I ran what I thought was a smart race. I could have gone out a little faster in the first 2 miles but having never run the course before I erred on the conservative side. I also ran a short race the day before so I am wondering if that impacted my performance at all. I was able to catch quite a few people in the last few miles that went out too hard. I caught all but one of the women as well so yes, I still got chicked. :) This is a race I recommend to everyone. It was well organized and had many cheering spectators that gave needed adrenaline rushes at just the right time.

Although it was a tough race it was a great challenge. The very slow time is indicative of the challenges of the course. Another challenge was the relative high altitude of the race, fluctuating between 6,250 to 6,550 feet in elevation.

This is the first race in the Triple Crown series. The second one is a trail 12K and the last is the Pikes Peak ascent/marathon. The last race is one of the hardest and grueling races on the planet.

http://www.pikespeakmarathon.org/

Since the first two runners in my age group won awards for the top 10 overall, I was fortunate enough to win a 5th place trophy. The famous Matt Carpenter was presenting the awards. It was cool getting it from him since I run with him and the Incline Club on Sundays in preparation for the Pikes Peak Ascent.


Knowing what I do now, one thing I will do differently next year is go slightly faster for the first 2 miles. Not overly fast as I hit the second mile in 11:54 but a little faster. I also plan to work on more hill repeats of longer duration of perhaps 4 minutes in length.

Jogged another mile easily with another runner and continued to stretch.


Having never run the race before and underestimating the true challenges of the hills.


Since the roads had to open to the traffic again there could be no real post race activities. Its just as well since I had to make the hour and half drive back to Denver.