Gore Tex TransRockies: Training Is A Blast!

Fun, fun, fun....I'm having loads of it. To be honest, compared to training for a regular road marathon, this is amazing!  Over the course of the summer training for the Goretex Trans Rockies,  has seen me run through some of the most beautiful scenery Colorado has to offer. I have not missed pounding on pavement and dodging cars, or the smell of exhausts.  Instead training for the Trans Rockies has us running through lush forest, along burbling mountain streams and single- track lined with verdant wildflowers.

Over the past two months or so, my training partner Paul Mandel and I have slogged up historic mining roads, raced the gondola up the near vertical Aspen mountain and stood breathless at the top of such runs and gazed on great vistas. Sure, extreme trail running is no picnic, but the rewards are incredible.  Will I ever want to return to road racing after this incredible experience? It will be hard...

We have a little over three weeks to go and have made great progress. Our bodies are getting accustomed to running up and down mountains. Running at 10,000 ft now feels normal, where a couple of months ago it was a challenge. Yes, we are both making the odd visit to the physical therapist for some fix-up work, but all in all we are feeling good and ready to tackle the big one.

A huge shout out to all our sponsors for the fantastic gear they have supplied.  A little more than three weeks till we head to Buena Vista for the real deal. Bring it on!

GoreTex Trans Rockies: D-Day Approaches!

Beaver Creek, Colorado- The GORE-TEX® TransRockies Run has become a leader in the growing field of multi-day stage races, a spiking popularity that has stacked its field with top endurance athletes from around the world.

The GORE-TEX ® TransRockies Run is a six-day race from Buena Vista, Colorado to Beaver Creek.  One hundred and fifty teams of two will run 115 miles of grueling terrain over six stages from August 22nd, to August 27th, with the route featuring trails that will take runners 21,711 ft of climbing.

The first day of the race begins in Buena Vista and stretches to 20 miles that will climb 2,700 ft. into the mountains east of Buena Vista on a mix of trails and jeep tracks.  Aaron McConnell, the TransRockies Run Director, said, “Stage One is a great warm up with spectacular views and the weather is usually mild and pleasant for this first day.  “

At the start of the second stage, runners will find themselves in Vicksburg, an old silver mining town that is regarded as one of Colorado’s legendary ghost towns. Stage Two is shorter, a 13.5 mile stage from Vicksburg to Twin Lakes.  This stage starts with an uphill grind of 7 miles which is a steep single-track slog up and over Hope Pass, lying at 12, 546 ft.  The day’s finish line, at the dam at the east end of Twin Lake, gives the runners a scenic run along Twin Lakes, and past the historic village of Interlaken.

Once in Leadville, runners will be challenging their altitude acclimation. Leadville is Colorado’s highest incorporated city at 10,430’.  Stage Three, starting in Leadville at 10,000 feet and rolling over 24 miles, is one of the longest routes but finishes at the historic military site, Camp Hale, the founding place of the 10th Mountain Division.  Runners will leave this historic site and head towards Red Cliff, covering 14 miles and climbing 3,009 feet.  Stage Four crosses over the top of Hornsilver Mountain at 11,400 feet before winding down to the day’s finish in the small valley town of Red Cliff, Colorado. 

Stage Five features 21 miles of spectacular scenery, grinding up Shrine Pass Road from Red Cliff, traversing across the ridge to Eagles Nest, and descending the mountain using the network of single-track trails at Vail Mountain to finish at the ski village base.  Stage Six, the final stage, takes runners up the Red and White Mountain north of Vail and across 21miles of ridgeline with 4,800 ft of elevation gain to the finish line in Beaver Creek.

For more information on the GORE-TEX ® TransRockies run or details on the individual stages visit www.transrockies.com. 

Train In Spain For The Rockies?

Team Everyman Tri member Paul Mandel on his latest training in Europe.

I've been running since the early 1980's, when I was a cross-country runner, miler, and two-miler on the high school running teams in Port Washington, New York. My first long endurance race was when I ran the Boston Marathon as an unofficial runner while a law student at Boston University in 1990. In 2009, now a resident of Boulder, CO, I got serious about distance running again.


I ran the Indian Summer Half Marathon and the Boulder Half Marathon in September, 2009, the NYC Marathon in November, 2009 (raising over $3,000 for Team Continuum), the Phoenix Marathon in January, 2010, the NYC Half Marathon in March, 2010, and the Boston Marathon in April, 2010 (once again, as a Bandit).

In late April of this year, I was starting to think about what endurance races I wanted to do next. All I had on the schedule was the NYC Marathon in November 2010. My neighbor Paul Shippey had been an inspiration to me in my training efforts over the last year, and when he suggested teaming up for a multi-day backcountry running race, it sounded like a good idea at the time. I figured if I can run a marathon, why not the equivalent of five or six marathons over the course of six days, in the mountains? It may be crazy, but now I'm proud to be a member of Team Everyman Tri, entered in the 2010 Trans Rockies Run.

Once I committed to the race, I immediately shifted my training around to include some hills. Conveniently there is a 1000 foot tall hill just behind the northwest Boulder, CO neighborhood I live in. I started slow runs up this hill once or twice a week. It's very different from road work - lots of new muscle stiffness.

In the second half of June, I travelled to Spain on vacation with my wife and two teenagers. I was concerned about keeping up with training, but Paul said "Do what you can and enjoy your holiday." My first run in Spain was a very easy circuit of Madrid's Parque del Buen Retiro, among many jogging Spaniards. Madrid's elevation is only around 2,000 feet.

My next three workouts in Spain were in the Sierra Nevada mountains. We were staying at the home of a friend in Cahars, outside of Grenada. Luckily, within a couple kilometers of the house was a road and bike path up into a mountain recreation area called Cumbres Verdes. I did one eight mile run with a 1,951 ascent and descent. Then a couple days later I followed up with a fifteen miler with a 3,200 foot ascent and descent on the same road. Both runs went well, except that I ran short of water on the longer one - I had counted on reaching a spring-fed fountain that turned out to be farther away than I thought. Next time I'll bring a Camelback.

Another big run in Spain was at the Sol y Nieve ski area. I covered just seven miles, but climbed 2,743 feet, starting at around 6,950 feet and peaking up at 9,400 feet. I ran up the ski slopes until I hit to top of the lifts, and then took a road that led to a big radio telescope at the top of the mountain. I was surprised to find cows grazing at the top, as well a mountain goat that bounded away as I came around a bend near the summit.

We finally spent several days on the Mediterranean coast in a small town called Agua Amarga. There were some surrounding hills to run, but nothing big. Now I'm back in Colorado, and super-high altitude training can start again.