple Crown as youhave known it is no longer in ex-istence” and noted a new trio ofraces organized by Dick andSusan Sutton. The Ute PassPreservation Society offered SaveWaldo Canyon tee/sweatshirtsto support efforts to prevent pro-posed gravel mining in lowerWaldo Canyon. Also noted was

an April Annual Fitness Seminar planned by Dave Garcia,and local Hash House Harriers & Harriettes shared up-coming events. Roger Allison, in “Running with theRhino,” described a workout as 25% perspiration and 75%determination (one part physical exertion, three parts self-discipline).

30 Years Ago

The February 1980 newsletter began with PresidentDick Sutton sharing his belief that the running boom

in Colorado Springs was just beginning and pointed outthe need for volunteers with increasing running events.Joining Dick as new club officers were Jim MacDouglad,Betty McLean, and Fran Bancroft. First male and femalefinishers in the “Freeze-Out” Four Mile were Bill Par-mentler (age 19) and Sharon Foster (17); in the Two MileScott Sutton (15) and Diane Gilliam (30).

You know you’re a runner when....

LSD is recreation, not a recreational drug You measure distance in time.You tell how old your shoes are by how many miles are

on them.You know your way around town based on running

routes.You don’t laugh when you hear the word “fartlek.”Runner’s World and FastWomen.com provide more

pin-ups than Playboy.Your pulse is too slow to donate blood.You can eat your weight in pasta.You categorize songs on your i-pod by beats-per-

minute.It’s always a beautiful day for running.Your favorite food group is carbohydrates.Your bathroom smells like Icy-Hot.You can say, “I like to run,” in 4 languages.Your calves are bigger than your biceps.You can convert kilometers to miles in your head.You know what sweat tastes like.You buy the Wii because someone said it has a running

video.You go for a run to relax.

contributed by Lori Hawkins

Volunteer Spotlight: Bill Bennettby Micky Simpson

Bill Bennett at the Garden of the Gods race in 2006. This course is

reportedly his favorite of the many local courses he has measured and

certified through his many years of service to the Pikes Peak community.

bership fees; John proposing add’l mailing change. Dis-cuss further at next Board mtg. John to bring more info.

December655 Individual, 1059 Current30 Clubs, 336 Memberships expiring within the next 3months12 Life, 56New156 Family primary, 32 Renew530 Family members1483 Total Members, 952 Total Mailing

President’s Report (John G.) – Nothing new to reportOld/New Business – John C. proposing future ultraevent. Would like to form subcommittee to investigate.Ron made a motion to form an ad hoc committee to ex-plore this topic; Jon C. seconded. Unanimously ap-proved.

Next meeting February, 2, 2010, 7:00 pm DowntownYMCA

Linda Ronas, Secretary

News and Events

Dear Editor,Several of my running buddies

from the Tulsa, Oklahoma area did the2009 American Discovery TrailMarathon as part of a “double.” Weran the New Mexico Marathon onSunday; and the ADTM on Monday.The second day was amazing. Weloved the scenery, the passing trainsthat had no name, and the nice grad-ual descent all the way to ColoradoSprings. The aid stops were great;there was never a time that one couldget off course. And the finish line wasamazing! Running a loop around thepark before the finish line gave all myfriends ample time to see us as we en-tered the park to cheer us on and totake pictures. This is a course I wouldlove to do again, especially with freshlegs as I believe it could be a greattrack for a PR. Rates 4 out of 4 starsin my books!

Ken ChildressTulsa, Oklahoma

P.S. A link to my race report:http://trailzombie.blogspot.com/2009/ 1 2 / a m e r i c a n - d i s c o v e r y - t r a i l -marathon.html

Dear Editor,I quit writing after my last opera-

tion, and was not able to start upagain until two Pikes Peak Road Runners, George Jones and LindaFuqua-Jones paid a surprise visit andran in our December races. My agingmemory made me forget Pikes PeakRoad Runner names like the late Gloria Baker and the very active PatLockhart, but I did introduce them toPacers that have run Pikes Peak aswell as other marathoners, distin-guished officers, and volunteers.

The scheduled 3K and 8K raceswere almost a disaster. The normalrace courses had dangerous black ice.

We waited about an hour while capa-ble President James Royal laid outnew courses using the paved shorewalk around the Bob Woodruff ParkLake. The slightly altered distances,2.8K and 8.25K, were certified by theend of the race. Weather was sunny,temperatures at twenty-six degreesfor the race, and forty degrees ataward time.

Your reporter won a third place inage group in the 2.8K. His time was35:33, dead last. The Pikes Peak RoadRunners did better in the 8.25K.George Jones was best Senior in 34:56,and Linda Fuqua-Jones was second inher age group in 56:17.

Pikes Peak Road Runners are al-ways welcome. Check http://www.planopacers.org for race info and roadmaps. Plano generally has warmertemperatures and more oxygen in theair than Colorado Springs.

Regards,William L. Jones

Editor’s note: The Long Run is please to wel-come Mr. Jones’ letter back to these pages andhopes that he will continue his many-year his-tory of contributing news from Plano and hisfond memories of the Pikes Peak Region run-ning community.

Letters

PPRR’s President Pushing for PR’s

John Gardner is my president! OK,not quite as catchy as the old NRA

bumper sticker, but congrats toJohnny G for his recent 3:40:46marathon at Tucson. John missed aBoston qualifier by a mere 90 secondslast month at NYC, and was hoping toget that time down in Arizona. Hewas on pace for 20 miles before hittingthe wall and struggling over the finalfew miles. It was John’s 10th marathonfinish. Next up for him is the CatalinaMarathon in March, a race that al-ways gets lots of Colorado peeps.

New Mountain Marathon: 6000ft Up

and Nothing Down

Speaking of Tucson, big news fromthe Grand Canyon state for all you

fans of uphill running. The inauguralMount Lemmon marathon and halfmarathon will be held on October 17,2010, in Tucson. Starting at 3,100 feet

above sea level, the marathon courseheads up, up, up more than 6,000 feetto the top of the mountain at 9,147feet. I checked out the course profileand it looks pretty rough, as the first20 miles are a steady climb. The halfmarathon follows the second half ofthe marathon, so they get some hills inas well. More information on this racecan be found online, and the race evenstole an idea from our own Winter Se-ries and started their own facebookpage.

Tougher than a Boston Qualifier

Another new marathon on the na-tional scene is the Exeter

Marathon in Rhode Island. The racebills itself as “the only marathon in theUSA, outside of the OlympicMarathon Trials, where qualificationis the ONLY means of entry.” Andqualifying is tough too, as the stan-dards are five minutes faster thanBoston’s standards. The race is twodays before Boston, so for those of youwho were shut out due to the earlyfilling of Beantown this could be apossibility.

US Hopefuls at Boston

Big news on the Boston front as re-cent NYC marathon champ Meb

Keflezighi and up and comer RyanHall have signed up for the trip toHopkinton. One of them could be-come the first American to win Bostonsince 1983.

New 13.1 and 50 Milers for 2010

Lots of new races in 2010, some a bitcloser to the Front Range. The

Boulder Spring Half will be held on

March 14. They’ll have half marathon,ten miles, and 10K options. It’s on thesame dirt roads as the Boulder Back-roads Marathon. There’s also a newultra on the scene, the North Fork 50.Starting and ending in lovely Pine, CO

(about 60 miles northwest of theSprings), they offer 50 mile and 50Koptions, all on trails. The North Fork50 will be held on July 17, 2010.

Runner’s World Gives Nod to

Colorado Races

Lots of PPRR folks head up to Boul-der every May for the Bolder Boul-

der 10K. The race was recently namedby Runner’s World magazine as thebest 10K in America. That same arti-cle also named our very own PikesPeak Marathon as the second hardestrace in the country, behind the West-ern States 100 and Badwater. Person-ally, I’m bitter that Hardrock didn’ttop that list.

2:05 Marathon Good Enough for...

3RD?

Was looking over the topmarathon times from 2009. 131

runners broke 2:10 during the year.The top three times were from theRotterdam Marathon. Can you imag-ine running 2:05:04 and only gettingthird place? Two Americans made thelist, Meb Keflezighi and Ryan Hall.Former CU Buff Dathan Ritzenheinjust missed the cut, running 2:10:00 inLondon.

Dave Sorenson Does Double Duty

Thanks to Dave Sorenson for all theovertime he put in during the first

weekend of the year. Dave once againput on a terrific Rescue Run. That’ssuch a great way to start the new year,seeing so many friends and support-ing the Search and Rescue guys, whowill surely have to save my butt some-day. And Dave was there the next daytoo, making sure everything was run-ning smoothly at the Nielson Chal-lenge. That was my first ever Nielson

Challenge, and it was a blast! I used itas a good way to get some tempowork in during a long run, and willcertainly make it back. Definitelysomething you should try if youhaven’t been there yet.

Mr Biggs Hosts New Social Run

It’s no secret that a lot of runnersenjoy some brews after a workout,

and the Springs bar scene has defi-nitely picked upon this. Mr.Biggs is the lat-est pub to start

a running club. Thursday nights at6PM they have a 5K run along theSanta Fe trail, followed by $2 pints oftwo of my favorite beers: LaughingLab and PBR. Trinity Brewing, JackQuinn’s, Salsa Bravo, Good Company,and Indigo Joe’s all have groups thatmeet to run for a few miles followedby specials on food and drink. Notruth to the rumors that Kinfolk’s hasa happy hour that includes the Incline,as that would be trespassing.

I do my best to keep upwith the local runningscene, but after six orseven hours on the in-ternet my boss usuallyyells at me to do somework. If you havesomething big comingup, shoot an e-mail to jteisher@gmail.comand let me know what you’re up to. -JT

The Long Run February 2010 98

Are you

expiring?Don’t miss a single issue!

Check right now for a

Happy Face on your

newsletter label. If you see it,

it’s time to renew!

Good to go?

Then put the enclosed

application in the hands of a

friend, family-member, or

associate.

February 2010 11

Volunteer Corner

As you all know, February is themonth for love and there are avariety of ways in which we

find love. We find love in the companyof our friends and family, in the joy weget from running, or our love of volun-teering our time for the benefit of oth-ers. If you happen to love sharing yourpassion and effort with others, I have

some information that may be beneficial to you. By volunteering with PPRR you have the opportunity

to earn some wonderful rewards, including a trip to Can-cun or Alaska. OK, you can’t really win a trip, but thesocks are pretty sweet. There are numerous rewards thatare available exclusively to our volunteers, and the Boardis in the process of updating the rewards list for publica-tion in the next issue. In the meantime, if you have reachedany of the volunteer levels and would like to receive infor-mation regarding available thank you gifts, please feel freeto contact me at volunteers@pprrun.org and I will behappy to make arrangements for your rewards to be

picked up at the running store of your choice in the Col-orado Springs area. I have been talking to volunteers at thelatest races and have found there are a lot of you out therewho do not know how to get your awards, so please passthis information along.

I would also love to take the opportunity to recognizeand express my gratitude to Dean Buck for his generousgift to our club. By volunteering his time with PPRR, Deanwas able to take advantage of Verizon’s Volunteer Match-ing Gift Program and donate $750 to our club. Thank youDean!

Don’t forget, we need volunteers for every race we puton, so contact me if you are available, and don’t forget tothank those volunteers as you see them at registration andthroughout the race and finish! The upcoming races weneed volunteers for are: Winter Series III on February 13th(Winter Series I utilized the expertise of over 50 volun-teers), and Winter Series IV on February 27th. I hope tosee you at the next race!

Volunteer Ventures: the Long Run Stuffingby Lynne Hall

The Long Run

Bronze Level:

10 to 20 Hours*You have earned a

PPRR t-shirt

Jonathon Veteto 20

Don Johnson 19

Tony Abdella 18

Bill Bennett 18

Melissa Waters 18

Debbie Bloch 17

Jeff Tarbert 17

Andrew Abdella 16

Tracy Anderson 16

John Cassidy 16

Dillon Harder 16

Jessica Santa Maria 16

Jon Teisher 16

John O'Neill 13

Marc Wulfkuhle 13

Phil Goulding 12

Al Grimme 12

Lynne Hall 12

Darrell Weaver 12

Diane Kelsay 10

Emily Nesbit 10

Jim Newton 10

Silver Level:

21 to 50 Hours*

You have earned a cap,

race entry or gift certificate

Gil Kindt 44

Pat Lockhart 44

Matt Hopper 42

Tim Steffens 41

Travis Waldrip 40

John Gardner 39

Lyn Hale 35

Cruz Martinez 35

Bill Ranson 35

Mary Jo Piccin 34

Thom Santa Maria 34

Mike Shafai 33

Jim Kelleher 30

Jim Beckenhaupt 26

Gordon Barnett 25

Jon Cornick 25

Dean Buck 24

Ron Garcia 24

Steve McDermitt 24

Meredith Brodeur 23

Zane Meredith 23

Marie Baughman 22

Esme Delange 21

Gold Level:

51 to 75 Hours*

You have earned a jacket or duffel

Micky Simpson 68

Angie Earle 59

Luci Stansberry 58.5

Heather Evans 51

Diamond Level:

76 to 99 HoursYou have earned a year's membership and

entry to the Fall & Winter Series

Larry Miller 98

Dave Sorenson 98

2010 Volunteer Hours

* as of January 10th

10

Melissa Leftwich and Beverly Carver give smiling witness to how much fun volunteers have at the

monthly mailing preparation of the Long Run. Many hands make light work and much socializing..

Micky SimpsonVolunteer Coordinator

This month,I am goingto let you

in on a little se-cret. There is onevolunteer activ-ity that is actu-ally a monthly

social gathering disguised as a volun-teer duty: the monthly stuffing of thePPRR’s Long Run.

Here is what we do…we start withroughly 1400 newsletters and stuffabout 6 or 8 flyers on average into everynewsletter. The flyers can be club cal-endars, race entry forms, club registra-tion forms, or advertising pieces. By mycount, this means we collate some-where between 10,000 and 12,000pieces of paper each month. The maga-zines are then stapled, mailing labelsare applied, and the newsletters arebanded by zip code into small bundles

for mailing. Oh, the sheer mathemati-cal madness of it all!!!

No, no . . . not really. The truth iswe all have so much fun talking, jok-ing, eating, and drinking throughoutthe process that the time goes byquickly. Sure, there is the occasionalcomment of “…will these piles of paperever get any shorter?” or “…did some-one order the pizza yet?” And therewas that one time Matt Carpenterconducted a time and motion studyand tried to get us to improve ourstuffing form, but we quickly lapsedback into our old ways.

Bottom line: we have a ton of fun.Here are the top reasons you shouldgive newsletter stuffing a try:

You will get to meet a lot of won-derful fellow runners and make newfriends. We compare notes on trainingand racing, learn about new trails andfun places to run, and discover newrunning partners. I learned about sev-eral very cool runs that I have sincetried as a result of “G2” from this group.

Our club officers frequently join in onthe fun. So if you want to meet the teamwho leads our club, and perhaps discussclub issues or brainstorm creative ideaswith them, this is the place to do it.

You can find out about other vol-unteer duties. Many of our race direc-tors are regulars at the stuffing party,and are always looking for morehelpers.

They feed you – yes, we have wineand beer, snacks, and dinner just aboutevery month except November wheneveryone needs to get home to preparetheir own Thanksgiving feasts. Thefood and beverages are supplied by acombination of the wonderful folks atthe Colorado Running Company, ourrunning club, and some of us who justbring goodies for fun. The December 30newsletter stuffing party was a highwater mark. A couple of Santa’s elvesdecided to bring an entire Mexicanfood buffet and yummy desserts – itwas a fantastic feast.

You can conveniently shop at theColorado Running Company (833North Tejon at Cache La Poudre) whilevolunteering. The good folks at Col-orado Running Company let us disruptand rearrange their store every month todo the stuffing, and they are huge sup-porters of our running community. Socome out and join us for some fun andfood, and oh yes, a tiny bit of work.

Bev CarverBruce WackerDaiva Cooper

Dave ThomsonDennis Collard

Diana ShafaiDiane CahalanEmily Nesbit

Jeff ChowningJim KelleherJim NewtonJohn CassidyJohn Gardner

Jon TeisherLarry Miller

Logan CooperLori Hawkins

Lynne HallMarie BaughmanMelissa Leftwich

Mike ShafaiNorm Hall

Phil GouldingTim SteffensTom Huberty

Long Run

Mailing Volunteers!

Kathy Hoops 65 21:16.8 20:54.6 - 00:22.2

Brian Smithey 21 15:04.1 14:43.2 - 00:20.9

Rob Smit 25 15:33.5 15:15.5 - 00:18.0

Chris Carruth 12 14:11.9 13:54.6 - 00:17.3

Laura Hronik 24 15:13.1 14:58.4 - 00:14.7

Curtis Hamstra 10 13:34.4 13:37.4 + 00:03.0

Chris Knapp 54 19:34.1 19:37.5 + 00:03.4

Amy Brenneman 52 18:40.5 18:44.1 + 00:03.6

Tim Barry 8 13:27.6 13:31.7 + 00:04.1

Adrian Stanciu 9 13:30.6 13:36.1 + 00:05.5

Bren Triplett 42 17:56.6 18:06.4 + 00:09.8

Kat Kiser 22 14:39.1 14:50.6 + 00:11.5

Mark Ewell 1 11:53.8 12:07.3 + 00:13.5

Keith Griggs 15 13:46.4 14:02.7 + 00:16.3

Lisa Kulka 69 20:46.7 21:06.4 + 00:19.7

Calvin Nordberg 18 14:02.0 14:24.7 + 00:22.7

Nathan Ley 26 14:50.1 15:15.8 + 00:25.7

David Minter 2 11:49.3 12:16.9 + 00:27.6

Phil Goulding 17 13:50.5 14:22.3 + 00:31.8

Nate Kiser 7 12:13.2 12:50.2 + 00:37.0

Thia Whittle 61 19:23.6 20:02.5 + 00:38.9

Michael Guenther 11 13:09.8 13:50.2 + 00:40.4

Jim Coker 13 13:12.3 13:57.5 + 00:45.2

Korina Lyons 30 15:58.3 16:44.7 + 00:46.4

Andrew Botcherby 19 13:45.6 14:34.1 + 00:48.5

Kevin Kinney 44 17:19.7 18:09.8 + 00:50.1

Elizabeth Jaszkowiak 63 19:21.0 20:17.6 + 00:56.6

Martin Taylor 37 16:46.7 17:44.5 + 00:57.8

Alana Hawley 55 18:44.5 19:44.6 + 01:00.1

Ray Sibley 35 16:27.7 17:29.1 + 01:01.4

Carl Nelson 23 13:52.1 14:54.3 + 01:02.2

Mark Norton 59 18:42.7 19:51.4 + 01:08.7

Jim Beckenhaupt 32 15:51.6 17:02.1 + 01:10.5

Tim Couger 36 16:24.0 17:36.6 + 01:12.6

John Cassidy 29 15:30.5 16:43.6 + 01:13.1

Paul Jaszkowiak 14 12:45.6 13:59.6 + 01:14.0

Eric Nordberg 38 16:31.0 17:46.5 + 01:15.5

Les Bell 49 17:13.4 18:36.6 + 01:23.2

Vickie Roy 81 24:01.4 25:27.3 + 01:25.9

Ron Hawley 75 20:56.1 22:23.3 + 01:27.2

Karen Barry 60 18:25.5 19:53.4 + 01:27.9

Susan Hirst 51 17:08.3 18:42.7 + 01:34.4

Laurel Rathbun 34 15:35.1 17:14.2 + 01:39.1

Ed Gleason 28 14:46.1 16:40.4 + 01:54.3

Ellie Triplett 66 18:45.8 20:55.4 + 02:09.6

Shealynn Hawley 76 20:00.5 22:25.9 + 02:25.4

Amy Shieff 78 20:57.1 23:29.1 + 02:32.0

Tammy Karl 58 17:11.7 19:50.4 + 02:38.7

Karen Karl 57 17:03.8 19:49.7 + 02:45.9

David Williams 48 15:34.7 18:28.2 + 02:53.5

Alyssa Karl 74 19:15.6 22:22.3 + 03:06.7

Bailee Hart 70 18:02.1 21:09.9 + 03:07.8

Kylee Hart 68 17:25.7 21:04.2 + 03:38.5

Dave Hart 71 16:50.4 21:10.8 + 04:20.4

Jon Grams 67 12:06.2 20:56.0 + 08:49.8

Merideth Brodeur 82 19:13.3 33:49.3 + 14:36.0

The Nielson Challenge handicap race takes place the first Saturdayof each month in North Monument Valley Park in downtown Col-orado Springs, directly west of the Fontenero access, at 8:00 in themorning. Runners compete against their own previous best times.See www.pprrun.org and click on Nielson Challenge for a map andmore information.

The Nielson Memorial in Monument Park, commemo-

rating Larry Nielson, marks the start of the monthly

handicap race.

The first Nielson Challenge of the new decade greeted uswith morning sunshine and temps around 30. 83 run-

ners came out, with a large number of first timers. Theremust be people implementing their New Year's resoutions.The competition for the most improved runner of themonth was hotly contested. Kathy Hoops was 22 secondsunder her handicap for the monthly most improved hon-ors. But she was only 2 seconds better than the next run-ner, Brian Smithey. Congratulations to all. Many peoplehave done a race weekend double, running the Rescue Runyesterday and the Nielson

January ResultsName Place Handicap Actual Difference

Dave Sorenson

2010 ChampionsDec: Ariel Petros-Good

Jan: Kathy Hoops

Feb:

Mar:

Apr:

May:

Jun:

Jul:

Aug:

Sep:

Oct:

Nov:

Coach Carmine’s Corner

Dear Coach Carmine,What’s the deal with slower

runners lining up at the very front ofraces?

Dave, Colorado Springs, CO

Dare-Devil Dave, Have you forgotten the point of the

race? It’s to figure out who’s fast andwho’s not. If the race hasn’t startedyet, how do you know that one personis slower than another? How do youknow the person standing next to youisn’t a genuine speedster and is won-dering why you’re lining up in frontwith them?

That being said, Coach Carminethinks that, unless you’ve got gameand stand a chance of winning thewhole enchilada, or at least a top spotin your age group, it’s sometimes bestto defer the front to the fast crowd, orat least to those who think they’refast. It always feels good to be thepasser, not the “passee”.

More importantly, if a wannabespeed-monger toes the front of theline only to get passed around miletwo by the more patient runners, justmake sure the poser knows who youare as you cruise on by. That way,when it comes to the next race, he or

she will know to at least line up be-hind you.

Dear Coach Carmine,How do you nicely tell the per-

son next to you on the gym tread-mill that they stink and they need totake a shower?

Tim, Colorado Springs, CO

Treadmill Tim, This is an interesting question.

But, as Coach Carmine likes to do, hewill answer your question with an-other question: How is it that you cansmell the stench of your gym-neighborover your own horrendous stench?And another question: Why does yourneighbor's stench over-power yourstench? Are you working out hardenough while you’re at the gym, or areyou just showing up to do somenamby-pamby workout routine whileyou read your latest edition of Seven-teen magazine? Coach Carmine thinksyou need to focus more on your work-out and not so much on how oftenyour gym neighbor is showering. Canyou dig it, Sissy Boy?

Dear Coach Carmine,What kind of clothes do you rec-

ommend sporting for really coldwinter runs?

Chad, Manitou Springs, CO

Chilly Chad, Thank you for your timely ques-

tion, as everyone knows that Februaryis one of the coldest months of theyear. Coach Carmine prefers to go toMexico in the winter, where he runsin his favorite pair of rainbow dolphinshorts and tank-top. But when hehappens to be stuck in colder cli-mates, he’s happy he has a very warm

under-sweater of mammal hair tokeep him warm. Of course, whentemps drop to single digits or lower,the under-sweater simply doesn’t cutit. Coach Carmine is hairy, but he’snot as hairy as the guy from the Geicocaveman commercials. So that’s whenthe Coach brings out the big guns.

Coach Carmine always keeps abase layer handy to wear over hismammal hair. As his base, he usuallyuses a long-sleeve wicking runningshirt. He then layers other materialover the base layers, keeping the mostfashionable layers for the outside.That way, the ladies can see how coolhe is. His favorite outer layer is his or-ange thermal vest because it remindshim of the life preserver he wearswhile swimming in Mexico.

Two other essentials for winterrunning include a hat that covers theears and some warm gloves. CoachCarmine has found that as long as hisdigits and ears are cozy, the rest ofhim is cozy. So get out there and al-ways remember… Treadmills suck!Just ask Tim.

Matt Hegeman 16:32.2

Dallas Leasure 14:41.8

Chip Arnold 18:20.1

Paul Arnold 18:20.7

Ben Taber 12:48.9

Paul Stancil 18:48.9

Joni Raile 16:48.1

Isabela Krueck 20:21.3

Lina Krveck 17:04.3

Michelle Taylor 17:55.5

Chris Taylor 17:55.9

David Havlick 12:37.2

Katie Throndsen 18:09.1

Jon Teisher 12:44.4

Trudy DeCoronado18:13.7

Justin Dessart 21:31.9

Tanya Dye 22:13.8

Scott White 14:18.8

Richard Valorose 20:07.8

Claire Ruth 18:38.0

Anne Raile 22:35.0

Summer Roy 17:55.0

Aaron Hutmacher 23:52.1

Abigail Hutmacher23:53.8

James Webber 12:29.7

Stan Nichurch 19:47.6

Brenda Grimme 39:57.6

New Runners

Name Time Name Time

Best Question of the Month

The writing staff here at the Long Run

has decided our readers could use

some running advice. Unfortunately,

given the tight budget that is typical of

non-profit organizations, we don’t have

a lot of money to pay for it. But don’t

worry. We found Coach Carmine and

he’s willing to help. We haven’t quite fig-

ured out exactly what he coaches, so

please keep in mind that not all advice is

good advice. As the old adage says,

“You get what you pay for.” If you have a

question for The Coach, send it to

coachcarmine@pprrrun.org. If your ques -

tion is selected as the best question of

the month, you will receive a free entry

to the Pikes Peak Road Runner race of

your choice.

The Long Run February 201012 13

The Coach’s favorite outer layer is his orange

thermal vest because it reminds him of the life

preserver he wears while swimming in Mexico.

February 2010The Long Run14

Alittle over two years ago, JohnGardner and I decided to con-tinue the effort of removing de-

bris from the section of the Santa FeTrail from the 8th Street Wal-Mart tothe Bijou Street Bridge.

Trail cleanup was originally startedby Dave Balzer in April 1998 when he

was President of the Pikes Peak Road Runners from 1998-1999. The Pikes Peak Road Runners became responsiblefor the trail from the Bijou Bridge to Dorchester Park. Theroute, at some point, was shortened to Wal-Mart as theamount of trash became overwhelming. Dave Sorensontook over the lead role when he became President of PPRRin 2000 – 2001, and Don Johnson took over the role in2002. The Pikes Peak Road Runners, along with the effortsof many volunteers, have now been maintaining this sec-tion of trail for 11 amazing years! During a short amount oftime, many changes have come to our city and we have hadto adapt our efforts.

When John and I began, the trash along the trail couldat times be a bit overwhelming, yet manageable by us andthe many individuals that have come out to help over thepast few years. We have mainly stuck to the trail, remov-ing trash from the trail itself and any debris that wasclearly visible and within our means of removal. We havebeen meeting in the Southwest corner of the 8th StreetWal-Mart parking lot at 9:00 am the first Saturday of eachmonth, and hiking the trail to the Bijou Street Bridge andback.

PPRR works with the Parks and Recreation Depart-ment, which supplies the trash bags needed for the effort.

John and I have been leaving the collected trash at a desig-nated location where the Park and Recreation Departmenthas been removing it. Also, the City of Colorado SpringsParks and Recreation Department has graciously added aPPRR sign that can be seen at the West side of the pedes-trian bridge from America the Beautiful Park. Keep youreye out for it!

Pete Solie and Brutus (Pete’s squat bulldog that will doanything for a good scratch) have been showing up everymonth since John and I began our efforts. Pete and Brutusare always there and always go the “extra mile.” Pete hasbeen concentrating his efforts on the trail next to the creekby Wal-Mart and has been known to spend up to fourhours removing trash, shopping carts, and who knowswhat else from the area.

Over the last year, the situation has changed drastically.I’m sure as runners, many of you reading this run the SantaFe Trail South of the Bijou Street Bridge and have noticednot only the increased amount of trash, but also the stag-gering amount of homeless living in the area. In termseveryone can easily understand, our efforts are now over-whelmed.

On November 7th, John and I were making our hikealong the trail after leaving the rest of the “crew” whohad decided to focus our efforts on the trail next to Wal-Mart with Pete. We were immediately inundated by twoimmense piles of trash which were obviously left by the

homeless. We had picked up what trash we could han-dle and had decided to leave these piles for the timebeing and continue to focus on the trail itself. We madeour way to the pedestrian bridge that leads to the SantaFe Trail from America the Beautiful Park, and came uponyet another enormous pile of debris! We had been leav-ing the collected trash bags at this particular trail inter-section for removal by The Park and RecreationDepartment.

We were in the process of bagging the trash and mov-ing it to the “drop off” location when out of the blue an un-marked police vehicle, some vans, and pickups drove upon the trail from the west. Approximately twenty teensand adults got out with trash bags in hand, and began topick up trash along the trail! Now this was a concentratedeffort! Suddenly, out of nowhere there were 20 plus indi-viduals filling trash bag after trash bag and loading them allinto the pickups. Not only did we have help in our increas-ingly overwhelmed efforts, but we also had the “luxury” ofhefting the full bags into trucks that were driving directlyon the trail with a CSPD escort.

As it turns out, there are three officers that comprisethe H.O.T. (Homeless Outreach Team). They work anddeal with the ever increasing homeless issue in ColoradoSprings. The other group involved with the cleanup wasKeep Colorado Springs Beautiful. They remove debrisfrom different areas throughout the city and recruit thehelp of troubled teens in Colorado Springs and the sur-rounding area.

Since this chance meeting, PPRR will be continuingits trail cleanup efforts in conjunction with Keep Col-orado Springs Beautiful. We will be meeting once, andsometimes twice, a month to combine our efforts in theever growing amount of debris that has been piling up inour city and along our wonderful trail system. Pleasecome out and help if you ever have the opportunity, andbe a part of this wonderful community. There is nothinglike the feeling of knowing you have done somethingtruly worthwhile to help the community and to help keepour beautiful city clean.

Keep your eye on PPRR’s website for trail cleanupdates, locations, and times. Or, you can contact John Gard-ner or myself (Tim Steffens) for the latest information.

Tim Steffens can be reached at 719-963-4432, or Timmahh2@hot-mail.com. John Gardner can be reached at: 719-338-8639 or presi-dent@pprrun.org.

PPRR’s official adoption of the Santa Fe Trail from the 8th Stree Wall-Mart

to the Bijou Street Bridge is recognized by this bright red sign provided by

the City of Colorado Springs.

PPRR Takes on a Tough Trailby Tim Steffens

…out of the blue

an unmarked police vehicle,

some vans, and pickups

drove up on the trail

from the west. Approximately

twenty teens and adults got out

with trash bags in hand, and began

to pick up trash along the trail!

Snotsicleby�Linda�Ronas

Dashing�through�the�snow�on�a�single-track�trail�run,�

O'er�the�hills�we�go,�having�so�much�“fun.”

The�snow's�six�inches�deep,

I�pray�I'll�stay�upright,

But�should�I�slip�and�bonk�my�head�my�nap�may�last�ALL�night.�

OHHH�snotsicle,�snotsicle,�I�wish�you'd�thaw�a� bit.

Maybe�when�the�sun�comes�out�I'll�feel�my�upper�lip.

OH�snotsicle,�snotsicle,�how�I�wish�you'd�go.�I

It's�so�apparent�that�I�should�have�learned�the�farmer's�blow.�

A�day�or�two�ago,�we�planned�our�run�up�Long's,

But�thinkin'�'bout�it�more,�somehow�that�just�seemed�wrong.�

So�in�our�quest�to�find�a�route�a�smidge�less�“tall,”

Our�group�decided�in�the�snow�“it's�Waldo�and�the�Bail!”�

OHH�snotsicle,�snotsicle,�frozen�on�my�face.

Tried�to�use�my�gloves,�however,�there's�just�no�more�dry�space.�

OH�snotsicle,�snotsicle�why�must�you�glisten�so,�

It�REALLY�doesn't�make�so�well�when�trying�“Hello!”�

Now�the�ground�is�slick,�good�thing�we've�got�screw�shoes,�

You're�heart�can�skip�a�beat,�while�“shussing”�down�the�chutes.

Oh�look!�There's�been�a�bike,�seems�rather�strange�to�see.

I�wonder�if�that�dude�was�brave�or�screamed�out�

“WATCH�THAT�#*^@�TREE!!”�

OHH�snotsicle,�snotsicle�I�think�your�time�has�come.

I'm�“running”�down�this�trail�so�fast�you're�'bout�to�come�undone.

OHHH�snotsicle,�snotsicle�now�the�end�is�near.

I've�found�a�tissue�and�am�wishing�everyone�GOOD�CHEER!!!!

For some reason I was terribly inspired a few weeks ago while on a runwith my buddies. I jotted down this poem, sung to the tune of Jingle Bells.Thanks to Mike S. for coining a phrase I stole. - Linda

15

February 2010 17

The NewSanta FeTrail is a

great trail formany reasons. Itstretches northfrom Woodmen

Road for 17 miles, ending in the townof Palmer Lake. There are several eas-ily accessible trailheads includingWoodmen Road, the North AFA trail-head, Baptist Road, and Palmer Lake.This accessibility makes the trail greatfor anyone new to the area, as is it un-likely you will get lost along this trail.

If you want company on the trail,the first few miles heading north fromWoodmen Road are normally prettybusy mid-mornings on weekdays andall day on the weekends. If you arelooking for more solitude, run past IceLake where the crowds thin out andyou will have some quiet while yourun through the Air Force Academy.

The trail surface is compact dirtand gravel, so the footing is good andthe surface is more forgiving than theroad. There are some small rolling hillsalong the trail, but they are overquickly and are fun to run up and over.The one point I should mention is thatit is a very gradual climb as you headnorth. I personally don't notice theclimb too much until I turn aroundand wind up running a negative splitfor most of my runs.

Let's Run!

The section we are running today

begins at the trailhead on WoodmenRoad. I host a women's running groupin town and our “normal” weekdayruns are from this trailhead. I say “nor-mal” because we are usually up andrunning before anyone else in ourhomes are awake. We put on ourheadlamps and just enjoy our run andeach other's company in the weehours of the morning.

From the parking lot, head downthe hill to access the trail headingnorth. This is a nice section to warmup on as you run up the first small hill.After cresting the hill, you will quicklycome to a nice downhill section witha view of the creek to your right. I haveseen a few herons along this part ofthe creek in the summer, as well ashawks and the occasional owl. Afterabout three quarters of a mile you willcome upon a private residence on yourright where you can sometimes seethe horses grazing. Please respect theprivacy of the owners and don’t lingerat the edge of their property. There isa downhill right near the fence linethat can get icy in the winter, so becareful in the colder months. At thebottom of the downhill section youwill be close to the one mile mark ofyour run.

The second mile is a mix of flatsections and gently rolling hills. Thetrain tracks will be on your left forthe entire run out to the gate. A fun

game that we play in the morningswhen we are feeling energetic is“race the train.” Anytime a traincomes along pick up your speed toyour 5k race pace and hold thatspeed until the train has passed.Playing games can be a great way tothrow something new into yourworkouts. My nine-year-old loves toplay this game with me. Of course,he sprints for the entire length of thetrain while I am trying to catch him!At 1.75 miles you will come to thegate for the Air Force Academy.Head through the gate and continuefollowing the trail for another quar-ter mile until you come to the parking lot on the left hand side ofthe trail. You can cut through thegrass and the parking lot and walkup to see Ice Lake, which is frozenmost of the winter. In the summeryou can see ducks, geese, and vari-ous birds along the lake. If you arefeeling adventurous, walk along thetrail for another quarter to half mileand look into the creek bed on theright hand side. There are some neatbeaver dams that have been con-structed along this stretch of thecreek in the last few years.

You can continue running alongthe trail all the way to Palmer Lake ifyou want, but our run today ends atIce Lake. Check your time, turnaround, and run back to the trailhead.I bet you run back faster!

Other Things

If you find yourself in Palmer Lake,stop in at the Speedtrap for a yummycup of coffee or the Depot for a greenchile chicken burrito.

The section from Palmer Lake toWoodmen Road makes up the first 17miles of the local American DiscoveryTrail Marathon, held in September.

The warm weather of springmarks the time of year that Istart "shopping" for fall

marathons, and the spring of 2009was no different. My criteria for thisyear's marathon was it needed to be inMid-October, to be at sea level, and tobe somewhere I hadn't been before.The Sacramento Cowtown Marathonwas my marathon for 2009.

With help from John O'Neil fromthe Colorado Running Company, Ishowed up in Sacramento in the bestshape I had ever been in for amarathon. The morning of the race Ihad a specific plan: run my race and noone else's, and hope for a PR. Theroute was on a two loop course, so themarathoners had the company of afew thousand half marathoners for thefirst loop. The loop led us along somebeautiful neighbor-hoods with peoplelounging in their frontyards with coffee inhand, cheering all therunners along. Andthere were bands stag-gered along the courseto help keep your mindoff of how bad youmight be feeling.

Once we ap-proached the end of thefirst loop, all the half marathonerswere digging in deep to find that finalkick to the finish. I was doing a prettygood job of sticking to my pace, butonce we hit the 13.1 mile mark, I foundmyself all alone. All of the halfmarathoners that were pulling mealong were done and enjoying all thepost race goodies. I had one more loop,and was starting to doubt myself. Mylegs were starting to feel fatigued, Icould barely see the marathoner aheadof me, and it was starting to heat up.The only thing keeping me moving

was the wonderful volunteers thatkeep cheering and yelling that I wasthe second female. As the miles keptgoing by I kept getting slower andslower. By mile 20 I had thrown all mygoals out the window. I just wantedto finish.

As I kept plugging along, I tried tothink about some of the workoutsJohn had given me. If I could do thoseworkouts, I could surely finish this.Mile 21, 22, 23 passed by and I startedto realize that the finish was just rightaround the corner. I started to ap-proach mile 24 and could see the leadwoman in front with 5 lead cyclistsaround her. I thought to myself "If Iplay my cards right and just push a lit-tle harder I can win this thing.” Atthat moment I didn't care how bad Ihurt, I had to try and win. With a mile

and a half to go I wasclosing quickly onher. One of the leadcyclists noticed meand came back to ver-ify that I was amarathoner. Twomore cyclists cameback, surrounded melike some sort offighter jet formation,and cleared the pathto the finish for me. I

kept running; blocking out any painthat I had in my legs. We entered thepark where the race was to finish andthe lead woman was so close, and get-ting closer.

Right at the 25 mile marker I wasable to pass the leader. I was tooscared to look back. I was afraid shewas also going to have something leftand I felt like I was running for my life.The adrenaline pumping through mybody made my legs feel fresh, not likeI just ran 25 miles. I turned the cornerand saw the red and white balloon-

arch outlining the finish line 200 me-ters away. Still, I didn't want to lookback to see were the runner-up was. Ijust wanted that finish line. I kepthearing my name from the speakers. I knew I was going to get this. As Icrossed the finish line, the 2nd placefemale was nowhere to be seen. I looked at my watch. Not only did Iwin, I got a PR, and my last mile wasthe fastest for the entire race.

Being the first woman to cross theline was such an incredible feeling.With four marathons under my belt, Ihave to say I learned the most fromthis one. The Sacramento CowtownMarathon taught me that even thoughyour race plan might not be workingout, you have 26.2 miles to re-evaluateyour goals and perhaps surprise your-self with an even better outcome.

Amanda Ewing is a native of Louisville, CO,but now lives and trains in Colorado Springs.She is a former steeplechaser at the Univer-sity of North Colorado and enjoys skiing,long walks on the beach with her pug. She likesrunning Oregon’s Hood to Coast relay.

Off the Pavement: Woodmen to Ice Lakeby Daiva Cooper

Trailhead Location: Edmonson

Trailhead, on Woodmen Road west

of I-25

Distance: 4.0 miles round trip

Terrain: compact dirt and gravel with

easy rolling hills

Difficulty rating: 1 out of 5

Bow-wow factor: Lots of company

on this trail, so keep Fido on a leash

up

A 25th-Mile Win at Sacto’s Cowtown Marathonby Amanda Ewing

The Long Run16

Amanda sports her CRC garb at Sacramento’s

Cowtown Marathon. She took the lead in the

last mile and finished with a time of 3:14.

The entrance to the Air Force Academy affords

runners a chance to stop and read warnings!

19

Training During the Pre-Seasonby Mike Hagen

The days are getting longer.While you may still bestarting your morning runs

in the dark, you could be turningoff your headlamp before you fin-ish. And for you evening runners,you may no longer be starting incomplete darkness. Still, time is al-

ways of the essence, daylight is limited, and for most ofyou, your main-goal events are still a few months away. Itis still the “pre-season”.

I call this time of year the “pre-season” to avoid usingthe term, “off-season,” given all the negative connotationsassociated with “off”. Some call it the “I don’t need to trainthis day (week, month), it’s my off-season”. If you want tomake consistent progress, there isno such thing as an off-season. Afterall, the key to con sistent progress isconsistency! An off season or two,every year, is a good way to ensureyou won’t be making consistentprogress toward your goals. Instead,if you have off-seasons, each timeyou resume running, you will bestarting from a much lowered stateof fitness—and that is neither a pleasant nor an ideal wayto make consistent progress.

My advice: banish the term “off-season”, or at least theimplications of the first three letters of that term, “off”.Other than a few days or a week at most, of recovery aftera major, physically-taxing event, there should be no “off”.As soon as that short recovery period is over, you are already in the pre-season for your next goal. So the ques-tion is: How do you proceed through this season so youcan emerge faster and stronger?

The traditional method has been through “base” train-ing, but this is another term that can have negative, mislead-ing connotations. The term “base” training has become tooclosely intertwined with the concept of long, slow, distance(LSD) training. Only two out of three of the words in LongSlow Distance are bad: the “long” and the “slow.

Unless you’re a professional runner, retired, or inde-pendently wealthy, running for long periods of time simplyisn’t possible given the constraints of work, family, volun-teerism, and the shorter daylight hours of winter. If youhave the time to run 100 miles a week, and want to racewell in marathons and ultras, by all means do so. But forthe other 99.5% of us, time management and burnout

avoidance are key issues. As a coach, most people come to me for help in running

faster. The “slow” in LSD training offers a great way forrunners to become good at running slower. If you simplyenjoy running slowly, that’s fine. However, if you have anydesire to improve your performance in races, or to makebigger gains in your health, you should include high- intensity training.

In a nutshell, I’m saying that if you want to makeprogress, you can’t have an off-season where you don’ttrain. And you can’t simply do traditional base training ifthat implies only low-intensity, slower running. The alter-native I would propose is to incorporate year-roundhigher-intensity running into your training, including yourbase, foundation or pre-season phases.

Many coaches use theterm “periodization”,which means your sea-son should be organizedin phases of differenttraining foci. It is a validconcept, and should un-derlie your yearly training plan. But pe ri -odi zation is not binary,

meaning it should not be turned on and off like a lightswitch. It does not mean that you run only slowly in thebase phase, then immediately shift into twice-a-week trackor VO2 sessions in the next phase.

Rather, I recommend including some intensity in allphases of your training, with reduced volume of high- intensity work during the pre-season or recovery periods.Your fitness will remain higher, and you will perform bet-ter in your race season goal-events, if you do it year-round.

Research studies have shown that high-intensity training improves fitness, as measured by VO2max andlactate threshold, which I’ll discuss in future articles. Stud-ies also show improvements in race performance as a re-sult of this type of training. And, as an added bonus,high-intensity training takes less time, because of theshorter duration and reduced mileage associated withthese types of workouts.

One thing to keep in mind is the fact that there is an in-creased likelihood of injury from doing too much high- intensity training without an adequate base. That base hasmore to do with muscular endurance and joint, ligament,and tendon strength, than aerobic endurance. So beforeyou start high-intensity running, you want to ensure you

have a moderate base. If you are running 4-5 hours or 15miles per week, you are likely ready to work at higher in-tensity training.

One obstacle to high-intensity workouts for many isthe intimidation factor implied by speed or track work.This is usually more imagined than actual, so don’t allowthis to be an excuse and definitely don’t procrastinate.Furthermore, it need not—and probably should not—bevery formal, structured, or extreme. In other words, thereis no need to get on the track, unless of course you want to.If you prefer, keep it informal, fun and moderate. The inten-sity work you do now should be in preparation for yourformalized main-season training, unless you’re training forthe Boston Marathon in April.

Intensity sessions, in all seasons, should be done once ortwice a week. Do some cruise intervals or tempo runs, butkeep them shorter and at slightly slower speeds than youwould during the main season. You can also include someinformal fartlek-style pick ups: run hard to the next trailintersection, stop sign, or some other landmark along theroad or trail. Just repeat this several times and take plentyof recovery in between these intervals. Don’t worry aboutthe time spent running hard. Just have fun.

It is also beneficial to “fast finish” several runs eachweek on a year-round basis. This doesn’t mean runningslowly for 40 minutes, then sprinting the last quarter mileto your car. It means running the majority of your run atan easy pace, then gradually increasing your pace in thelast 5 to 20 minutes, ultimately reaching race pace or evenslightly faster. Remember to leave yourself some time anddistance for a reasonable cool-down. Finishing fast notonly provides a great endorphin pump, but is also a fun andmentally easy method of adding informal intensity to yourworkouts.

Hills, despite the pain they induce, should be incorpo-rated year-round for strength-building, and are particu-larly beneficial in the pre-season. Fortunately, Coloradooffers plenty of hills, allowing runners to easily incorpo-rate hill training in just about any workout that’s not on a

treadmill. The next time you’reout on a long, hilly run,simply push theclimbs with amoderate tempo,glide down thebackside, and re-cover on the flats.Do a route withone or two longer,steeper climbsand push them.Keep in mindthese need not bethe formal “hillrepeat” work-outs that youshould be doingduring your mainseason.

One more tipto consider duringyour pre-season: race alot. Racing is the single bestway to improve your racing, not justbecause of the training effect of the racesthemselves, but because of the mental toughnessand lessons in the pacing you learn. And because of the social benefits, the camaraderie and the excitement of racing, you’ll have additional motivation to train on thosecold, dark mornings or evenings. Events like the Pikes PeakRoad Runners Winter Series are perfect examples. Theyare low-cost, local races that require few logistical chal-lenges. And remember, keep it fun and don’t take it seriously. You’re there solely for the training.

With that, I look forward to seeing you out on the trailsduring the pre-season, unless of course it’s dark! Hopefullyyou now feel the need for speed and are prepared to rampit up in all seasons. Happy training!

Michael Hagen participates in a variety of endurance sports, in-cluding the occasional road or trail race. Endurance sports haveled to a second career as an endurance sports coach and distrib-utor of ski randonee racing equipment and clothing. Mike is aCarmichael Training Systems premier coach, with USATriathlon and USA Cycling certifications. If you have questionsor comments on this article or coaching, please contact Mike at719-357-8687 or mike@informsports.com.

February 2010The Long Run18 19

If you want to make

consistent progress, there is

no such thing as an

off-season.

Periodization is not binary...

it should not be turned on

and off like a light switch.

February 2010 21

Born to Run: a Hidden Tribe, Superath-letes, and the Greatest Race the WorldHas Never Seen, by Christopher

McDougall, has it all: mystery, in-trigue, humor,tragedy, science,danger, history,travel, and won-

der. If you read Born to Run: a HiddenTribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Racethe World Has Never See, by ChristopherMcDougall, when it came out lastyear, it’s time to read it again. I enjoyedit the first time and have spent monthsrecommending it to Palmer LakeBranch Library patrons. It was evenmore interesting the second timethrough.

For those who have not read Born toRun, the author begins with his searchfor El Caballo Blanco in Mexico’sSierra Madre. Is Caballo Blanco real oris McDougall on a snipe hunt? Justwhen the story starts to get interest-ing, the author segues into his search for a doctor to curehis foot pain. And in between, he introduces the Tarahu-mara people who are a “tribe of Stone Age superathletes,”and “may be the healthiest and most serene people onearth, and the greatest runners of all time.” He weavesthese elements together with fascinating examples of his-torical and contemporary ultra runners, thoughts aboutrunning shoe design and marketing, and a cast of unforget-table characters.

Modern medicine’s answer to McDougall’s foot painboils down to shots, orthotics, and the all-purpose “run-ning is bad for you” diagnosis. Why do other animals runwithout breaking down? How could old-time athletes runin thin leather slippers? And, what about the Tarahumara?They run in sandals, up and down steep rocky canyontrails without injury. Seeking the secret of the Tarahumara,McDougall researches their brief participation in theLeadville 100, hunts the elusive Caballo Blanco, and finallytravels into Copper Canyon to meet the shy Tarahumarain their homeland.

Along the way, McDougall meets coaches and academ-ics who study running from different perspectives. CoachJoe Vigil was observing the technical elements of theTarahumara running form when he discovered the Tarahu-

mara run with “such a sense of joy!” McDougall writes, theTarahumara secret is that “they’d never forgotten what itfelt like to love running.” McDougall wants to love runningand seeks the help of Eric Orton, “longtime student of the

Tarahumara.” Orton works with Mc-Dougall, then accompanies him toMexico along with ultra runnersScott Jurek, Luis Escobar, (and hisdad, Joe Ramirez) two youngsters,Jenn Shelton and Billy Barnett, and anendearing motor-mouth called Bare-foot Ted. Reading about the Tarahu-mara and these American runners willgive you plenty to think about longafter you’ve read the last page.

Born to Run is just under 300 pages,but McDougall packs a lot of vitalityinto this completely satisfying book. Iliked it enough to read it twice. Thereis also a CD book version if you preferto read with your ears. The book andaudio are available at the Pikes PeakLibrary District. Use the catalog atppld.org to request a copy of Born to

Run. For assistance, please contact Linda at Palmer LakeBranch Library 481-2587 or lfuqua-jones@ppld.org

PPRR’s Linda Fuqua-Jones is a frequent contributor to the Long Runwith book reviews and race reports. She is perhaps PPRR’s most trav-elled marathoner

The Long Run20

Books: Born to Runby Linda Fuqua-Jones

Simple sandals suffice for the Tarahumara runners. In fact, when a cou-

ple of them ran the Leadville 100, they abondoned the top-end shoes of

their running gear sponsor and made their own sandals from tire treads.

Many people make New Year’sresolutions: “I am going to runmore in 2010.” “This is the

year I am going to eat less and loseweight.” “I am going to hit the gym forcross training this year.” “I am goingback to school this year.”

We make our resolutions as a com-mitment to change or improve our lives. Many of our NewYear’s resolutions do not survive January 1st; most resolu-tions won’t survive the first week of the year. Rather thanmaking a resolution and taking an emotional hit when youfail in your commitment to change, I suggestyou create a vision for the year that pullsyou forward.

Before you ran your first marathon,you began with a vision that you couldsuccessfully complete the task. Your vi-sion pulled you through the last twomiles of your 20-mile training runs. Onmarathon day, your vision got you to thestarting line and then pulled you towardthe finish line after months of training.You will need a vision for running thisyear that will prompt you to get out of bedon a snowy morning or get to the gym for some cross-train-ing which will enhance your running experience.

It is common for runners to use the power of visioningfor race preparation. This is how I prepared for the inaugu-ral Twin Cities Marathon (TCM) in 1982. Living in Min-neapolis, I trained often on portions of the course. I ranmiles on Minnehaha Parkway and the River Roads overthe summer. The first two years of TCM, the race finishedon Cedar Street in downtown St. Paul, the race course run-ning by the Minnesota Capital Building, instead finishingon the capital grounds. After a training run, I would rest ina chair and view the course in my mind’s eye; the turns, thehills, the lakes, and the umbrella of fall-painted trees alongthe Parkway. On my training runs I would view the clockat 2:59 as though I was running down Cedar Street.

Most people know the marathon to be a 20-mile run,and a struggle to survive the last 10K. My race that yearwas no different. I got into the rhythm of pace early, crank-ing through the half-marathon at 1:28. My pace sagged abit through miles 17-18, but when I passed 20 miles at 3:10I thought I might be “finished,” my sub-3:00 was slippingaway. When congratulated by a friend near the 21-mile

mark I shouted back, “I WILL finish under 3.” My visiongave me the finishing “kick” I needed. It pulled me forward,up the Lexington Parkway hill to the turn onto Summit. Iimagined the finish line clock looming as a flashing bill-board just ahead of my eyes “2:59, 2:59, 2:59.” The trainingrehearsals and the visioning sessions; sitting in a chairimagining myself running by the Capital and making thelast right turn down the hill of Cedar Street made a differ-ence in battling the fatigue. I could see the clock ahead andit did read 2:59, I went under the clock to finish themarathon in 2:59:34.

Corporate improvement guru Stephen Covey, in hisbook, 7 Habits of Highly Effective Peo-

ple, advises, “Begin with the end inmind.” You can use Covey’s adviceto craft a vision for your fitness ef-forts this year. So think about theyear ahead and begin with the endin mind: it’s December 31st, 2010.

When you make your daily entryin your log book and add the day’stotal to your annual mileage to date,how many miles have you covered in

2010? Divide that number by 12 andthat is your monthly mileage average.

Divide that number by 52 and that is your weekly average.Finally, divide the annual number by 365 and that is yourdaily average.

What races do you want to have run in 2010? Make alist. Use the Pikes Peak Road Runners calendar as a guideto list at least 4-5 races in the first six months of the year.Maybe you want to add a “destination” race to mark your2010 running success. Use the Internet andwww.marathonguide.com to choose a half marathon ormarathon out of town. The more detail you add to your vi-sion, the more you will make that vision come alive; moti-vating you to improve your running experiences in 2010.

If you create a vision for success with a little fore-thought, you will have a better chance at running successthan making a single resolution. Good luck and have aGREAT year; I will see you on the roads.

PPRR member Tom Huberty is a Minneapolis resident working as aBusiness Improvement Consultant for a defense agency in ColoradoSprings. One of less than 45 people who have run all 28 of theMedtronic Twin Cities Marathons, he is the author of “26.2 Tips toWin Your Business Marathon” available atwww.betterruncompany.com

Running Your Life: Set your 2010 visionby Tom Huberty

If you create a

vision for success with a

little forethought, you

will have a

better chance at

running success than

making a single

resolution.

The Long Run22

The first race of the year! The wellknown New Year’s Day Rescue Runis run late in the morning the first

day of the year. This Palmer Park course ishilly and challenging. Runners have achoice between a 5k road race and a mixed10k course. The weather this year could

not have been better with temperatures in the 40s and aday full of sunshine. Proceeds for this race go to the El PasoCounty Search and Rescue, who put on the race with thesupport of the PPRR. In return, the Search and Rescuehelps support several Pikes Peak Road Runner racesthroughout the year.

A big thank you goes out to all of the volunteers whomake this race possible, and to the Search and Rescue crewwho were there to help out! The 2010 Rescue Run wouldnot have been such a success without all of your support.Happy New Year!

According to Race Director Dave Sorenson, this year’sedition of the race saw a record turnout with 824 registra-tions and 778 finishers. This surpassed the record set in2009 with 774 registrations and 729 finishers. Placing it inhistorical perspective, Dave wrote, “The Rescue Run isamongst the oldest races in the Pikes Peak region, sur-passed only by the Pikes Peak Marathon (1956), Pikes PeakAscent (1959), Garden 10 Miler (1977), and Sailin’ Shoes(1978). The Rescue Run, PPRR Winter Series, and PPRRFall Series started in 1979. The Nielson Challenge alsostarted sometime in the late 1970s. Several runners sportedoutfits from the early years of the race.”

I interviewed the following runners at random after therace. I hope you enjoy!

Race of the Month: Rescue Runby Tim Steffens

Louie Serna, Colorado Springs, CO

Age: 53

Occupation: Repair Technician

Finish Time: 50:16 (10K)

Did you have to cut any of your New

Year’s plans short last night due to this

morning’s race? Nah. I don’t do anything on

New Year’s Eve anyway.

What did you enjoy the most about the 2010 Rescue Run?

The scenery on the course.

What made you decide to run today’s race?

A friend mentioned the race to me. This is the first time I have run

this particular race.

Bryce DeBerg

Age: 34

Occupation: Cyto Technologist

Finish Time: 26:41 (5K)

Do you have any New Year’s resolutions?

No. But I suppose I should.

What made you decide to run the 2010 Rescue Run?

Honestly, I didn’t have anything else to do. Charity. I enjoy char-

ity runs.

How did you celebrate the New Year last night?

Partied at a friend’s house!

Kelly Valeriano, New Jersey

Age: 36

Occupation: Mom

Finish Time: 56:08 (5K)

How did you celebrate the New Year last

night?

I have been visiting family, and we had dinner

at the Briarhurst.

How do you plan to spend the rest of your New Year’s Day?

I will be shopping in Manitou, eating lunch, and celebrating.

What did you enjoy the most about today’s race?

The scenery.

February 2010 23

Given the number of cancella-tions in recent years of the firstWinter Series Race, formerly

held in Fox Run Regional Park, RaceDirectors Mike Shafai and John Gard-ner spent a considerable amount oftime seeking out a new venue, one thatwould hopefully provide more tolera-ble conditions.

On January 9, 2010, over 600 run-ners discovered the word “tolerable”can mean different things to differentpeople. With its debut in CheyenneMountain State Park, runners, volun-teers, and race directors alike foundmany challenges to overcome, butwere rewarded with a sense of satis-faction and accomplishment.

Setting up the course presented atremendous challenge given the largenumber of off-shooting trails in thearea, combined with the fact that theState Park system does not allow chalkor flour to be used on the course. Con-sequently, nearly a dozen volunteersserved as course marshals, using conesand crime scene tape to block of trailsnot considered part of the course.

In addition, because ATV’s are not

allowed on the trails during the wintermonths, the Race Directors relied ontrusted volunteers to pull all aid stationsupplies (table, water containers, andcups) nearly 1.5 miles up the snowytrail using mountain bikes with burleytrails – the kind parents used to totetheir children around on bicycles.

The challenges didn’t end with thecourse set-up. Runners were facedwith one of the most challenging firstWinter Series races they’ve seen inmany years. While Fox Run offers asnowy, icy, albeit more open roller-coaster type course, the new venueprovides for a smorgasbord of single-track, double-track, twists, turns, anda daunting mixture of snow, dirt, andice. Runners also faced a bottleneck asthe trail went from the road to thenarrow single-track.

Short course participants, who run5 kilometers in total, mostly climb forthe first two miles, with a few areas ofreprieve. However, following theclimb, they reap the rewards oncethey hit the aid station at about miletwo. From the aid station, the loop re-turns runners toward the finish line

with a fast, steady downhill grade. For those who made the mistake of

lining up at 10:15 with the long courserunners, they discovered that the painwas just beginning at mile two. Fromthe aid station they climb up thesteep, narrow and snow-packed sin-gle-track toward a loop, climbing anadditional 400 feet in just over 1.5miles. Runners who went out too fastquickly realized more pain was tocome. Many were cursing the race di-rectors. But, once they completed theloop at the furthest reach of the trail,they were rewarded with nearly 3miles of mostly-downhill trail andspectacular scenery.

As is the case with attempting alarge race at any new venue, especiallyone with the complexities ofCheyenne Mountain State Park, thereare some kinks to be worked out. But,because the park was happy with theoutcome, the runners were happywith the outcome, and the volunteerswere happy with the outcome,chances are Winter Series I in 2011will also be held in Cheyenne Moun-tain State Park. More to come.

Record Numbers Try New Venue for WS 1by Mike Shafai

Aid station supplies were carted via bike trailer

due to state restrictions on motorized vehicles.

Marc Wufkuhle, camouflaged in cotton shorts, gives a wave while his more technically garbed wife,

Sara, snaps a photo of the photographer during the long course at Winter Series 1. Their daugh-

ter, Halee, running in the middle, joined them for her first 10K ever.

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR LOYAL CUSTOMERS, PPRR MEMBERS, AND THE COLORADO

SPRINGS COMMUNITY FOR VOTING BOULDER RUNNING COMPANY ONE OF

THE BEST RUNNING STORES IN AMERICA FOR 2009!

BRC COLORADO SPRINGS 3659 AUSTIN BLUFFS PARKWAY

719-278-3535 www.brccoloradosprings.com